Sydney Porter—Notes on New Zealand Birds



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same enclosure with a pair of these Sheldrakes gradually got so

used to the persecution by the latter pair of birds that they used to

allow them to grab them by the tail and run round until the

Sheldrakes grew tired and released their hold. On the bend of the

wing is a hard bony knob. Buller, the New Zealand naturalist,

wondered what its use was. Had he have kept any tame birds he

would have known. A very tame and intelligent drake I possess

will, upon my going into his enclosure, seize my trousers in his bill

and thrash my legs with his wings, often making very severe and

painful bruises, the female all the while keeping up a very loud

shrill cry. In fact, the whole time a human being is in sight she

keeps up this noise. The females of this species, both in a wild state

and in captivity, are extremely loquacious. The hen always keeps

the head in the air when calling, but the male holds his head near

the ground.


When green food is thrown into the enclosure, the female Shel¬

drake, though not eating any herself, will stand upon it for many

hours so that the other birds are unable to reach it. Though the

drake vents his spite upon human beings, the hen confines hers to

the other ducks, who seldom get much peace. I think that pugnacity

is very much developed in nearly all New Zealand birds. Why this

should be so I cannot understand, for they had practically no

enemies and did not trespass on each other’s feeding grounds, but

it certainly seems to have reached its zenith in this species for it has

the reputation with nearly all waterfowl keepers of being the most

savage of all waterfowl.


The New Zealand Grey Duck (Anas supereiliosa)


This duck differs from its congenitor in Australia (A. s. rogersi)

in being much darker in colour, otherwise it is very similar. It is

certainly the commonest duck in New Zealand, and even in these

days when it seems the object of every duck shooter to get his

picture in the illustrated -weeklies as soon as the shooting season

opens, with his body festooned with strings of slaughtered birds, a

bunch in each hand and a large display on the ground in front of

him, the bird seems almost as plentiful as ever. I suppose, however.



