Hab. Chili and Argentina.

This bird is a northern form of the well-known “Upland Goose” of the Falkland Islands and Southern Patagonia, from which it differs in the male being completely barred across with black on the lower surface. It was first described by Philippi and Landbeck from Chilian specimens, and in 1872 recognized by Dr. Burmeister as found near the Sierra Tandil and on the Rio Negro.

In April and May this Goose migrates northwards, along the eastern coast, as far as the pampas of Buenos Ayres, the migration ending about one hundred and fifty miles south of Buenos Ayres city. Further south they are at this season of the year excessively abundant in suitable localities. Their great camping-grounds are the valleys of the rivers Negro and Colorado, where they are often so numerous as to denude the low grounds of the tender winter clovers and grasses, and to cause serious loss to the sheep-breeders. They also visit the cultivated fields to devour the young wheat, and are intelligent enough to distinguish between a real human enemy and the ragged men of straw, miscalled scarecrows, set up by the farmers to frighten them. While committing their depredations they are exceedingly wary and difficult to shoot, but at night, when they congregate by the water-side, they give the sportsman a better chance. I have succeeded in killing as many as five at a shot by stalking them under cover of the darkness; and a more deliciously flavoured game-bird than this Goose I have never tasted.

They are social birds, always going in large flocks, and are very loquacious, the female having a deep honking note, while the male responds with a clear whistling, like the Sanderling’s note etherialized.

337. BERNICLA POLIOCEPHALA, Gray.

(ASHY-HEADED GOOSE.)

Hab. Patagonia, Southern Chili, and Southern Argentina.

This Patagonian Goose migrates northwards in winter, and appears on the Rio Negro and in the Buenos-Ayrean pampas in May, usually in small flocks, but sometimes as many as one or two hundred are seen together. The extreme limit of their winter migration appears to be about sixty miles south of Buenos Ayres city, on the plains near the river Sanborombon; probably they have before now been driven from this locality by the Duck-shooters, but it was formerly their favourite rendezvous, where they collected in large numbers, though further north scarcely one was ever seen.

Durnford tells us that this Goose is resident on Lake Colguape in the territory of Chupat, and breeds there abundantly.

338. CYGNUS NIGRICOLLIS, Gm.

(BLACK-NECKED SWAN.)

[Plate XVIII.]

Hab. Argentina, Chili, and Patagonia.

To my perhaps partial mind this species is preeminent for beauty among the Swans, although it is considerably smaller than the bird of the Old World, and does not, it must be admitted, comport itself so majestically. In questions of this kind it is natural for every one to be somewhat biassed in favour of the things of his own country; but it will be readily admitted by all, I think, that the black-necked bird is one of three species greatly surpassing all others of this genus in beauty—the other two being, of course, the domesticated Swan of Europe and the Australian Black Swan (perhaps the most graceful bird on the globe).

This Swan is very abundant on the pampas of Buenos Ayres and in Patagonia, and ranges south to the Magellan Straits and the Falklands. As a rule they are seen in small flocks, but sometimes as many as two or three hundred congregate together. They are heavy birds and rise with difficulty, and fly rapidly and with great violence, like all heavy-bodied short-winged species; but in no other very large bird with which I am acquainted do the wings produce so loud a rushing sound. In quiet places the beating of their wings can be heard distinctly when the birds are no longer in sight, although, owing to their large size, the eye can follow them very far. Gauchos sometimes capture them by suddenly charging down the wind upon them, uttering loud shouts which greatly terrify the birds, and when they attempt to rise with the wind they only flap along the ground and are easily knocked over. A Gaucho of my acquaintance one day caught three out of a flock of six in this way; but a very strong wind favoured him, and the birds were at some distance from the water, and allowed him to come near before making the sudden charge. As a rule, they are seen on the water, and when on land they keep very close to the margin.

According to Mr. Gibson, who has observed their breeding-habits, they begin to nest in July—just after the winter solstice. The nest is always placed among thick rushes growing in deep water, and the Swan invariably swims to and from her nest. It is built up from the bottom of the swamp, sometimes through four or five feet of water, and rises a foot and a half above the surface. The top of the nest measures about two feet across, with a slight hollow for the eggs, which are cream-coloured and have a smooth glossy shell. The number varies from three to five, and on one occasion six were found. Mr. Gibson has seen the parent bird swimming from the nest with the young on her back.

