EASTERN MUSE DUCK. 
three clutches of eggs. Two sets of two eggs each weighed one pound exactly, 
while a clutch of three turned the scale at one and a half pounds. These 
sets were fresh. One of the two clutches is the one I sent you.” 
Mr. Edwin Ashby has sent me the following interesting note : “ On two 
occasions we surprised a little one only recently hatched, and were much 
interested in seeing the little fellow swim at its utmost speed to the side of 
its father and then clamber up on his back and go oh pig-a-back. It was 
quite a comical sight to see the little chap perched up on the back of its 
parent and being floated off into a place of safety. On one occasion we 
dropped on to a little hatchling (that seems a better word than fledgling 
for a bird that does not fly) and decided to row him down. The pace he 
paddled was something great, but our oars were too much for him ; so 
he doubled back and dodged us round and round and in and out of a 
small bush, uttering aU the time cries of distress, between a scream and a 
M 
quack.” 
Captain S. A. White writes : “ When hunting in the swamps I saw a 
great deal of these birds, and many of their ways are very quaint. I have 
seen the male place his bill on his tail and then propel himself at a great 
speed in a circular motion keeping it up for quite a time. They build their 
nests in the thickest part of the flags, bending them down and interlacing 
them with others, forming a nice snug nest well lined with their own down. 
Yet I have found nests of the rudest construction possible in quite 
exposed positions. The number of eggs varies very much ; two eggs have 
often been found well incubated, and it is not uncommon to find six eggs 
in a clutch.” 
The following note by Captain White {E7nu, Vol. IX., p. 166, 1910) 
seems worthy of reproduction : “I am not aware if any of the readers of 
The E7nu ever noticed that when the Musk-Duck {Bizium lobata) makes the 
deep-toned note it also throws out a jet of water on either side, caused 
evidently by a rapid motion of the feet. This occurrence has often puzzled 
me, but of late a peculiar incident came under observation. A Bald-Coot 
{Porphyrio 7mlanonotus) which had been wounded, was observed to be 
making frantic efforts to escape from a Hawk. The latter bird had made 
up its mind to have that Coot at all risks, and was making drive after drive, 
in its characteristic manner, to tire out the Coot, and at each rush the Coot 
was seen to edge closer and closer to a fine old male Musk-Duck who was 
placidly floating in the deep water, caring not a straw for the Hawk. At last 
the poor terrified Coot reached the Duck’s side, and as the Hawk renewed 
its charges, attempting to hit its victim on the head with its powerful wing, 
the Coot dodged from one side of the Duck to the other, and it was now that 
149 
