414 Dr. A. Hall on the Mammals and Birds 



Sub-genus Cygnus. 

 Sub gen. char. Bill higher than broad at the base, gibbous, 

 obtuse, and equally broad throughout ; teeth lamelliform ; nostrils 

 central, oval, pervious, and covered by a membrane; tongue 

 fringed at the sides ; lores naked ; neck long ; feet placed far 

 back ; tarsus shorter than the middle toe ; primaries and second- 

 aries subeqiial in length ; 2nd and 3rd longest ; tail cuneiform. 

 C, ferns. Wild or Whistling Swan. 

 C. musicus of Bechstein and Buonaparte ! ! 

 Anas O'.ferus of Linnaeus! 

 Anas cygnus of Linnaeus and Latham ! ! 

 Cygnus Americanus. Baird ! 

 vs.p. Bill black ; care and space round the eyes yellow ; 

 irides dark hazel ; legs and feet black ; eggs 5 to *? olivaceous, 

 green and rough. 



Dorsal and ventral aspects. White, except the crown of head 

 and neck, which are more or less tinged with yellowish. 



The young bird is pale grey, with a dull black bill and a livid 

 care, and reddish grey feet. 



Length of a specimen killed opposite Longueuil, and at present 

 a conspicuous object in the Museum of the Natural History So- 

 ciety, 66 inches ; alar expanse 90 inches ; length of the bill from 

 the tVontal feathers 4 inches, 10 lines : do of tarsus and middle 

 toe with nail 11| inches. The specimen alluded to is the only 

 one of the species known at present to have been killed in this 

 District. It is an extremely rare bird. I do not think that the 

 C. buccinator has ever been met with here. The specimen in 

 the Natural History Society has the frontal feathers only tinged 



yellow. 



Sub genus Anas. 



Sub gen. char. Bill broader than deep at the base, becoming 

 slightly contracted, and then widening towards the tip, which is ob- 

 tuse and flattened ; marginal teeth lamelliform and weak ; upper 

 mandible entirely covering the under ; nostrils basal, open, per- 

 vious, and covered by a membrane ; tongue fringed at the sides ; 

 neck about the same length as the body ; tarsus about equal to the 

 middle toe; wings moderate, acute; 1st or 2nd primaries longest ; 

 tail rounded or cuneiform, composed of 14 to 16 feathers. In 

 most species the lower row of wing coverts is very gaudily col- 

 oured, and extremely glossy, and is the part alluded to in the 

 following description of the species under the name of " specu- 

 lum." 



