256 CAS ARC A VARIEGATA 



Enemies. Some of the enemies of the young birds have already been mentioned, 

 and the various exotic animals which have been introduced with mistaken inten- 

 tion are certainly having a disastrous effect on this, as well as on other native 

 New Zealand birds. 



Damage. The birds are said to have been destructive to young pasture (Travers, 

 1872), but it is very doubtful if they exist in large enough numbers to do any damage 

 now. 



Food Value. Young birds are said to be good eating, but the old individuals 

 have a "degree of toughness which only the sharpest appetite can overcome" 

 (Potts, 1870). 



Hunt. In earlier times these birds were slaughtered in thousands, as men- 

 tioned above, and the Maoris used to take thousands in the flapper stage, or during 

 the moult. Buller (1905) also tells how thin flax rope with running loops was sus- 

 pended across the narrow part of Lake Papaitonga, into which flocks of ducks were 

 driven during the gloom of evening. Lieut.-Col. Cradock (1904) speaks of a bag 

 of seventy-eight taken in one day by shooting from bush shelters on Lake Teanau. 

 They were also shot successfully over decoys in oat stubble, and he gives a long ac- 

 count of this form of sport. It is indeed a sad thing to see so fine a species in danger 

 of eradication without even the excuse of well-flavored flesh. 



Habits in Confinement. Much has been written about this wonderful bird, 

 whose very name is poetical enough to ensure an active demand for live specimens. 

 It has been very rarely imported into America, and did not reach the London Gar- 

 dens until 1863 (P. L. Sclater, 1880), where it bred in 1865 and for many years fol- 

 lowing. The female of the first pair laid five eggs, all of which were hatched (Sclater, 

 1866). They were breeding in the Berlin Gardens in 1914 (Journ. f. Ornith., vol. 63, 

 p. 302, 1915) and a brood of seven males was reared. They were bred by Mr. T. A. 

 Havermeyer at Mahwah, New Jersey, not many years ago. 



These birds have always been expensive, and at the time they were first introduced 

 into England cost as much as £20 a pair. Later on they were bred freely on the 

 continent, and the price fell to £6 or £8 per pair. 



They are easily tamed, and are hardy under conditions of restraint, but like all 

 other Sheldrakes become very destructive during the mating season to any birds 

 that they imagine might be rivals. Thus they have been known to kill six gulls in 

 the Jardin des Plantes in one morning (Rogeron, 1903), and the same writer relates 

 how they worsted his Red Sheldrakes and a Bewick's Swan. A pair which Miss 

 I. D. Smith tells about in the Avicultural Magazine (ser. 3, vol. 2, p. 157, 1911) kept 



