AUSTRALIAN WHITE-EYED DUCK 217 



from the bottom (White, in Mathews, 1914-15; Savidge, in North, 1913). It keeps 

 to moderately deep lakes rather than to shallow pools. 



Flight. It seems to resemble its palsearctic relative, the Common White-eye, 

 in going about in pairs or small flocks of from six to eight individuals, though it is on 

 occasions seen in larger aggregations, numbering perhaps a hundred or more. 



Association with other Species. There seems to be great difference of opinion 

 in regard to the sociability of these ducks. Bennett (in North, 1913) says he found 

 them generally alone, and Legge (1905) remarked that even when feeding with other 

 species the White-eyes stayed in a separate group. On the other hand, Gould (1865) 

 states that in New South Wales they are seen together with the Pink-ears and 

 Shovellers, while Keartland (in North, 1898) speaks of them as often in the company 

 of other ducks, especially of the Gray Teal. R. Hall (1909) found them feeding in 

 the company of the Australian Coot. 



Voice. There are no satisfactory notes on the voice. Observations such as: 

 "A loud squawk is their signal to rise quickly" (R. Hall, 1909), are scarcely worth 

 copying. 



The trachea has been referred to by Ramsay (1878) as having a large bulla ossea, 

 but he says nothing as to the shape. 



Food. If one may judge by the scattered observations which have appeared in 

 the literature, it takes a large proportion of animal food, perhaps even a preponder- 

 ance. Of course such observations are frequently misleading, because the large and 

 obvious animal remains, the shells, insects and crustaceans, are easily identified, 

 while masses of partly digested vegetable matter which surround them are difficult 

 to analyze and may be lightly brushed aside and ignored. 



Their habit of taking advantage of the shrimp-stirring activities of the Coots has 

 already been mentioned (R. Hall, 1909). Shrimps together with mussels, form an 

 important part of the diet. They have been found bolting live mussels fully an inch 

 long (Ramsay, 1867), while water-beetles, small broken shell-fish, grass or plant 

 fibers, and in one case six two-inch carp, have been found in the stomachs (F. C. 

 Morse, 1919a; Berney, 1907; S. A. White, 1913). 



Courtship and Nesting. About the nesting season we know nothing. No 

 doubt it is as irregular as with other Australian ducks. At Mallacoota Inlet, S. A. 

 White (1915) saw a pair with fully fledged young of the year in November. 



The nest is said to be placed in isolated clumps of rushes close to the surface of the 

 water (d'Ombrain, 1921), and along the margins of lakes in New Zealand (Hutton 