Our figure of this species (Plate XVIII.) is taken from the specimen now living in the Zoological Society’s Gardens.

339. COSCOROBA CANDIDA (Vieill.).

(COSCOROBA SWAN.)

Hab. Patagonia, Chili, Argentina, and Paraguay.

This Swan is considerably smaller than the black-necked species, and also inferior in beauty on account of its shorter neck. It is, nevertheless, a very handsome bird, being entirely of a pure white colour except the tips of the primaries, which are black. The beak and legs are bright rosy red. In its habits, language, and flight it also differs much from Cygnus nigricollis, and the country people call it Ganso (Goose), probably on account of its goose-like habit of sometimes feeding away from the water, or because its flesh has the flavour of Wild Goose. As a rule they go in small parties of five or six individuals, but sometimes flocks numbering two or three hundred are seen in the cold season. Their migrations are very irregular, and sometimes they are excessively abundant in a district one year and absent from it the next. When disturbed they utter a loud musical trumpeting cry, in three notes, the last with a falling inflection; and their wings being much longer proportionately than in the black-necked species, they rise with greater ease and have a much freer and an almost soundless flight.

Concerning their breeding-habits, Mr. Gibson observes that the nest is usually placed on the ground at some distance from the water. It is about a foot and a half high, made of mud and rushes; the hollow, which is rather deep, is lined with dry grass.

The eggs are eight or nine in number; smooth, white, and rounder than those of Cygnus nigricollis.

340. DENDROCYGNA FULVA (Gm.).

(FULVOUS TREE-DUCK.)

Hab. Mexico and South America.

This Duck, the well-known Pato silvon (Whistling Duck) of the eastern Argentine country, is found abundantly along the Plata and the great streams flowing into it, and northwards to Paraguay. Along this great waterway it is to some extent a migratory species, appearing in spring in Buenos Ayres in very large numbers, to breed in the littoral marshes and also on the pampas. They migrate principally by night, and do not fly in long trains and phalanxes like other Ducks, but in a cloud; and when they migrate in spring and autumn the shrill confused clangour of their many voices is heard from the darkness overhead by dwellers in the Argentine capital; for the Ducks, following the eastern shore of the sea-like river, pass over that city on their journey. Northwards this Duck extends to Central Brazil; from the northern half of the southern continent and from Central America it is absent, but it reappears in Mexico. Commenting on these facts Messrs. Sclater and Salvin write:—“Singular as this distribution is, it is still more remarkable when we consider that there appear to exist no tangible grounds for separating the American bird from that called D. major by Jerdon, which ranges throughout the peninsula of India and is also found in Madagascar!”

The Whistling Duck, in its chestnut and fulvous plumage, is a handsome bird and somewhat singular in appearance, especially when seen in a large body on the ground. When out of the water they crowd close together, and when disturbed stand up craning their necks, looking strangely tall on their long blue legs. While thus watching an intruder they are silent, and the sudden ringing chorus of whistling voices into which they burst at the moment of rising has a curious effect.

So extremely social are these Ducks that even when breeding they keep together in large flocks. The nest is made of stems and leaves, on the water among the reeds and aquatic plants; and sometimes large numbers of nests are found close together, as in a gullery. The eggs are pure white, and each bird lays, I believe, ten or twelve, but I am not sure about the exact number; and I have so frequently found from twenty to thirty eggs in a nest that I am pretty sure that it is a common thing for two or three females to occupy one nest.

341. DENDROCYGNA VIDUATA (Linn.).

(WHITE-FACED TREE-DUCK.)

Hab. South America.

This Tree-Duck resembles that last described in size, form, and maroon-red plumage, but is of a darker tint, and may also be easily distinguished, even at a long distance, by its white face contrasted with the velvety black of the head and neck. Compared with Dendrocygna fulva it is a rare species, being usually found in pairs in the Plata district, although sometimes as many as half a dozen are seen together. When taking wing it also whistles, but differently from the allied species, having three long clear whistling notes, not unlike the three-syllabled cry of the Sandpiper, only the notes are more prolonged. Of its breeding-habits I know nothing.

342. SARCIDIORNIS CARUNCULATA (Licht.).

(CRESTED DUCK.)

Hab. Brazil, Paraguay, and northern confines of Argentina.

