is common on most of the large islands of the group. Not common on Niihau and rarely seen on Lanai. It frequents shore lagoons and muddy shore lines, standing stock still in the water with neck drawn in and striking at passing pond and sea life; it also captures some of its food on land. Its food is chiefly small fish, dragon fly larvae, water beetles and mice. Its voice is a hoarse croaking quack. It nests in company, building in trees a rough nest of sticks and twigs.
ORDER ANSERI FORMES
| ANATIDAE | Duck, Goose and Swan Family |
HAWAIIAN GOOSE
| Nesochen sandwichensis (Vigors) | Plate 3, Fig. 6 |
Hawaiian name: Nene.
"Adult male. Hind neck, head, cheeks, chin and throat black, as also a narrow ring around lower throat, rest of neck and sides of head brownish buff; feathers on throat and sides of neck narrow and acute and so arranged as to disclose their black bases; above deep hoary brown, feathers margined broadly with brownish white, rump and tail dusky black, as also the primaries; beneath grayish brown; feathers on sides and flank with gray tips; lower belly and under tailcoverts white; bill and feet black. Length 23 to 28 inches the female the smaller." (Henshaw.)
This fine bird, endemic to the Hawaiian group and confined to Hawaii and Maui, was originally very common on Hawaii and not at all uncommon on the northwest slope of Hualalai, North Kona, in 1891. It probably migrated between Hawaii and Maui and sometimes was. reported to straggle to other islands. The other islands did not present foraging grounds on the uplands as attractive to it as the mountains of Hawaii and Haleakala on Maui. It had become accustomed to semiarid waterless country where it obtained the moisture it needed from the upland berries on which it fed in the summer and the rich soft plants of the lowland lava flows where it wintered and raised its young. From being long away from water the webs of its feet had become atrophied and shrunken to about half the size of those of other geese. It probably never swam unless perhaps in lagoons on the lowlands. Yet it enjoys swimming in domestication. The sparse vegetation on the open lava flows is rich, especially on the lowlands in the wet season, hence the birds migrated to the lowlands to breed. Those we collected there were much fatter than the specimens we took at about 2,000 feet elevation.
We hunted this goose in December 1891 on the rough lava flow of 1801, down nearly to sea level, and up the side of the mountain on the Huehue ranch to about 2,200 feet elevation. It was open shooting season and a party of hunters went over ground at the higher elevation where we had taken specimens a few days before. They found a nest with four eggs, caught two very young chicks and shot a young bird nearly full grown. We were not fortunate in finding young birds. It pained us to kill specimens at a time when the birds had young but the few we killed were as nothing compared to the numbers the hunters would shoot of this unwary bird. Ten years afterwards Henshaw drew attention to the mistake of having the open season when the birds were breeding. It is little wonder that the species faced danger of complete extinction in a wild state. There are still a few wild birds and some semi-wild that have been raised by ranchers. It is likely that the ranchers have saved the species in a wild state by this action. The bird is now under protection and it is hoped that those remaining will become sufficiently wary to fight, the mongoose from its eggs and young.
The nest is described as a hollow in the ground, or the eggs laid on the surface surrounded by a fringe of pieces of brush. Henshaw gives the number of eggs as from three to six. He described them as of a delicate cream white, averaging about 3.36x2.35 inches. The Hawaiians told us they generally had only two chicks. The two little goslings we saw were brown with whitish markings principally on the under parts. They seemed quite unafraid, of human beings. The natives used to hunt the nene for food when the birds were moulting and unable to fly, as related by Wilson in "Birds of the Sandwich Islands."
HAWAIIAN DUCK
| Anas wyvilliana wyvilliana Sclater | Plate 3, Fig. 4 |
Hawaiian names: Koloa; Koloa maoli. (Maoli signifies 'indigenous' or 'native,' to distinguish the bird from the migratory and domestic ducks.)
"Adult Top of head blackish; neck, upper back and interscalpulars brown with rufous brown bands; lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts brownish black; speculum deep purple, bordered with white; sides of head, neck and throat brown mottled; breast rufous brown with U-shaped blackish markings; abdomen brownish buff; sides of body rufous heavily marked with deep brown; length about 20 inches' (Henshaw.) Some of the males have the central tail feathers curled upwards. The chick in the down is brown on the back,.lighter below.
This duck is peculiar to the main islands of the Hawaiian group and was originally a common bird in coastal lagoons, marshes and mountain streams on all islands except Lanai and Kahoolawe. Perkins saw it in small pools on mountain forest bogs. Through loss, of feeding grounds, draining of lagoons, shooting, the mongoose and other predaceous animals it has been much reduced in numbers and should now be strictly protected by law. On Oahu it is making a bold bid for survival by nesting on the twin islands of Mokulua off Lanikai, and returning to Oahu carrying or swimming the chicks to the Kawainui swamp at Kailua or in the outlet of the Kaelepulu pond by Lanikai Mr. John Fleming saw a duck fly to the swamp carrying a young one between its feet, Alona, an old Hawaiian, saw a duck alight in a taro patch and three ducklings swim out from it; a few days afterward she had 7 young ones. Some boys caught 14, two broods, on the beach near the outlet of the Kaelepulu pond and then released them. It is hoped that war measures on those island refuges will not be detrimental to them. It would be interesting to know if the ducks originally nested on Mokulua islands or whether they have retreated there to outwit cats and mongooses. The eggs are safe on Mokulua except from human beings, and once on the lagoons and marshes they are safe from predaceous animals. On March 9,1941, David Woodside saw 5 nests on one of the Mokulua islands. They contained from 8 to 10 eggs. Most nests there have 8 eggs. One I found when searching for them had the eggs so well covered that the nest was quite indistinguishable from the surrounding surface. I stepped on the eggs and heard them break and yet could see nothing but dead grass leaves. Moving the covering aside revealed the eggs resting in the down lined nest. The unbroken eggs were taken as specimens for the Bishop Museum. On one occasion an observer gently pushed a setting bird off her eggs, counted them and left before the bird moved. Eggs are white, ovoid and average 2.12x1.29 inches. Mokulua should be strictly protected after the war and the koloa allowed to nest there in safety in the future.
The koloa is an able flier, active on the ground or in the water. Its food is mostly pond life. Henshaw found their stomachs filled with two species of fresh-water molluscs. The crops of some we shot in Kona close to grass land were filled with earthworms. They at times left the pond and foraged in the grass. Their voice is that of the domesticated duck, the female quacking and the male hissing. A wounded duck hiding in the pond quacked to her mate when he returned calling for her.
LAYSAN DUCK
Anas wyvilliana laysanensis Rothschild
Other name: Laysan Teal.
The Laysan duck is endemic to Laysan Island, but in a precarious position as to survival. It is evidently a descendent of the koloa but is smaller, being about 16 inches in length; about the same color, differing by having an irregular white ring around, the eye. The female is smaller than the male and has less white about the eye. Some of the males have the central feathers of the tail curled up like some of the males of the Hawaiian duck. The downy chicks are darker in color than the chicks of the latter. We found no eggs except a shelless one in the oviduct of a female. It measured 2.12x1.43 inches. Captain Freeth said eggs he had seen were generally smaller and shorter.
This duck though strong on its feet is weak on the wing and swims but little. It has difficulty in rising and generally flies only a short distance,
