BROWN DUCK 87 



means of a dog. "But after sunset they begin to collect on the surface of the lake, 

 emerging in pairs from their concealment, swimming down to the mouth of the bush 

 creek, and then taking wing to their place of rendezvous. They then form into 

 flocks, sometimes of considerable size, and are on the alert, feeding about the lake 

 generally all night long." 



Gait, Swimming, Diving, Flight. According to Buller (1888) these ducks are 

 good swimmers and agile divers, but very indifferent fliers. He tells of approaching 

 a flock of some sixty of them, which, instead of flying when followed, "swam to- 

 wards the shore, and then forming into a line they hurried forward in a very impetu- 

 ous manner, keeping close under the banks of the lake, and uttering a low confused 

 twitter." During the evening and night they evidently congregate in considerable 

 flocks to feed. Buller (1905) speaks of having seen a flock of 200 or more on Papai- 

 tonga Lake. 



Voice. Buller (1888) speaks of a note uttered by the birds when feeding. He 

 describes it in one place as "a peculiar and rather musical sniffing noise" and in 

 another as "a soft and rather musical note." But he does not distinguish the notes 

 of the sexes. 



Courtship and Nesting. Neither Buller (1888) nor Potts (1870) says anything 

 about the nesting season, which probably varies considerably. An egg in the British 

 Museum was taken on the Rangitata River in January (E. W. Oates, 1902) and 

 Buller (1905) mentions a brood almost full grown late in October near Rangitikei. 

 The nest, according to him, is in places contiguous to the ordinary haunts, and 

 always in a dry and secluded spot. It is made of dry grass and is lined with down. 

 Potts (1870) says it is sometimes close to the edge of a swampy creek, or beneath the 

 sheltering leaves of a large "Maori-head" (Carex virgata). The clutch varies in 

 number from five to eight and the eggs are very oval and large for the size of the 

 bird, measuring 58.4 by 43.2 mm. They are of a dark cream-color, with a slightly 

 greasy surface (Buller, 1888). Nothing is known of the length of the incubation 

 period nor of the relations between the sexes at that time. 



Status. This species has evidently suffered great diminution in numbers since 

 the advent of the white man. As early as 1870 Potts (1870) spoke of it as "very 

 much scarcer of late years than we can remember it. A few years ago we used to 

 hear tales of almost incredible bags of this excellent game bird; a few more years of 

 inconsiderate slaughter will make the teal a rarity." By 1905 it had become very 

 rare in the south (Hutton and Drummond, 1905) and Buller (1905) quotes a cor- 

 respondent at Rangitikei as saying that in that region the species had practically 