Dr. Burmeister met with this Duck in the province of Tucuman, and it probably occurs also in other places on the northern frontiers of the Republic.

343. CAIRINA MOSCHATA (Linn.).

(MUSCOVY DUCK.)

Hab. Central and South America.

Everyone is familiar with this species in its domestic state, called in the Argentine country Pato creollo (Creole Duck); but the wild bird, called Pato real, is little known, although a few stragglers are seen as far south as Buenos Ayres, where I have met with eight or nine examples. Concerning the distribution and habits of this species Messrs. Sclater and Salvin write:—“The Muscovy Duck, so well known in a domestic state nearly all over the world, is a native of the hottest portion of tropical America. It is usually found in lowland swampy districts; and where there are extensive forests it not unfrequently abounds. During the day the birds remain in the forest-swamps; but towards evening numbers may be seen sitting on the lower boughs of trees standing on the margin of a clearing.

“Its extreme northern limit seems to be N. W. Mexico. Its southern range extends to the upper Paraná and Tucuman. It is not uncommon in Paraguay, according to Azara, although not found on the La Plata. It is to be seen usually in pairs or singly, but also in flocks of twenty or thirty. It always roosts in trees, usually resorting to the same trees night after night. The nest, in which from ten to fourteen eggs are deposited, is made in a hole or fork of a large tree at some elevation from the ground. It seeks its food not only in the rivers, but on moonlight nights resorts to the maize and corn-fields, and also plucks up the roots of mandioca.

“The native habitat of the Muscovy Duck was known to some of the earliest writers. The date of its introduction as a domesticated species into Europe and elsewhere does not appear to have been recorded, but doubtless dates back to soon after the Spanish conquests in America.”

344. HETERONETTA MELANOCEPHALA (Vieill.).

(BLACK-HEADED DUCK.)

Hab. Southern Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Chili.

This small, obscurely coloured Duck extends from Southern Brazil over the pampas of Buenos Ayres into Chili. Near Buenos Ayres it is scarce. Durnford shot a pair in September 1876, in the reed-beds of Alvear, about twenty miles to the north-west of the city.

345. QUERQUEDULA CYANOPTERA (Vieill.).

(BLUE-WINGED TEAL.)

Hab. North and South America.

This Teal has an exceedingly wide distribution in America, being found from California in the northern continent down to the Straits of Magellan and the Falkland Islands in the south. Its fine, strongly contrasted colours give it a very handsome appearance—the wings being clear grey-blue, the body deep maroon-red, the feet vivid yellow, beak black, and iris gold-colour. On the pampas it is common, and almost invariably seen in pairs at all seasons. Many of the Teals are quarrelsome in disposition; but this species, I think, exceeds them all in pugnacity, and when two pairs come together the males almost invariably begin fighting.

346. QUERQUEDULA FLAVIROSTRIS (Vieill.).

(YELLOW-BILLED TEAL.)

Hab. Argentina, Chili, and Patagonia.

In the southern part of the Argentine Republic this is one of the commonest species, and is almost invariably found in every marsh, stream, and pool of water on the pampas. It is resident, and usually goes in flocks of from a dozen to thirty individuals. It has a rapid flight, and is restless, lively, and extremely pugnacious in its habits. When a flock is on the water the birds are perpetually quarrelling. They are also highly inquisitive, and I have often shot them by first showing myself to the flock, and then standing or sitting still, when they would soon come wheeling about, flying in very close order. They quack and chatter in a variety of tones, and the male has also a clear whistling note in the love-season.

The nest of this Duck is always made at a distance from the water, sometimes as far as one or two miles. It consists of a slight hollow in the ground under a thistle-bush or tussock of long grass, and is lined with dry grass and a great deal of down, which is increased in quantity during incubation. The eggs are reddish cream-colour, and five is the usual number laid; but I have also found nests with six and seven.

347. QUERQUEDULA VERSICOLOR (Vieill.).

(GREY TEAL.)

Hab. Paraguay, Argentina, Patagonia, and Chili.

This prettily variegated blue-grey Teal with its strongly marked bill is perhaps the most abundant of the genus in the Argentine Republic, especially in the southern portion. It is resident, and unites in much larger flocks than any other bird of this group in the country. Its note when disturbed or flying is very peculiar, resembling in sound the muffled stridulating of the mole-cricket. Durnford found it common and breeding at Baradero.

