Sheld-Ducks, and their Allies



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not bully other birds. I have great hopes of breeding them next year.

The first and only breeding success was that of the London Zoo during

the War. Quite a number of pairs were imported last year by

Fockelmann of Hamburg, and Mr. Blaauw bought several also.


The Magellan or Upland Goose ( C . picta, according to Dr. Hell-

mayr) is the best known of the genus. I am quite convinced that

the so-called dispar is but a colour phase, in which the male has a black

barred instead of pure white breast, the females always being identical.

This fine species is very easy to breed and a great ornament to any

garden. For the last twenty-five years or so I have always kept a pair

or two, and bred them regularly. It is distributed throughout the

southern parts of South America and the Falkland Islands.


The Euddy-headed Goose (C. rubidiceps), from the Falkland

Islands, is a pretty little bird, rarer and more delicate than the previous

one, but hardy enough and not difficult to breed as a rule. Personally

I always had bad luck with them and never bred one ! I have now

several pairs, some being young imported birds. This year a pair

produced eggs but they were destroyed by Crows.


The Ashy-headed Goose (C. poliocephala), a very handsome

bird from the extreme south of the Continent, is quite easy to breed

and ought to be much more popular than it has been so far. It is

hardly larger than the Euddy-headed and both sexes, as in all species

but the Magellan, are alike. But it is always easy to tell the male in

any species of this genus by his larger size and whistling voice, while

the female has a harsh cackle. From one pair bought from Mr. Blaauw

in 1920 dozens have been bred here, from three to twelve every year,

in spite of all the birds in Europe belonging to the same family.


The Blue-winged Goose ( Cyanochen cyanopterus), which inhabits

the high plateau of Abyssinia only, is very similar in shape and ways

to the South American Geese. It has only a rather flatter bill and

a slightly graduated tail. It resembles the above Geese in every way,

but has a funny way of sinking its neck in the feathers of the mantle.

The female has a softer voice than most of the group ; the male

whistles. They are rather spiteful, but I have kept my breeding pair

for several years on the lake with hundreds of other waterfowl and

they do not seriously molest them. Another pair, in a large field,



