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THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
and mangrove swamps. Food : aquatic plants and animals, crabs, molluscs, 
and other marine-life. 
Nest. — In a hollow limb or hole in a tree. 
Eggs . — Four to eleven, rich creamy-white, the surface being smooth 
and slightly glossy. Breeding-season : December to February. 
14. Chestnut-breasted Shelduck Casarca tadornoides Jardine and Selby 
Cas-arc'-a — N.L., casarca , from a Russian word for goose : tad-orn-dld’-es 
— N.L., tadorna, from an Italian word for duck, a specific name of an allied 
species ; - oides , from Gk, eidos, form = like. 
Distribution. — New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western 
Australia (as far north as the Fitzroy River), and Tasmania. 
Notes. — Also called Mountain-duck and Chestnut-coloured Shelduck. 
Usually in pairs or flocks, frequenting lakes, swamps, or open plains. It is 
generally shy and wary and keeps far out on the shallow lakes or swamps ; 
when disturbed, it rises quickly, uttering a harsh cry resembling “Chank, 
chank, ,, and leaves the locality. Food : chiefly grass and other herbage, 
also aquatic plants and animals. 
Nest. — Composed of dried grasses and lined with down, usually placed 
in a hollow limb, or hole in a tree, sometimes in or near water, often far 
from it; at times it is placed on the ground or in a rabbit burrow. 
Eggs. — Eight to fourteen, creamy-white, with a glossy surface. 
Breeding-season : July to December. 
15. Black Duck Anas superciliosa Gmelin 
An -as — L., anas , anatis, duck; su-per-cil-i-ds-a — L., super ciliosus, 
browed. 
Distribution. — Australia generally, and Tasmania; also occurs in the 
Celebes, Java to the Pelew Islands, New Guinea to Tahiti, New Caledonia, 
and New Zealand. 
Notes. — Also called Grey Duck, Australian Wild Duck, Brown Duck, 
and Parera. Usually in pairs or flocks, frequenting streams, lakes, or 
swamps both inland and coastal. It is the best known of our Ducks and is 
fast becoming domesticated. Food: grass, herbage, and aquatic plants 
and animals. 
Nest . — An open structure, composed of dried grass, and lined with 
feathers and down; placed in a variety of situations — on the ground among 
rushes or grass growing near water, in herbage growing in a field far 
from water, on a deserted platform-shaped nest of another species, or in 
a hollow stump or limb of a tree. 
Eggs. — Eight to thirteen, pale cream or creamy-white, occasionally 
tinged with green, which soon becomes nest-stained, the surface being 
smooth and slightly glossy. Breeding-season: in normal times, July to 
December. 
