of the Family of Anatidce. 27 



cocks, the guinea-fowl, and the whole family of pheasants ; 

 while the plumage of many are lineated in a manner precisely 

 similar to that of the different species of Teal. It is among 

 rasorial birds, that we perceive that extraordinary beauty and 

 elongation of the tertial feathers, which is so conspicuous in 

 this particular group of ducks, and both comprise the largest 

 birds yet discovered in their respective circles. This analogy, 

 in short, which can hardly be rendered more complete, ex- 

 plains, also, the striking and apparently anomalous habit of 

 the wild duck building so often in the hollows of trees, and in 

 similar situations, since this habit more particularly belongs to 

 the whole tribe of Scansores, which corresponds to, and repre- 

 sents the order of Rasores. 



Having now illustrated the whole of these inferior divisions, 

 I proceed to offer the following table as the result. 



GENUS ANAS. ANALOGIES. 



Orders of Birds. Tribes ofPerchers. Typical characters. Subgenera. 



fTvDical in their respective 1 

 INSESSORES . CONIROSTRES -j ^ r ^ es [ANAS 



T (Bill dilated into a lobe or], r 



RAPTORBS . DENTIROSTRES^ toot k J >MALACORHYNCHUS 



Each of these three columns, it will be observed, forms a circular 

 group, of which the two first have long been before the public ; 

 and although their analogy with the types of form in the genus 

 Anas, are of necessity remote, they are nevertheless unques- 

 tionable. When we consider, in fact, the great dissimilarity 

 between the groups here compared, we can only feel astonish- 

 ment that they possessed any one character in common. It 

 would, indeed, as I before stated, have been better had the sub- 

 genera of Anas been compared with the groups belonging to 

 its own family, but this would have far exceeded the proper 

 limits of my paper. On a future occasion I may possibly take 

 up another portion of the subject. External structure and na- 

 tural habits are thus proved to be in perfect unison with each 

 other, and both combine to furnish another proof that the system 



