482 



LAMELLIROSTRAL SWIMMERS — ANSERES. 



maries, and tail deep black, the rectrices pure white basally. Bill and feet bright flesh-color, the 

 former yellow near the nostrils and black on the nail ; iris brown. ^ Sexes alike. Young : Much like 

 the adult, but with the pattern less distinct and the colors duller. Cinnamon replaced by dingy 



gray, more or less tinged with rusty ochraceous. 

 Abdomen, flanks, and crissum grayish w]iite, 

 tinged with deeper gray. Bill dusky ; feet 

 dark reddish. Downy young : Above, blackish 

 brown, varied by large areas of sulphury buff, 

 as follows : a supraloral streak extending over 

 the eye ; a wide stripe from the bill under the 

 eye and extending across the occiput, the black- 

 ish below it extending forward only about as far 

 as directly beneath the eye, and confluent pos- 

 teriorly with the nuchal longitudinal stripe of 

 the same color ; a pair of sulphury buff patches 

 on each side of the back, and another on each 

 side the rump ; posterior half of the wing whit- 

 ish buft", the end of the wing blackish ; the black 

 of the upper parts sends ofl' two lateral pro- 

 jections on each side, the first on each side the 

 crop, the second over the flanks to the tibiae ; 

 the buff of the abdomen extending upward in 

 front of this last stripe as far as the middle por- 

 tion of the buff spot on the side of the back. 

 Lower parts wholly whitish buff, paler and less 

 yellowish along the middle. [Described from a specimen " about four days old," obtained by 

 Dr. J. C. Merrill, U. S. A., at Fort Brown, Texas, Aug. 14, 1877. "Bill bluish above, yellow 

 below ; legs olive."] 



Wing, 9.20-9.70 inches ; culnien, 1.90-2.15 ; tarsus, 2.25-2.60; middle toe, 2.30-2.70. 

 The cinnamon-color of the breast varies, in this species, from a vinaceous to a rich rufous cast, 

 biit that of the lower neck is always continuous with that of the back ; the white of the wing- 

 coverts is sometimes clouded with pale ash. The South American representative, D. discolor, Scl. 

 & Salv., differs conspicuously, in the lower neck and breast being fulvous-gray, strongly and 

 abruptly contrasted against the dark chestnut-brown of the back, the black instead of whitish tibite, 

 and dill'erent proportions. It is perhaps specifically distinct ; but in the absence of specimens 

 from the region in Mhich intergradation, if existing, would occur, we for the present consider 

 it a geographical race of the same species. Three examples in the collection measure as follows : 

 wing, 9.10-9.30 inches; culmen, 1.80-1.90; width of bill across middle, .70-75; tarsus, 2.20- 

 2.25 ; middle toe, 2.25-2.35. 



This species of Tree Duck obtains a place in tlie North American fauna from its 

 occurrence on the Rio Grande and in Southern California. It is found throughout 

 Mexico, Central America, the northern portions of South America, and many of the 

 West India Islands. 



In Texas it is known us the " Long-legged Duck." Mr. Dresser mentions it as 

 being found occasionally near Matamoras during tlie summer ; and he was assured 

 by a person residing in Monterey — one well acquainted with the bird — that it 

 breeds in the neighborhood of that 2)lace. At Galveston a German hunter informed 

 Mr. Dresser that it is quite ccnumon there during the winter, arriving in November 

 and departing in March. 



In regard to its presence in Southern California, nothing more is known beyond 



1 "The soft parts in a full-])lumaged living male were as follow : iris brown ; bill coral red, orange 

 above; nail of bill bluish; legs and feet pinkish white." — Mekuill, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. Vol. I. 

 p. 170. 



