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J. Delacour—Notes on Waterfowl



I have kept the Tree Ducks (Dendrocygna) for the last. They

are such peculiar birds that they show no particular relationship

to any other ducks. I am pleased to say that the nine existing species

are now all represented in my collection. Of the four commoner

sorts : White-faced (D. viduata), Grey-breasted (D. discolor), Whistling

(D. javanica), and Wandering (D. arcuata), only the first-named has

often nested here, but not for the last two or three years. But Fulvous

(D.fulva) and Black-billed ( D . arborea) breed very freely and regularly,

as also a pair of the rare and pretty Bed-billed (D . autumnalis) which

differ from the commoner Grey-breasted in having the entire breast

and under parts mahogany red. The two rarest and prettiest have

not so far nested in captivity : the Plumed, or Eyton’s, Tree Duck

( D . eytoni), a curious and beautiful Australian species, and the Spotted

(D. guttata), a handsome small bird from New Guinea, three pairs

of which were brought to me last year by Mr. Frost. The latter

have wintered out of doors and proved hardy enough, as long as the

water is free from ice ; I keep them full-winged in an aviary built

over a running stream ; alone of their genus they make a loud

noise on the wing, as the air passes through their quills. They roost

high up at night.


I have tried to keep full-winged most species of Tree-ducks, and

found them very good stayers. I only lost a few which went during

a very cold dry winter, when most of the water was frozen over. They

disliked it, and wandered away.


The list of the species of Waterfowl whose acclimatization is desirable

is not as long now as it used to be. All the same, the following still

have to be imported or established : Hawaiian Goose (A. sandvicensis),


* Greater Snow Goose 1 (A. nivalis), *Black Brent ( Branta nigricans),


* Antarctic Goose (Chi. hybrida), *Hartlaub’s Duck (Pter. hartlaubi ),

Freckled Duck (Stictonetta nzevosa), New Zealand and ^Auckland

Island Teal ( Nesonetta chlorotis and N. auklandica), Hawaiian and

Laysan Mallards (A. wyvilliana and A. laysanensis), Oustalet’s and

*Pbilippine Mallards (A. oustaleti and A. luzonica), Mexican Mallard

(A. diazi), *Bronze-winged and *Crested Ducks ( Lophonetta specularis

and L. specularioides), * African Black Duck (A. sparsa), * Andaman


1 Species marked * have been imported, but never established.



