inhabitants of the Zoological Society’s Gardens, and eggs
were laid, hut not hatched, in 1868. They were white,
smooth and shining; a specimen from the Transvaal, in the
collection of Mr. Bidwell, measures 2*8 by 2 in.
The Spur-winged Goose is a native of intertropical Africa,
from Senegambia to the Transvaal and the Zambesi; but in
Abyssinia and the neighbouring districts of eastern Africa,
its representative is a distinct species, PI. ruepelli. For
details of habits and distribution reference may he made to
Layard and Sharpe’s ‘Birds of South Africa,’ and to Bocage’s
‘ Ornithologie d’Angola.’ Although called a ‘ Goose,’ this
bird is more nearly allied to the Ducks; and its manner of
feeding resembles that of the latter.
Bewick’s description of the specimen at Newcastle is as
follows :—“ The bill is reddish-yellow, with a jointed protuberance
on the base of the upper mandible. The upper
part of the head and neck are dingy-brown; the auriculars
and sides of the throat are white, spotted with brown; the
lower part of the neck, sides of the breast, and all the upper
plumage appear black, but this colour is lost, particularly in
the scapulars and tertials, which are most resplendently
bronzed and glossed with brilliant green, and most of the
outer webs of the other feathers partake of the same hue;
on the bend of the wing or wrist, is placed a strong white
horny spur, about five-eighths of an inch in length, turning
upwards, and rather inwards ; the whole of the edges of
the wing from the alula spuria to the elbow and shoulder
are white, all the under parts the same. This beautiful
bird is nearly of the bulk of the Wild Goose, but its legs
and toes are somewhat longer, and of a red or orange
yellow.”
To give the actual appearance of the British-killed specimen,
the Author had the figure taken from Bewick’s work.
On the death of a male which had lived nearly twelve
years in the Gardens of the Zoological Society, advantage
was taken of this opportunity to examine the organ of voice,
generally found to possess some remarkable variety in form
and structure throughout most of the species of this family;
and the expectation having been realized, the Author was
permitted to publish the following description and figures
The windpipe of the Spur-winged Goose is about sixteen
inches long, the tube flattened throughout the greater part
of its length, but cylindrical at the bottom. The vignette
represents the lower portion of the windpipe from three
points of view. The figure to the right shows the tube with
its bony enlargement on the left side, being its position in
the body of the bird ; the other figures to exhibit the circular
and oval apertures pervading different parts of this bony
enlargement; the opposite sides not being exactly alike, either
in the number, form, or situation of these apeitures in the
bone, which in a natural state are closed by delicate transparent
membrane. The bronchial tubes are divided higher at
the back than in front, as shown in the left figure, to allow
free passage for the oesophagus between them from behind
forwards.