AUSTRALIAN SHELDRAKE 261 



GENERAL HABITS 



Haunts. The Mountain Duck seems to be especially fond of salt lakes. Thus they 

 are rare on Lake Muir when it is high and fresh, while when it is low and salty they 

 abound there (Carter and Mathews, 1920). In Victoria they are to be seen on the 

 brackish and salt lakes throughout the year (Austin, fide North, 1913). During the 

 breeding season they in part shift their habitat to more inland and more elevated 

 districts. Few writers have made remarks as to their status on tidal waters, but 

 Gould (1865) speaks of their frequenting heads of bays and inlets of the sea in 

 Tasmania, and we must conclude that they do so, at least during certain seasons of 

 the year. According to Austin (North, 1913) it is a most unusual thing to see them 

 on fresh water. 



Wariness. Like all Sheldrakes this species is exceedingly wild, and has been 

 described by one observer as the wildest of Australian ducks (Austin, fide North, 

 1913). Macgillivray (North, 1913) says that, unlike most ducks, they will leave a 

 swamp or lagoon at the very first shot, and will not return again. Like their relatives 

 they appear to post sentinels when feeding (White, Emu, vol. 12, p. 183, 1913). 



Daily Movements. Mellor (Mathews, 1914-15) speaks of them as being con- 

 stantly on the watch night and day, being nocturnal as much as diurnal; and one 

 wonders when they take their rest. 



Gait, Swimming, Diving, and Perching. In these points the present species, 

 so far as I know, does not differ from other Sheldrakes. 



Flight. In alighting the Mountain Duck has been described as making violent 

 rocking movements, during which the points of the wings describe arcs of ninety 

 degrees (Eylmann, 1914). To my knowledge this habit has not been remarked in 

 other species of the Sheldrake group, but it is not unlikely that it occurs in the Shel- 

 drakes for it is not uncommon in the duck family. Before rising, this species jerks 

 the head up and down, not sideways, as in the Ruddy Sheldrake (Heinroth, 1911). 



They go about in pairs during most of the year. Nevertheless enormous flocks 

 have been noticed after the breeding season in various parts of Australia. On Lake 

 Albert, Captain White approached within thirty yards of a flock which he estimated 

 to contain between three and four thousand birds (Mathews, 1914-15). The con- 

 gregations are naturally made up of family parties. Carter (Mathews, 1914-15) also 

 noted them in thousands on Lake Muir in April and December. 



Association with other Species. Association with other birds is probably 



