218 NYROCA AUSTRALIS 



and Drummond, 1905). According to Campbell (in Mathews, 1914-15) and Mac- 

 gillivray (1914) they sometimes nest in hollow trees, but I feel that more convincing 

 observations are necessary before these statements can be accepted. None of the 

 White-eyes, so far as I know, has been found to nest in any such situation. F. C. 

 Morse (1922) writing of the Moree district of New South Wales says that they 

 build in a tussock of reeds or grass in the water and often make use of a Coot's or 

 Moor-hen's nest. 



Very few nests have been described, but clutches of 14, 16, and even 26 eggs have 

 been recorded (A. C. Stone, 1912; Mellor, in Mathews, 1914-15), probably the work 

 of two females. The clutch of 26 was found by Mr. L. Reese of Minnie Downs, 

 South Australia, in 1920. This was a flood year, during which the ducks bred in un- 

 usual numbers and the clutches of all of them were much larger than is usually the 

 case. Nine eggs must be close to the average. The eggs are dull creamy white, and 

 measure 2.15 to 2.35 inches (55 to 60 mm.) in length and 1.64 to 1.67 inches (41.5 to 

 42 mm.) in breadth (Campbell, in Mathews, 1914-15; North, 1913). They are 

 smaller than those of the Australian Black Duck and larger than those of the Teal. 

 The nest-down is described by Campbell as brownish gray or grayish brown, with 

 light tips and whitish center. The incubation period is unknown. Neither is it 

 known whether or not the male stays with the female after the young are hatched. 



Status. Undoubtedly one of the commonest of the Australian ducks, outranked 

 by only a few species, like the Black Duck and the Gray Teal, this bird has its usual 

 center of abundance in western Australia and New South Wales. In other parts of 

 Australia it is irregular in its appearance, turning up, sometimes in great numbers, 

 during flood years, when very likely its regular quarters are suffering drought. A. C. 

 Stone (1912) speaks of it as very common on Lake Boga, Victoria; and at the junc- 

 tion of the Murray and Darling Rivers W. B. Alexander (1918) found very large 

 flocks. Keartland (in North, 1898) describes it as very common on the Fitzroy 

 River, northwestern Australia, and at the Northwest Cape, Carter (1904) considered 

 it the commonest duck next to the Gray Teal. It is hardly likely that it is as nu- 

 merous now as it was twenty years ago for great changes have taken place in 

 Australia, not only an increase of human population, but a rapid spread of intro- 

 duced mammal and plant pests. 



In Tasmania it is moderately plentiful, and on the Derwent River it is one of the com- 

 monest ducks. More are shot for the Hobart Market than Black Ducks (Legge, 1 905) . 



Even in Buller's (1888) time this was an uncommon bird in New Zealand. From 

 what I can gather concerning other New Zealand birds I presume that it is even 

 rarer now than it used to be. Hutton and Drummond (1905) say that they used to be 

 very abundant at Lake Rotomahana, but that most of them seem to have been de- 

 stroyed by the eruption of Tarawera in 1886. 



