Argentine Ornithology, Volume 2 (of 2): A descriptive catalogue of the birds of the Argentine Republic.Hudson, W. H. (William Henry)
Science
Argentine Ornithology, Volume 2 (of 2): A descriptive catalogue of the birds of the Argentine Republic.
Hudson, W. H. (William Henry)
Birds -- Argentina
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.)
+Dendrocygna viduata+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 515 (Tucuman);
_id. P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 367; _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1869, p.
160 (Buenos Ayres), et 1876, p. 376; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p.
64 (Buenos Ayres).
_Description._--Face and spot on the throat white; nape, neck in
front, middle of abdomen, tail, rump, and wings black; hind neck
chestnut; middle of back and scapulars brown, the feathers margined
with ochraceous; wing-coverts olivaceous black; flanks banded with
black and white; bill and feet black: whole length 17·0 inches, wing
9·0, tail 2·5. _Female_ similar.
_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.)
+Sarcidiornis regia+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 513 (Tucuman);
_id. P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 365. +Sarcidiornis carunculata+, _Scl. et
Salv. P. Z. S._ 1876, p. 377; _Sclater, P. Z. S._ 1876, p. 695,
pl. lxviii.
_Description._--Head and neck white, spotted with black, hind neck
almost black; base of neck and body beneath white; flanks black;
back and wings black; secondaries glossed with bronze, the scapulars
with purple; lower back grey; tail brown; bill, with caruncle on the
culmen, and feet black: whole length 30·0 inches, wing 15·0, tail
6·0. _Female_ similar, but rather smaller.
_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.)
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