APPENDIX. 423 



broadly tipped with black; secondary coverts to. 

 wards their ends white, broadly tii)ped with black ; 

 adult male with the entire head and upper part of 

 the neck bright green, w^ith a few touches of red- 

 dish-brown passing from the forehead, on the occi- 

 put; middle of the neck w^ith a white ring; the 

 lower part of the neck and breast reddish-brown, 

 approaching to chocolate ; fore part of the back light 

 brown, rest of the back darker; rump black; upper 

 tail coverts greenish-black ; upper parts of the wings 

 brown, intermixed with grey ; breast, sides, flanks, 

 and abdomen, grey, transversely barred with dusky ; 

 bill greenish-yellow ; feet reddish-orange ; tail round- 

 ed, consisting of sixteen pointed feathers, nearly 

 white ; speculum violet ; length two feet, wing 

 eleven inches. 



Female smaller than the male ; speculum less bril- 

 liant ; general plumage brown ; head and neck 

 streaked with dusky ; the feathers on the back and 

 flanks margined with white, with a central spot of 

 brown on the outer webs ; bill black, changing to 

 orange at the extremity. 



This bird is abundant both at the West and along 

 the coast, but on the fresh water it frequents the 

 mud-holes and shallow marshes, in contradistinction 

 to the open water-ducks that aflect the broad un- 

 broken stretches of water. 



