WHITE-FACED TREE DUCK 127 



found in Rogeron (1903). He emphasizes especially their stupidity, even as com- 

 pared with related species, such as Dendrocygna autumnalis; but he also calls at- 

 tention to their ability to protect themselves against larger and stronger species. 

 My own observation has been that the Tree Ducks hold themselves aloof from other 

 species and certainly never attempt to start a quarrel. 



Several writers have referred to this species as one commonly domesticated by 

 natives, but in my opinion the word "domestication" has been incorrectly used. 

 It is true that they are commonly kept both in South America and in Africa, and 

 particularly in Mauritius and Madagascar, but they are undoubtedly obtained or 

 raised from eggs laid in the wild, or by the capture of young birds. The practice of 

 taking the eggs of the Black-billed Tree Duck and having them hatched by hens is 

 extremely common among the Cubans to-day. R. Schomburgk (1848) recorded the 

 White-faced Tree Ducks as one of the commonest "domestic" animals among the 

 Indians of British Guiana. Roch and E. Newton, writing in 1863, say that at that 

 time large numbers were still exported from Madagascar to Mauritius, where they 

 lived in a half -wild state, and were easily " domesticated." 



