140 



BRANCH VERTEBRATA. 



LAMELLIROSTRES. 



LEGS SHORT. 



Tibia feathered. 



Dvck. 



LEGS VERY LONG. Tibia mostly bare. Flamingo (flS mlng' gO). 



Fio. 236. 



Mer'gus america'nus. Goosander. ( T V.) 



PIG. 237. 



The Ducks have the legs short, with the hind toe sep- 

 arate, and the bill covered 

 with soft, sensitive skin, 

 and highly lamellated, to 

 filter the ooze in which 

 they feed. They are close- 

 feathered, and keep the 

 plumage well oiled, so as 

 to dive without getting 

 wet. 



The Goosander* has a 

 narrow, cylindrical bill, 

 with a saw-like margin, the teeth pointing backward, and 

 the tip armed with a hooked 

 nail. It may swim wholly 

 submerged, seizing fish, 

 whose very struggles force 

 them more readily into the 

 gullet of their captor, f 



The Eider Duck inhabits 

 the Arctic regions, occasion- 

 ally migrating to the middle 

 Atlantic coasts. \ The dark, 

 rock-colored hue of the fe- 

 males is an excellent mim- 

 icry, and they will remain on the nest till trodden upon.' 



* This is one of the species of Ducks popularly called "Mergansers," or 

 " Sheldrakes." 



t Sometimes the fish is so long that the tail projects and it can be introduced 

 fully into the stomach only after the head has been digested. 



t It breeds upon the cliffs, and the down with which the female lines its 

 nest has great commercial value. It is obtained by robbing it two or three times 

 a season, the male at last supplying the deficiency from his own breast. 



So ma te' ri a rnol fis' si ma. 

 Eider Duck. ( T L.) 