348. QUERQUEDULA TORQUATA (Vieill.).

(RING-NECKED TEAL.)

Hab. Paraguay and Argentina.

This beautiful Duck, for our first knowledge of which we are indebted to Azara, is rather scarce in collections. Azara described the two somewhat dissimilar sexes under different names, the male being his Pato collar negro, and the female his Pato ceja blanca.

In the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres the Ring-necked Teal is strictly migratory, and in the month of October appears in small flocks in the marshes along the river; but in the interior of the country it is seldom met with. They are extremely active birds, constantly flying about from place to place both by day and night; and in the love-season, when they alight in a pool of water, the males immediately engage in a spirited combat. While flying they utter a peculiar jarring sound, and occasionally a quacking note, rapidly repeated and sounding like a strange laugh; but on the water, especially in the evening, the male emits a long inflected note, plaintive and exquisitely pure in sound—a more melodious note it would be difficult to find even among the songsters.

349. QUERQUEDULA BRASILIENSIS (Gm.).

(BRAZILIAN TEAL.)

Hab. South America.

This richly coloured Teal, which is widely extended in South America from Guiana down to the Straits of Magellan, is usually met with in pairs near Buenos Ayres, although as many as five or six are sometimes seen together. In habits it is a tree duck, preferring water-courses in the neighbourhood of woods, and is frequently seen perched on horizontal branches. The flight is slow and with the wings very much depressed, as in a duck about to alight on the water; and the beautiful blue, green, and white speculum is thus rendered very conspicuous. The note of the male in the love-season is a long plaintive whistle, singularly pure and sweet in sound, and heard usually in the evening.

It is a rather curious coincidence that the vernacular name of this Teal in La Plata should be Pato Portugues, which means, as things are understood in that region, Brazilian Duck.

350. DAFILA SPINICAUDA (Vieill.).

(BROWN PINTAIL.)

Hab. Southern Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, Argentina, Chili, and Patagonia.

The Brown Pintail is the commonest Duck in the Argentine Republic, and unites in the largest flocks. It is also, according to Philippi and Landbeck, the commonest species in Chili. It ranges from South Brazil and Peru to the Magellan Straits and the Falklands; but is probably most abundant in the Plata district and in North Patagonia. In the autumn it sometimes visits the pampas in immense numbers, to feed on the seed of the giant thistle (Carduus mariana); and on these occasions I have known as many as sixty killed at one shot. The birds, however, soon become wary when feeding on the open plains in large flocks, and it then becomes impossible to approach them without a trained horse. The Ducks pay no attention to horses and cattle browsing near them; and the trained animal, with the gunner concealing his gun and person behind it, feeds quietly along, and gradually approaches the flock until within range. In the valley of the Rio Negro, in Patagonia, the Pintails sometimes cause serious damage to the farmers, coming up in clouds from the river by night to devour the ripe grain.

In favourable seasons the Pintail is a resident; but like the marsh-gulls, pigeons, the American golden plover, and all birds that live and move in immense bodies, it travels often and far in search of food or water. A season of scarcity will quickly cause them to disappear from the pampas; and sometimes, after an absence of several months, a day’s rain will end with the familiar sound of their cry and the sight of their long trains winging their way across the darkening heavens.

Their nest is made on the ground, under the grass or thistles, at a distance from the water, and is plentifully lined with down plucked from the bosom of the sitting bird. The eggs are seven or eight in number and of a deep cream-colour.

351. DAFILA BAHAMENSIS (Linn.).

(BAHAMA PINTAIL.)

Hab. South America.

The Bahama Duck, as it is commonly called, though it is very doubtful whether it really occurs in the Bahama Islands, is found throughout South America from British Guiana to Patagonia; and Burmeister says that it is spread over the whole of Brazil, and that it is nearly the commonest species of Duck in that country.

On the pampas of Buenos Ayres this Duck is not a common bird. It is usually seen in pairs, or, on rare occasions, three or four together.

352. MARECA SIBILATRIX (Poepp.).

(CHILOE WIGEON.)

Hab. Paraguay, Argentina, Chili, and Patagonia.

