STEAMER DUCK 295 



Food. The food appears to consist very largely of mollusks, though crustaceans 

 and fish are also taken. Beck (MS.) found mussels from 5 to 55 mm. in length, as 

 well as crabs and school-fish one and a half inches long in the stomachs of adults and 

 small shells and gravel in the stomachs of downy young. In the Falklands he found 

 small bugs and limpets three-fourths of an inch in diameter in the stomachs of speci- 

 mens taken in October. Oustalet (1891) also speaks of remnants of fish being found, 

 though Cunningham (1871) and Nicoll (1908) both state that they live chiefly on 

 mussels {Mytilus magellanicus and patagonicus) which they find about the kelp beds. 

 Evidently in feeding in the kelp beds they do not have to dive far to secure their 

 food, as much of it lives on the vegetation. William Percy writes that the stomachs of 

 twelve birds which he shot in the Chiloe Island region in December and January 

 were all crammed to the gullet with small crustaceans, nothing bigger than a large 

 shrimp and mostly "a small thing resembling a wood-louse which covers the leaves 

 of the kelp." He found no crabs or large mollusks. 



Courtship and Nesting. Nothing specific has been recorded concerning the 

 display, but several observers have remarked on the pugnacious habits of these 

 birds and their pursuit of one another in the breeding season. 



The nesting season is variable and extends from the end of September (Abbott, 

 1861) to January and possibly to February (Oustalet, 1891; Crawshay, 1907). 

 On the whole I should say that the bulk of the eggs must be laid in late October or 

 early November, about the middle and late spring in those far-southern latitudes. 

 Lord William Percy found that around Chiloe Island almost all the breeding birds 

 had young by December 20. 



The nest itself is invariably placed on the ground within a few yards of the water 

 and under a bush or in the scrub. It is a very loose structure consisting of grass or 

 twigs and lined with a good deal of down. 



The average clutch numbers five or six eggs, though Abbott (1861) says he has 

 found eight and even nine. These eggs are of a light cream color and average 83.2 

 by 56.6 mm. in size (Schalow, 1898; Vallentin, 1904). Wace (1921) claims that Ben- 

 nett and Bridges agree with him that the eggs of the volant form are more pointed 

 than those of the other. The nest-down is gray. 



Nothing is known of the length of the incubation period, but during that time the 

 male stays in the immediate vicinity of the nest. Indeed, in the Falklands the nest 

 can be easily detected by searching the shore opposite which the male swims (Ab- 

 bott, 1861). After the young are hatched both parents tend them until they are well 

 grown (Cunningham, 1871; Beck, MS.). Abbott (1861) says that when the brood is 

 surprised the female makes off with the young while the male remains behind and 

 puts up a valiant fight. The broods mostly contain four to eight young and five 

 seems about the average. Once the young are old enough to take care of themselves 



