THE CEREOPSIS GOOSE.
The CEREOPSIS GOOSE (Cereopsis Novæ-Hollandiæ) is recognisable by its powerful body, thick short neck, small head, and short strong beak, which is high at the base, and covered with a cere almost to the blunt and hooked extremity. The webbed feet have long tarsi, short toes, and large powerful claws. In the broad wings the shoulder-quills are well developed. The tail is short and rounded; the thick plumage is of a beautiful dark grey, shaded with brown. The crown of the head is somewhat lighter, and the back decorated with round, blackish brown spots, situated at the tips of some of the feathers. The lower halves of the secondary quills and tail-feathers are also brownish black. The eye is scarlet, the beak black, the cere greenish yellow, and the foot blackish. The female resembles her mate in the coloration of her plumage, but is recognisable by her inferior size. The Cereopsis Goose, the only member of the family to which it belongs, is one of those extraordinary birds that at once arrest the attention of the traveller. Not many years ago the localities where it was the most numerous appear to have been the islands in Bass's Straits.
Labillardière relates that the first specimens he obtained were captured by the sailors with their hands; and Flinders tells us that one of his boat's crew killed a great number with short sticks, and took several alive. Bailly not only confirmed these accounts, but states that those he saw could be easily run in upon and captured without trouble. All the above navigators speak of the flesh as being excellent, much better, indeed, than that of European Geese, and seem to have prosecuted the chase with considerable ardour. As a necessary consequence, later visitors found not only that the bird was no longer plentiful, but that from many of these islands it had been completely extirpated. Gould, who shot a pair on Isabella Island, nevertheless thinks that several of them may yet exist upon unvisited parts of the southern coast of Australia. "An old Bushman," however, remarks that on the Australian continent he only saw them twice—in one case there was a small flock, and in the other only two birds, which were in company with some other Geese. The Cereopsis, or "Hen" Goose, as it is called, lives, as might be expected from such an appellation, much more on dry land than on the water. It walks well, and swims badly; indeed, judging from individuals kept in our Zoological Gardens, it seldom enters the water of its own free will. Its flight, likewise, is performed with difficulty, and is remarkably heavy. Its voice is a dull buzzing sound, very unlike the cry of a Goose. We have but scanty information respecting the habits of these birds in their wild state; but from their behaviour in captivity it is easy to form an idea of their usual mode of life. In its aversion to water the Cereopsis differs from all other Geese. Except when driven into a pond, it spends its whole time on land, devoting the morning and evening to the procuration of food, but reposing during the heat of the day and throughout the night. It is seldom seen in company with other species; indeed, its[Pg 143] disposition is even more quarrelsome and imperious than that of the Nile Goose. A pair of these birds, when placed among other water-fowl, begin in a very short time to assume unlimited authority, and their behaviour becomes (especially during the breeding season) absolutely insupportable. Nevertheless, they soon learn to recognise their keepers, to whom they exhibit considerable attachment. In New Holland they would long ago have been numbered among the inhabitants of every farmyard had it not been for this unbearable conduct. Such as have been brought to Europe have again and again hatched and reared a numerous progeny, so that with us they might readily be acclimatised. One principal obstacle to their breeding in the north is the contrariety of the seasons. In Australia they breed in the spring, which, of course, corresponds with our autumn; so that in the northern hemisphere, the young brood, becoming at once exposed to the rigours of winter, not unfrequently perish. We have, however, already learnt that those birds that have lost their eggs breed again in February, hence in the succeeding months there is every reason to suppose the young may be reared without difficulty. During pairing time the affection of the sexes towards each other is unmistakable. The Gander walks around his mate with graceful salutations, keeps vigilant watch over her safety, and resolutely drives away all other intruders, great and small, that may happen to approach the domain which he has selected. The care of constructing the nest appears to devolve upon the female, who always selects the best materials within her reach; and, although the result of her labours is not an artistically-constructed cradle, it is considerably more so than the nests of the generality of Geese, its interior being smoothly rounded and comfortably lined with feathers. The eggs are comparatively small, somewhat round in shape, smooth-shelled, and of a yellowish