PLATE L. 



GENUS MALACHORHYNCHUS (Swcdnson). 



POWERFULNESS and velocity of flight, delicacy of plumage, and absence of timidity of man 

 distinguish this beautiful little Duck from the rest of the Anatidw. One species only is known, 

 and is peculiar to Australia, 



MALACHORHYNCHUS MEMBEANACEUS. 



PINK-EYED DUCK. Gems: Malachorhynchus. 



Tl^HE advent of the rainy season in New South Wales, Victoria, and other parts of the southern 

 J- portion of the Australian continent, when the long-dried gullies and depressions are rapidly filled 

 with water, is the signal for the presence of this small but elegant and graceful species of Duck, small 

 flocks sometimes making their appearance wherever a sheet of water has temporarily settled, and devouring 

 the swarms of the lower forms of animal life which breed in such places. 



Although so constant a visitor to the thickly settled parts of this country, almost nothing is 

 known of the economy and mode of life generally of this species ; this, doubtless, arises from the 

 fact of the breeding places having not yet been discovered and the birds subjected to observation 

 during the period of incubation. That they breed in the far interior of the country seems fairly 

 evident, as the flocks visiting New South Wales come from the westward, and return in that 

 direction as the dry season advances ; yet it is somewhat strange that, so far. no one of the many 

 explorers and travellers to the interior have mentioned having come across any of the nests. 



The southern half of the continent, with its temperate climate, appears to be the extent of 

 the range of this species, although it occasionally visits Tasmania at irregular intervals. Although 

 not a common bird, small flocks of from ten to twenty are not infrequent in New South Wales, 

 especially in those localities possessing shallow fresh-water lagoons, while in the northern and warmer 

 latitudes of Australia the species is seldom or never met with. 



As powerful on the wing as they are expert in the water, a flock of these birds will be 

 seen flying with amazing impetuosity towards a sheet of water, and with a graceful circling evolution 

 performed high over the water, the flight alights and is immediately engaged in diving eagerly beneath 

 the surface ; if the pond or lagoon is but of limited dimensions, the supply of food is soon exhausted 

 by the birds, which dive incessantly to the bottom should the water be shallow, and then rising 

 again, with meteor-like swiftness they descend upon a fresh feeding ground no great distance away. 



The larger size of the male bird is the only means of distinguishing the sexes, which are 

 exactly alike in plumage. 



Crown of the head, grey, with a shade of yellow ; chin and sides of the head, white, with 

 crescent-shaped markings of black ; round the eye runs a ring of black ; behind the eye runs a 

 pointed streak of pink, bordered with black ; back and wings, brown, with black specks ; upper tail- 

 coverts, light brown ; tail, dark brown, tipped with white ; back of the neck, sides, and under surface, 

 light brown, crossed with numerous bold crescent-shaped markings of dark brown, which become broader 



