ADDITIONS, CORRECTIONS ET EXAMENS d'aPRÈS NATURE 691 



l'Auk (1). L'Oiseau fut tué dans une petite bande de Mallards 

 {A. boschas) sur les terres de l'ile de Narrow, dans le Currituck 

 Sound (Caroline du Nord), en janvier 1892. Cet Oiseau, dit M. Elliot, 

 est environ de la taille d'un Canard ordinaire (Mallard) ; il est du 

 sexe mâle. Le caractère qui tout d'abord attire l'attention est le bec 

 qui est semblable, par sa forme (shape), à celui du Widgeon 

 {penelope), mais un quart plus grand et de couleur bleu clair avec 

 la pointe noire. Voici du reste comment cet auteur décrit ses diffé- 

 rents caractères : 



« The head and neck are brilliant emerald green like the Mallard, 

 )) with dots on the lores and fore part of the cheeks, and a conspi- 

 » cuousbutîy white Une, the feathers tipped with black,broadest in 

 » its upper portion, and runuing from the ears down the neck. 

 » Front, and a Une on top of the head, blackish, with rusty tips 

 » to the feathers on top of the head. Mantle and wings crossed with 

 » fine irregular lines of black and bufE, this last hue becoming 

 )) pale bufï 011 the apical half of the tertiaries. Greater, médian, 

 )) and lessercoverts, pale brownish gray, with a narrow white bar, 

 » succeeded by a narrow black one the tips of the last row of the 

 » greater coverts. Secondaries pale gray, with half of the outer 

 » web black edged with white. A brilliant, metallic, emerald green 

 » spéculum two innermost secondaries silvery gray without any 

 » black. Primaries blackish brown like the webs. The inner webs 

 » along the shafts are silvery gray. Back and rump brownish black, 

 » fînely vermiculated with bufî, on the rump a few black blotches, 

 )) and feathers of lower part, extending over the tail, irregularly 

 » crossed with black and white. 



» Breast dark chestnut with nu mérous black spots in the centre 

 » forming a narrow line from base of the neck, and widening out 

 » in a fan shape towards the lower part of breast, where the chest- 

 » nut color changes to a purplish shade and graduâtes into the 

 » bufîy white of the lower parts. Feathers of flanks crossed irre- 

 » gulary with narrow black and white lines. Abdomen and vent 

 )) whitish, indistinctly barred with fine blakish brown lines, and 

 » faintly blotched with bufï. On each side of rump a conspicuous, 

 » large, white patch, some of the feathers faintly barred with black. 

 » Tail : médian feathers velvety black, sharply graduate and 

 » extending beyond the other feathers about an inch. Latéral 

 » feathers grayish brown edged with white on outer webs and tips. 



(1) N° d'avril 1892, p. 165. Rjbridism, and a Description of a hybrid 

 between Anas boschas and Anas americana. 



