126 BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT OF GEELONG 
one to pick them up without exhibiting any signs of 
life. The breeding-season ends in August in this part 
of the State. 
BLACK DUCK 
Anas superciliosa rogersi 
Representative in Australia of the Common Wild 
Duck of Europe, the Black Duck is a fine sporting bird, 
and quite as satisfactory to eat as he is to shoot. At 
one time these birds were exceedingly numerous in 
the Geelong district ; lately they have decreased, but 
they still come in good-sized flocks to the Lakes, and 
even breed in the district, choosing a variety of sites. 
At the You Yangs I saw a hole in a redgum tree 
growing in a waterhole which, for several years in 
succession, sheltered broods of Black Duck ; at Airey's 
Inlet, as late as Christmas time, I found a brood 
which had been hatched in undergrowth about a 
swamp. A nest at Connewarre was built in a 
crevice on the sloping side of a straw-stack. Ten is 
an average clutch of eggs. 
The call is a succession of quacks, and by this a 
mob of Black Duck can be distinguished in the dark- 
ness from Teal, which do not make any vocal sound 
when in the air. The distinct black and buff stripes 
on the side of the face form the best distinguishing 
marks of the Black Duck. 
