122 DENDROCYGNA VIDUATA 



wary bird. All Tree Ducks are apt to be fairly easy to capture, and they respond to 

 an imitation of their call-notes. In his account of the birds on the White Nile, Abel 

 Chapman (1921) remarks that although these ducks are very tame for the most 

 part, they will spring at two hundred yards if they get the wind of the hunter. He 

 tested this out to his own satisfaction. 



Daily Movements. Throughout its range many observers have written of 

 the great nocturnal activity of this species, of its passing to and fro all night in large 

 flocks, uttering its peculiar triple whistling note. It is probably fully as nocturnal in 

 its habits as other members of the genus, and like the Fulvous Tree Duck is seldom 

 seen on the wing in the day, unless disturbed. 



Flight. As usual, in describing the flight of any species of duck, opinions vary 

 as to the actual speed attained, the same species being reported as a slow, clumsy 

 flyer in one place, and as an extremely powerful and rapid flyer in another. This 

 species is no exception, but in general the flight may be described as typical of the 

 Dendrocygnce — gooselike, powerful, but not as rapid as that of the true ducks. In 

 alighting on the water the neck is stretched down remarkably far, so that the bill 

 and toes almost touch (Heinroth, 1918). Abel Chapman found on the White Nile 

 that Gargany Teal whizzed past the slow-flying Tree Ducks as " a destroyer over- 

 hauls a mudhopper!" 



Gait. Their long legs and extended neck give them an extremely awkward ap- 

 pearance on land, although as a matter of fact their gait is not at all clumsy. Like 

 the other species of Tree Ducks they stand with body and neck almost vertical. 



Diving. The White-face is active on the water, and many observers have re- 

 marked its ability in diving. F. P. and A. P. Penard (1908-10) say they swim and 

 dive well, and Sibree (1892) has recorded similar observations. According to Hein- 

 roth (1918) the birds procure much of their food in this manner. From the aesthetic 

 standpoint they cannot be said to rank as particularly stylish in appearance either 

 on land or on water. 



Perching. It appears that this duck very rarely perches on trees (Woodward, 

 1899; Biittikofer, 1885; Reichenow, 1874; von Heuglin, 1873; etc.), and none of the 

 members of this family seems to use trees except in certain cases for nesting, or for 

 procuring food. 



Flocks. These birds are often met with in large flocks, which at times number 

 many hundreds. R. Schomburgk (1848) says that in British Guiana the flocks were 



