GRAY-BREASTED TREE DUCK 165 



Wariness. In the Santa Marta region of Colombia these birds are rather tame as 

 ducks go, and not particularly hard to shoot (Carriker, in litt.) ; but in the Guianas 

 they are considered harder to shoot than most ducks. When flushed they do not 

 flock together (F. P. and A. P. Penard, 1908-10). It is unlikely that in this respect 

 they are different from their near relatives of the species Dendrocygna autumnalis 

 which are without question less wild than migratory water-fowl. The young, when 

 captured and kept in confinement, are tamer even than domestic ducklings (F. P. 

 and A. P. Penard, 1908-10). 



Daily Movements. Though I have been unable to find in the literature any- 

 thing bearing on this point, I presume that this species is, like Dendrocygna autum- 

 nalis, decidedly nocturnal in its habits. 



Flight. Just before the breeding season these birds assemble in large flocks, flying 

 rapidly and noisily (F. P. and A. P. Penard, 1908-10). Large flocks were also found 

 on the Rio Parana by Natterer (von Pelzeln, 1868-71), while Leotaud (1866) speaks 

 of their occurring always in flocks in Trinidad. In British Guiana, R. Schomburgk 

 (1848) found them in small companies, while the adults traveled only in pairs. This 

 last statement probably refers to the breeding season. 



Gait, Swimming, Diving, and Perching. There is little recorded on these 

 points, but as the present bird is to be considered little more than a subspecies of 

 Dendrocygna autumnalis, its intimate habits are doubtless very similar to those of 

 the Northern Red-bill. Mr. Carriker has frequently seen them perched on limbs 

 of large trees along the Atrato River in Colombia, around the big marsh near 

 Fundacion, Santa Marta. Other writers have also seen them perching and even 

 spending a considerable part of the day on trees (Andre, 1904; F. P. and A. P. Penard, 

 1908-10; Leotaud, 1866; R. Schomburgk, 1848). 



Association with other Species. Flocks of these birds unite at times with 

 companies of White-faced Tree Ducks, but rarely with other ducks (F. P. and A. 

 P. Penard, 1908-10). 



Voice. The note, like that of Dendrocygna autumnalis, differs from that of the 

 other Tree Ducks in being peculiarly sharp. On the wing the note is trisyllabic and 

 likened by the Penards (1908-10) to the sounds iciesie-wiesie-wiesie. Its Indian 

 name, Ouikiki, is undoubtedly an attempt to imitate the voice. 



Food. The only information I have been able to find is the note of the Penards 

 (1908-10) that the diet is more vegetarian than that of most ducks. 



