202 ALOPOCHEN JUBATUS 



region the local name "Pato Carretaro" has been given to the bird because of the 

 resemblance of its note to the hoarse cries of a driver urging his horses onward 

 (Andre, 1904). 



Food. Practically nothing is known about the diet of these birds, but Hagmann 

 (1907) found the larvae of butterflies among the stomach-contents. Another stomach 

 contained small seeds (Sclater and Salvin, 1876). 



Courtship and Nesting. The breeding season on the Orinoco is said to begin 

 in December and January, during which time the males engage in the fierce strug- 

 gles referred to above. The blows of their wings and their constant loud honking 

 seem to have no effect on the females, who feed quietly and take no interest in the 

 proceedings. The nest is placed in a hollow tree (Cherrie, 1916), a habit which is 

 sometimes shared by its African relative. The nest-down is white like that of the 

 Sheldrakes. Nothing is known as to the number of eggs in a normal clutch, but a 

 female in Mr. F. E. Blaauw's collection laid ten eggs. The incubation period is prob- 

 ably the same as that of the Egyptian Goose, that is, twenty-nine or thirty days 

 (28 days according to Mr. Blaauw). The eggs laid in confinement in the London 

 Gardens are like those of the African species, slightly glossy, and of a pale brownish 

 cream -color, measuring from 59 to 61 mm. in length by 41 to 45 mm. in breadth 

 (E. W. Oates, 1902). 



Food Value. Andre (1904), who shot a number of these geese on the Orinoco, 

 considered them good eating, though if eaten on the same day as killed they proved 

 tough and without flavor. In view of the low culinary value of the Egyptian Goose, 

 and of the closely allied Sheldrakes it would be surprising if these birds were ever well 

 flavored or tender. 



Behavior in Captivity. This species is kept tamed by the natives on the Ori- 

 noco, but it is not known whether it breeds there in this semi-domesticated state 

 (Cherrie, 1916). In Europe it was apparently introduced by Lord Derby, who suc- 

 ceeded in breeding it for many years on his Knowsley Estate (Cat. Knowsley Me- 

 nagerie, 1846). The London Gardens received specimens as early as 1830, but have 

 had little success in breeding them (P. L. Sclater, 1880). In more recent times Mr. 

 Blaauw has apparently been the only aviculturalist to breed them successfully. In 

 1889 a female laid ten eggs, from which only two young hatched, the others dying in 

 the shell (Blaauw, Bull. Soc. d'Acclimat. Paris, vol. 37, p. 60, 1890). This was the 

 first case of its breeding on the continent, but it has done so repeatedly since then on 

 Mr. Blaauw's estate. Mr. Blaauw wrote me about his stock as follows: " My birds 

 did not breed every year, but only occasionally when we had a warm spring, which 



