. Sketches of South African bird-life. Birds. GEESE AND DUCKS 251 The White-backed Duck {Thalassomis leuconotus) is widely spread throughout the sub-continent. The top of the head and the throat are black; above and below of a yellowish- brown colour mottled and barred with black; centre of back pure white. Bill, short and stumpy, and of a blue and slate colour. Length, 17 inches. Within our limits it is widely distributed, but remains so far imrecorded from Rhodesia. It is an expert diver, and seldom flies, although it can and does fly when perse- cuted. It rests in the water, amongst the aqu
. Sketches of South African bird-life. Birds. GEESE AND DUCKS 251 The White-backed Duck {Thalassomis leuconotus) is widely spread throughout the sub-continent. The top of the head and the throat are black; above and below of a yellowish- brown colour mottled and barred with black; centre of back pure white. Bill, short and stumpy, and of a blue and slate colour. Length, 17 inches. Within our limits it is widely distributed, but remains so far imrecorded from Rhodesia. It is an expert diver, and seldom flies, although it can and does fly when perse- cuted. It rests in the water, amongst the aquatic weeds,. Photo.; Haagner. Fia. 131.—Nest and eggs of White-backed Duck. with the whole body submerged, only the top of the head as far as the eyes and the biU being exposed, which is all the mark usually available to aim at. They are not bad eating at times, although somewhat oily. The nest is a saucer of sedge, rushes and weeds, built on the beaten-down weeds growing in the water, and is usually well concealed. The nest, of which we append a photograph, was situated on weeds growing in about three feet of water in a dam, twenty yards or so from the shore, and contained six eggs, varying from a greenish creamy-brown colour, to a warm. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Haagner, Alwin Karl, 1880-; Ivy, Robert Henry. Cape Town, T. M. Miller
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Photo credit: © The Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1914
