ANSERINJE — THE GEESE — DENDROCYCNA. 
479 
river. Mr. Bannister also speaks of the strongly offensive odor of its flesh, stating 
that skinning it leaves a taint upon the hands which can hardly be removed by wash- 
ing. He considers the flesh so strong as to be wholly untit for food, though the 
Indians and the Eskimos eat it. 
According to the observations of Mr. Elliott, this species visits the Prybilof Islands, 
but only as a straggler, and sometimes landing in such an exhausted condition that 
the natives capture whole flocks in open chase over the grass, the birds being unable 
to use their wings for flight. He adds that he found the flesh of this bird — contrary 
to report — free from any unpleasant flavor, and in fact very good. The objection- 
able quality is only skin-deep, and may be got rid of by due care in the preparation 
of the bird for the table. 
Mr. E. Adams (“Ibis,” 1878), in his Notes on the Birds observed by him on Nor- 
ton Sound, near the mouth of the Yukon, refers to this bird as the “ White-headed 
Goose,” its name in the Eski dialect being Nud-jdr-lik. He first met with it at Port 
Clarence, and was told by an old hunter that it came in very small numbers every 
year, and was excellent eating. Coming suddenly upon a flock of eight, on the 16tlx 
of May, he could not get near them, but was able to examine them through a glass 
as they were standing in the water, just at the edge of a lake, dressing their feathers. 
They reminded him very much of the Barnacle Goose, but were larger, had more 
white, and no black on their neck, and had red bills and feet. Their local name is 
supposed to be derived from an Indian word signifying a cap. 
The eggs of this species taken by Mr. Dali, June 20, 1873, in Kusilvak Slough, 
at the mouth of the Yukon, vary in length from 3.33 inches to 3.40, and in breadth 
from 2.90 to 3.10. In shape they are of an unusually elongated form, nearly equal 
at both ends ; in color white, but with a general dirty brown aspect, caused by minute 
discolorations. 
Genus DENDROCYCNA, Swainson. 
Dendronessa, Wagl. Isis, 1832, 281 (type, Anas arcuata, Cuv. nec Swainson, 1831). 
Dendrocygna, Swains. Classif. B. II. 1837, 365 (same type). 
? Lcptotarsis, Eyton, Monog. Anat. 1838, 29 (type, L. Eytoni, Gould). 
Char. Bill longer than the head, the edges nearly parallel, deep through the base, depressed 
terminally, the nail large and much hooked ; mandible almost wholly concealed behind the over- 
hanging edge of the maxilla ; neck and legs long, the tarsus nearly equal to or longer than the 
middle toe, and reticulated in front (as in the Swans and true Geese) ; wings rather short, 
rounded, the primaries not projecting beyond the ends of the inner secondaries ; second to fourth 
quills longest, and nearly equal ; tail short, almost hidden by the coverts. Habits, arboreal. 
The Tree Ducks appear to be more nearly related structurally to the Sheldrakes ( Tadorna , Gas- 
arca, etc.) and the Goose-like genus Chenalopex, than to the true Ducks on the one hand or Geese 
proper on the other ; and with these forms perhaps constitute a distinct group. 
The genus Dendrocycna is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the 
earth, some of the species having a very anomalous range ; for instance, the D. fulva is common in 
Mexico and the southern border of the United States, and in the southern part of tropical South 
America (South Brazil, Buenos Ayres, etc.), but is apparently absent from the entire intervening 
territory ; but what is still more remarkable, the same species is said to be found in Madagascar 
and Southern India. The D. viduata of South America is also a common bird of Western Africa. 1 
The American species of Dendrocycna may be distinguished as follows : — 
1 See Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1864, p. 299. 