white colour. From observations made in Paris we found the duration of incubation to extend over thirty days; in a colder climate it is somewhat longer. In the park of our friend, M. Cornèly, in Belgium, thirty-eight days elapsed before the young escaped from their shell. On the very day of their escape they ran after their mother, picking up food from among the grass. They refused to eat hard-boiled eggs, chopped earthworms, and other kinds of animal food, and would not even touch white bread, confining themselves exclusively, as it appeared, to green vegetables. No sooner are the young hatched than the pugnacity of the Gander displays itself in full force; he seems to fear nothing, and attacks a man with as much animosity as he exhibits towards every other animal that intrudes upon his privacy. "I considered my Gander bad enough before," writes M. Cornèly, "but now I think he must be mad. He attacks every living thing indiscriminately. One of my large Cranes happened to come in his way; he flew at him, and although the keeper was not a hundred yards off, and ran as fast as he could to part them, the poor Crane was killed before he could interfere. One night the Gander got into the stable where another of these birds was kept, and in the morning the body of the Crane was found almost hacked to pieces." However ornamental these Geese may be, it is evident that it is only where they have plenty of room to themselves and are not likely to interfere with other animals, that they are eligible subjects for domestication.
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THE RUDDY SHELDRAKE, OR BRAHMINY DUCK (Casarca rutila). ONE-FOURTH NATURAL SIZE.
The DUCKS (Anates) constitute the most numerous and varied family of the entire order, and are at once distinguishable from the Geese by the flatness of their feet, and from the Swans by the shortness of their necks. In these birds the body is short and broad, the neck short or moderately long, and the head thick; the beak, which is about the same length as the head, is either of uniform breadth, or is highest towards the tip; the base of the bill is more or less high, and in some instances furnished with an excrescence; the upper mandible is arched, and projects so far over the sides of the lower one as partially to enclose it; the margins of both mandibles are sharply denticulated; the weak flat foot, which is placed very far back, has the centre toe as long as the tarsus; the hind toe is well developed, and in some species furnished with a membranous lobe; the claws are weak; in the moderate-sized, narrow, and pointed wing the second quill is the longest; the short broad tail is composed of from fourteen to twenty feathers, and is either rounded or pointed at its extremity. The plumage, which is rich, smooth, and thickly interspersed with down, varies in colour according to the sex or age of the bird; that of the male is more or less brilliant, and that of the female of comparatively sombre hue. The members of this family, regarded generally, are to be met with in every climate; the number of species is, however, greater in warm than in cold latitudes, while on the contrary in northern regions individuals of the same species swarm in immense numbers. Ducks frequent both fresh and salt water, being sometimes met with on mountain lakes to a considerable elevation; at the approach of winter they migrate to southern latitudes, often in incalculable hosts. In the extent of their migrations some species emulate the Swallow itself, while others wander no further than is absolutely necessary in order to obtain food. These migrations are generally commenced at sunset; towards midnight the birds alight upon some expanse of water, and after resting for a few hours recommence their journey in the early morning. Their flight is conducted either in one long string or in a wedge-like phalanx. The power of locomotion displayed by these birds is very various; some species can walk upon dry ground almost as well as the Geese, while others waddle along with considerable difficulty. All are excellent swimmers, but they only dive exceptionally, and with considerable effort. Their flight is accomplished by rapid movements of their wings, and they are able to rise as easily from the surface of the water as from the ground. Ducks subsist upon both animal and vegetable food; some, however, prefer the former, while others confine themselves to the latter diet. They are for the most part monogamous, and generally associate during the breeding season in great numbers; a circumstance in which they differ remarkably from the Swans and Geese. Some build their nests in holes in the ground or in the clefts of rocks; others in hollow trees, or even among the branches, some making use of the deserted nests of land birds; while others build upon the ground a rude structure composed of stalks and leaves, warmly lined with down. The number of eggs varies in different species from six to sixteen; the period of incubation extends from twenty-one to twenty-four days.
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