ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 9 



are like those of tlie adult A. Gambelii. See Richardson's Arct. Exped., p? 303. 



The Black Swan [Chenopsis atratits,) may become naturalised here if hunters 

 will give it a chance, as several raised here in confinement have escaped, though 

 five or six of them have been already brought back dead to the taxidermists as 

 great curiosities. 



.54 Bernicla nigricans Lawrence — Black Brant-^Large numbers winter in 

 San Diego Bay, where I obtained one. First described from Toukon Valley, 

 Alaska, in Richardson's Arctic Expedition, (Harpers 8 vo. ed., 1864, p. 305). 



55 Mareca Penelope Linnaeus, (Bonap) — European Widgeon — Mr. Lor- 

 quin has obtained several specimens in the market in winter, which were prob- 

 ably stragglers from Asia instead of Europe. 



Mr. Lorquin has a specimen of the American Widgeon, {M. Americana,) 

 which has the sides of head nearly pure white instead of buff, the black 

 spots existing only on the back part of crown and sides of neck, the green crest 

 unspotted, and lateral tail coverts glossed with green, the breast paler than 

 usual, but otherwise normal. It seems merely a highly developed specimen, 

 with the specific charactei's uncommonly well marked. 



The Pheasant-tailed Duck, [Bafihi urophasiamis Vigors,) has been reported 

 as occurring on our coast as well as in South America. Vigors' description 

 and figure resemble our female Mallard or domestic duck, except in the pointed 

 tail, and if the specimen described was really a female it might reasonably be 

 expected that the male should resemble the male mallard. Two such specimens; 

 have been obtained here which I will describe, though they may very probably 

 prove to be only hybrids between the Mallard and Pintail, possibly raised in 

 some barnyard where a Pintail has been domesticated, and doubtless of one- 

 brood. A domestic hybrid of the latter and the European Widgeon is men- 

 tioned Ijy Nuttall. Mr. Lorquin exhihited here last winter a su|)posed 

 hybrid of the same with a Teal, which was sent to San Jose before I could see- 

 it. Mr. Lorquin's specimen, now described, was exhibited here Feb. 4th, 1867, 

 and the other was killed and stuffed about the same time by Mr. Homer Lynch, 

 of Alameda. This latter has somewhat more of the characters of the mallard. 



Description. Head dark green, forehead purplish, a white collar nearly encircling 

 neck, half au inch wide in front, an inch on sides, where the ends run upward to E' 

 point; hack and wing-coverts waved with hrown and wliite lines, tertiaries plain 

 brown ; breast dark brown fading to white below. From the Pintail is inherited the 

 bill, a quarter inch shorter than the Mallard's, the nape of neck nearly black, the shorter, 

 upturned points of the collar Wider, and more general wavings of the back and sides, 

 nearly white abdomen. The rump and tail feathers are intermediate iu mixture of the 

 gray center with white edges. The speculum is of a line emerald green, that of the 

 Mallard being violel, of the Pintail greenish purple. There is a brown band in front of 

 it, with a black anterior margin, wider than that of the Pintail. (In the Mallard it is- 

 wliite.) Upper tail-coverts elongated, but two inches shorter than in the Pintail, and 

 their ends turned vpicard. Middle tail-feathers exactly as iu Pintail, and sides of the 

 rump pure white as in that bird. 



Order Longipennes. 



56 Larus Hutchinsii Richardson — Hutchins' White Gull. 



Fauna Boreali-Americana, II, 419, 1831— Coues, Proc. Phil. Acad. Nat. Sc. 1862, 294. 



