. A natural history of the ducks . ay until late evening on the water, seeking the landto rest, though they sometimes perch on trees in the heat of the day (Hartlaub,1882). Roch and Newton (1863) also observed them perch on a tree in do not know how much of their time these birds really spend on the trees. The ab-sence of information on this point is very much in contrast to the evidence in thecase of the Cotton Teal, which, according to Hume and Marshall (1879), spendsalmost the whole of its time perching, when not in the water. Flight, Gait, Diving. The Pygmy Goose flies fast an
. A natural history of the ducks . ay until late evening on the water, seeking the landto rest, though they sometimes perch on trees in the heat of the day (Hartlaub,1882). Roch and Newton (1863) also observed them perch on a tree in do not know how much of their time these birds really spend on the trees. The ab-sence of information on this point is very much in contrast to the evidence in thecase of the Cotton Teal, which, according to Hume and Marshall (1879), spendsalmost the whole of its time perching, when not in the water. Flight, Gait, Diving. The Pygmy Goose flies fast and low, but two observers inMadagascar (Pollen, 1863; Hartlaub, 1877) have spoken of the flight as clumsy, andnot so rapid as that of other fowl. This last is certainly an exceptional observation,and not in harmony with what has been noted of the Indian species. In swimmingthe bird is said to sit rather low in the water (Roch and Newton, 1863), and allobservers have noted its agility in diving. According to Kirk (1864) it often re-. Map 8. Distribution of African Pygmy Goose (Nettapus auritus) AFRICAN PYGMY GOOSE 97 mains under water a long time, while Horsbrugh (1912) speaks of its behavior in thewater as being very much like that of a Pochard. Size of Flocks. These little ducks are usually seen in small companies, varyingfrom five or six to ten or twelve. As far as I know there are only two records of theiroccurrence in large flocks. Hartert (1886) records thirty together in Nigeria, andHorsbrugh (1912) saw flocks of thirty or forty on Victoria Nyanza. I have beenunable to find any information as to their association with other species. Voice. The note, according to Bohm (1885), is a clear, fine, chirping or twitteringnoise. In the Indian species the voice in the male has been described as a singulardrumming quacking comparable to the words fix bayonets (Hume and Marshall,1879). Food. Diet is probably taken chiefly from the bottom, and according to Hart-laub (1882) consists of
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