220 BIRDS OF EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA 



Anas. 

 Bill nearly straight, wide, height at base less than length 

 from feathers to tip; hind toe not lobed, but with only a 

 narrow membrane; nest on ground, occasionally in old nest 

 in a tree; gregarious in winter and frequenting coasts and 

 lakes; in summer males pass through an "eclipse" state of 

 plumage resembling female plumage but retaining the brighter 

 speculum and traces at least of other male characteristics. 



Anas boschas boschas L. Mallard. Fr. Canard 

 sauvage ; Gcr. Stockente ; Ital. Germane reale ; Swed. Grasand. 



^ Head and neck green, collar white ; back vermiculated 

 brown and white ; scapulars vermiculated grey and white ; 

 speculum purple between black and white bars ; breast chestnut, 

 remainder underparts vermiculated grey and white ; four central 

 tail feathers recurved. $ Brown with pale margins, central tail 

 feathers not recurved. Bill ^ greenish yellow, top and tip 

 blackish ; 9 greenish olive, top and tip dark horn. Legs and 

 feet orange red. Iris brown. Wing $, 260-285, ? 240-260. 

 Tarsus 42-45. Bill 52-58. 



Breeds. — British Isles, Faroes, Azores ; Continental Europe, 

 Corsica, Sardinia ; and widely in Asia and N. America ; N.W. 

 Africa (Morocco to Tunis). Partly migratory ; occurs in winter 

 Canaries, N. Africa, India, China, and Japan, and in America 

 south to Panama. 



Note. — A slightly different form "A. boschas conboschas " 

 Brehm, occurs in Greenland, and is greyer above with black 

 spots on chest and coarser vermiculations on underparts ; while 

 in Iceland there is a more doubtful form, " A. boschas subboschas '^ 

 Brehm ; this has the black spots in a lesser degree in the adult 

 male. These spots only seem to occur in "A. boschas boschas" 

 when passing into and out of eclipse plumage. 



Anas crecca crecca L. Teal. Fr. Sarcelle sarcelline ; 

 Gcr. Krickente ; Ital. Alzarola ; Siued. Krickan. 



^ Above grey, vermiculated black and white, head and neck 

 chestnut, face and neck stripe green, margined cream ; outer 

 scapulars striped black and white or buff; tips of greater coverts 

 cinnamon ; speculum green and black margined above rufous and 



