1
7
140 Blue-billed Duck (Spiny-tailed, Stiff-tailed, Diving), Erismatura australis, N.S.W., V., S.A., W.A., T.
[~140 Oxyura australis.]
v.r. reedbeds 16
Head, neck black; chest, back, flanks chestnut; tail blackish; bill light-blue; f., bill olive-green; freckled gray-brown; under lighter. Insects, pond-snails, fish.
1
1
141 Musk Duck (Must), Mould Goose (e), Biziura lobata, S.Q., N.S.W., V., S.A., W.A., T.
Stat. c. lagoons, bays 26
Blackish freckled buffy-white; wings small; long stiff tail-feathers; bill, lobe beneath chin greenish-black; dives; f., half-size; duller; no lobe. Frogs, shellfish, shrimps.
There are six families of birds included in Order XIV.—the Totally-webbed Swimmers. All four toes are joined by a web. Ducks have three toes only joined by the web, the hind toe being free. Representatives of the six families are found in Australia. These birds are fishers par excellence.