334 NEW-YORK FAUNA BIRDS. 



THE KING DUCK. 



FuLIGULA SPECTABILIS. 

 PLATE CX1II. FIG. 251. 



(STATE COLLECTION.) 



Anas spectabilis, Lin. p. 195. King Duck, Pennant, Arct. Zoology, Vol. 2, p. 554. 



A. id. Sabine, Greenland Birds, Suppl. Parry's Voy. S. id. Bonaparte, Ann. Lye. N. Y. Vol. 2, p. 389. 

 F. id. Audubon, B. of Am. Vol. 6, p. 347, pi. 404. Richardson, F. B. A. Vol. 2, p. 447. Giradd, Birds of 

 Long island, p. 333. 



Characteristics. Branches of the bill dilated, rounded : no mirror. Male: neck and back 

 white ; crown and nape bluish grey ; an arrow-shaped black mark on 

 the throat. Female, reddish drab, with abbreviated bars of black. 

 Length, 24 '0. 



Description. Bill shorter than the head ; the point abruptly turned down ; the ascending 

 branches nearly vertical. Frontlet nearly perpendicular to the bill. Tarsus short, robust, 

 1 • 6 long, compressed. Inner secondaries elongated, curved outwards, and overlapping the 

 primaries. Tail short, much rounded, and composed of fourteen stiff and rather pointed 

 feathers. Male : Bill reddish ; the ascending portion verging to orange. Feet dusky orange : 

 webs black. Frontlet, margin of the dilated base of the upper mandible, a slight dash on 

 the upper, and a larger patch on the lower eyelid, jet black : cheeks pale green. Crown and 

 nape bluish grey, edged on the sides with yellowish, and this again bordered with green ; 

 edged below with black. Breast dingy buff. Hind neck, upper part of the back, lesser 

 wing-coverts and sides of the rump white ; remaining part of the plumage black : an oblique 

 black streak on the throat. Female: Bill pale greyish; feet dull brownish red: general 

 color of the rest of the body reddish brown ; the ends of the feathers dusky brown. Young: 

 Head and neck dull yellowish grey, with numerous black spots ; breast and flanks barred 

 and spotted with black. Length, 21 - 0-25'0. 



The King Duck, like the preceding, is an inhabitant of high northern latitudes, very rarely 

 descending as low as the shores of this State. It is equally valued for its down with the 

 preceding. It breeds from Labrador northwardly ; the eggs are 5 or 6, uniform dull greenish. 

 Its extreme geographical range extends from 40° to 81° north on this continent. It also 

 occurs in the high northern latitudes of Europe. 



(EXTRA-LIMITAL. ) 



(6.) Bill as high as the head : body and feet robust : nostrils basal. Tail wedge-shaped, of 12 feathers. 



Macropus. Stellaria. 



F. dispar, Pall. (Aud. B of Am. Vol.6, p. 368, pi. 407.) Mirror black, margined with white : 

 bill and feet bluish. Male, bright reddish beneath ; forehead and band on the occiput greenish ; 

 head white ; a broad band round the neck, and the back, velvet-black. Female, reddish brown 

 varied with ash. Length, 16-0. Northwest coast. 



