Status.--This tree duck is undoubtedly a resident; however, its numbers seem to be much 
4ncreased during the monthe from November through February, probably by migrants from 
southern México, It is fairly common locally near the deltas of some of the larger 
rivers and on marshy lagoons. 
Description.—-Adults alike. Conspicuously different from most ducks because of the long 
legs and neck, contrasting black sides and belly, cinnamon brown neck and back, and 
large white wing patches which are especially noticeable in flight. It 1s more terrestrial 
than most ducks and has a more erect carriage. In flight its wing action is slower than 
most ducks, and its long legs extend well beyond the tail. 
Adults.--Forehead and crown, cinnamon brown; sides of head ashy gray: chin and 
throat whitish; back of head and neck black; lower foreneck pale brown; back and upper 
breast light cinnamon brown; rump black; lower breast, belly and sides black, in conspicu- 
ous contrast to cinnamon brown of upper breast; tail and upper coverts, black: under tail 
coverts white spotted with black; primaries basally white, terminally -black, outer one 
all black; secondaries black; lesser coverts pale brown; middle coverts ashy white; 
greater coverts white; inside of wing black; iris brown, bill light red, nail light 
bluish; feet and legs pink. 
Juvenile.--First autumn and winter fairly similar to adult, but less conepicu- 
ously marked; paler brown above, grayer below: bill dusky, feet dark reddish, 
Measurements.-- 7 
Male (10) Female (9) 
Wing, 220-244 (236.3) Wing, 232-241 
Tail, 59.5-72.0 (67.9) fail, 65-71 
Tarsus, 51.1-64.0 (59.9) Tarsus, 56.4-63 
Exposed culmen, 43.9-55.0 (49.9) Exposed cuimen, 48-53 
Records.~-Delta of the Rfo Samalk, 350, January 31, 1947; delta of the Rfo Nalualate, 55, 
January 31, 1947; marshes adjacent to the Chigquimulilla Canal near Papaturro, 20, January 
29, 1947; near Océs, 25, February 11, 1947; near Champerico, 1,125, February 11, 1947. 
In literature this epecies has been recorded from: Acapam, Huamachal (Salvin 
and Godman); Ocds and Hacienda California (Griscom). 
Habits and Hunting.--Dickey and van Rossem, who wrote of this species in Bl Salvador, 
reported, "Iwo tree ducks were found on a brackish pool in the forest of Puerto del 
Triunfo on January 14, 1926, the only occasion when they were seen near the seacoast, and 
even in this inetance they were not actually on salt water... 
"It is not improbable that these ducks remain mated throughout the year, for 
singles were rarely seen, even in midwinter., Practically all of the smaller flocks were’ 
made up of pairs, and after a bird was shot its companion usually flew about the spot for 
some minutes after the rest of the flock had disappeared. 
"Tree ducks are very active at night, especially so when there is moonlight. In 
suitable localities flocks or pairs can be heard at almost any hour and their course fol- 
lowed by the continuous plaintive whistling. On August 28, 1925, at about four-thirty in 
the morning, several pairs were heard flying about in the swamp forest on the north shore 
of Lake Olomega, and by the aid of hunting lamps several of these were seen. It is 
probable that they had nests somewhere about. The largest flocks are to be seen in the 
spring before the nesting season. At one old grass-covered pond in the forest north of 
Lake Olomega hundreds were to be found at any time during the first half of April 1926. 
The surface of this pond was overgrown with a mat of grass roots, which extended to a 
depth of several inches, and here and there old snags of water-killed trees provided good 
roosting places. Some of these trees were crowded with tree ducks to the last available 
inch of space. Here they were perfectly safe from human molestation for beneath the green- 
carpeted surface of the bog were many feet of mud and water. 
"The eggs of this duck are persistently sought, since the young when hatched 
under domestic fowls are tame and are said to make little or no effort to join their wild 
relatives. However, they do not thrive and if not eaten in the meantime are said to live 
not more than a year or two. <At any rate one or more birds were often seen about native 
hute, where they ran in and out with other two-legged and four-legged domestic animals 
and were so tame that they could be picked up and handled without protest. 
"Nesting.--The egg-laying season commences about the middle of July. Females 
Killed at San Sebastian between July 15 and 27, 1912, were either laying or about to do so, 
as was one shot at Lake Olomega, August 19, 1925. <A nest found at San Sebastian from which 
25 