The Chiloe Wigeon, as this Duck has been usually called since its introduction and acclimatization in England, is the only species of the genus found in South America, and is most abundant on the pampas, where it is called by the country people Pato picaso or Pato overo (piebald duck), or Chiriví from its cry. It is a very handsome bird; the upper plumage variegated with black, white, and grey; forehead, speculum, and under surface white; head and neck dark glossy green. It is resident, and is usually seen in small flocks of from a dozen to twenty birds, but sometimes as many as one or two hundred congregate together. They are wary and loquacious, strong on the wing, and frequently engage in a peculiar kind of aerial pastime. A small flock will rise to a vast height, often until they seem mere specks on the sky, or disappear from sight altogether; and at that great altitude they continue hovering or flying, sometimes keeping very nearly in the same place for an hour or more, alternately separating and closing, and every time they close they slap each other on the wing so smartly that the sound may be heard distinctly even when the birds are no longer visible. While flying or swimming about they constantly utter their far-sounding cry—three or four long, clear, whistling notes, followed by another uttered with great emphasis and concluding with a kind of flourish.

The nest is made amongst the rushes in the marshes, and the eggs are pure white and eight or nine in number.

353. SPATULA PLATALEA (Vieill.).

(RED SHOVELLER.)

Hab. Argentina, Patagonia, and Chili.

There is but one Shoveller Duck in South America, the present species, which is confined to the southern part of the continent, from Paraguay to Patagonia, and is familiar to sportsmen in the Plata as the Red Duck, or Espatula. It is seldom met with in flocks of more than twenty or thirty individuals, and a large number of birds appear to pair for life, as they are usually seen in pairs at all seasons of the year. In the autumn and winter months I have sometimes observed small flocks composed of males only, but these were perhaps young birds not yet paired. They feed in shallow water, where by plunging the head down they can reach the mud at the bottom; and when several are seen thus engaged, all with their heads and necks immersed, they look curiously like headless ducks floating on the water. When disturbed or flying the male emits a low sputtering sound, and this is its only language. They are resident and the least wary of ducks; never engage, like other species, in real or mock combats; and their flight is rapid and violent, the wings beating quickly.

354. METOPIANA PEPOSACA (Vieill.).

(ROSY-BILLED DUCK.)

Hab. Paraguay, Argentina, Chili, and Patagonia.

The Rosy-billed Duck, usually called “Black Duck” in the Plata, inhabits the Argentine country from Paraguay to Patagonia, and also occurs in Uruguay and Chili, but does not extend to Brazil.

A peculiar interest attaches to this species owing to the fact that it is the only freshwater Duck in the subfamily Fuligulinæ, in which it is classed. With the exception of the Loggerhead Duck (Tachyeres cinereus), found in the Falklands and the Magellan Straits, all the other sea-ducks of this division inhabit North and Central America; so that the Rosy-bill appears to have separated itself widely from its nearest relations geographically as well as in habits. In appearance it is a fine bird, the black plumage being frosted on the upper parts with white in a very delicate manner, while the rosy bill and large carmine caruncle and golden red iris contrast beautifully with the glossy purple head and neck. The speculum is white, the legs bright yellow. The plumage of the female is brown.

In marshy places on the pampas the Rosy-billed Duck is very abundant, and they sometimes congregate in very large flocks. They obtain their food from floating weeds in the water, and are never seen, like the Pintails and other kinds, feeding on the dry land. They rise heavily, the wings being comparatively small, and have a rapid, straight, violent flight; they are nevertheless able to perform long journeys and travel in long lines and at a considerable elevation. Their only language is a deep, hoarse, prolonged, raven-like note, uttered by the male in the love-season. The nest is made on swampy ground near the water, of dry rushes, and is, for a duck, a deep well-made structure; the eggs are oval in form, cream-coloured, and twelve in number.

355. ERISMATURA FERRUGINEA, Eyton.

(RUSTY LAKE-DUCK.)

Hab. Central Peru, Chili, and Argentina.

This Lake-Duck ranges from Central Peru and the north Argentine provinces to Patagonia in the south, but is in no place a very common bird. It inhabits interior lakes and streams, living almost as much in the water as a Grebe, which in habits it resembles, remaining motionless when disturbed, but gradually sinking lower in the water, and diving, when only the head and neck are visible above the surface.

356. NOMONYX DOMINICUS (Linn.).

(WHITE-WINGED LAKE-DUCK.)