AUSTRALIAN SHELDRAKE 263 



times as much as six feet below the entrance (Carter, fide Mathews, 1914-15). The 

 nest is lined with down, and may be composed of grass and debris, with a few sticks 

 (Ramsay, fide North, 1913). A rather different nesting site is described by Mellor 

 (Mathews, 1914-15). In the Lake Albert region, he says, they place the nest on the 

 rising sandy soil, beneath the long overhanging spinelike leaves of the grass-tree 

 (Xanthorrhoea) which reach right to the ground and so make a closed-in hollow. 



The normal clutch numbers eight to fourteen eggs of a pale cream color, measur- 

 ing 68 to 70 by 49 to 50 mm. Much larger clutches have been reported (seventeen, 

 nineteen, twenty -two), but these were undoubtedly the work of two females. The 

 incubation period is probably about thirty days, as in other Sheldrakes. When 

 hatched the young in most cases drop from the nest into the water, as described by 

 Keartland (North, 1913), but observers have even described the male(!) as carry- 

 ing them down in his bill, a procedure which certainly requires verification. 



Status. Still seen in large flocks, and no reduction in numbers is noted in the 

 literature. The intelligence of the bird, coupled with the fact that it is generally 

 regarded as inedible, should serve to perpetuate it, unless the introduction of some 

 noxious mammal or bird interfere with its existence. 



Enemies and Damage. No information. 



Food Value. Captain White (Mathews, 1914-15) regards the flesh as edible, 

 and says he was glad to get it at times during his travels. Other observers invariably 

 describe the flesh as coarse and unpalatable. 



Hunt. Though seldom hunted for its flesh, the bird was, at least in earlier times, 

 exposed for sale in the Sydney market (Ramsay, 1876a). 



Behavior in Captivity. The Mountain Duck has been bred in the Melbourne 

 Gardens, so Mr. Le Souef writes me, but in Europe all attempts to breed it have 

 thus far failed. Even Mr. Blaauw has not succeeded and he writes me that they 

 want to breed during the winter when the cold prevents. The first were received in 

 London in 1862 (Sclater, 1880). In 1902 a trapper arrived from Australia with 

 about one hundred pairs. The first specimens sold for as high as £40 a pair, but 

 the price gradually declined to forty shillings. The birds are not usually obtain- 

 able, and ordinarily bring from £6 to £8 a couple (Hubbard, 1907). I believe that 

 they have never been exhibited in American Gardens. 



Like other Sheldrakes this species does well in captivity. The average longevity of 

 fifteen specimens in the London Gardens was fifty-two months, the maximum being 

 one hundred and eighty -six months (Mitchell, 1911). As to their behavior there are 



