AMERICAN WIGEON. 91 



The feet light bluish-grey, the membranes darker, the claws 

 black. The whole upper part of the head reddish-white, a 

 broad band from the eye to the occiput deep green ; the loral 

 spaces and cheeks reddish-white, dotted with greenish-black ; 

 the upper neck brownish-red, similarly dotted. The feathers 

 on the hind part of the neck, the fore part of the back, and 

 the scapulars, are minutely transversely undulated with dusky 

 and pale red, passing behind into grey ; the hind part of the 

 back similarly undulated with dusky and greyish-white. 

 The anterior wing-coverts brownish-grey ; the primary coverts 

 dusky ; the secondary coverts white, tipped with black. The 

 alula and primary quills broAvnish-grey ; the outer secondary 

 quills, to the number of nine, have their outer webs duck- 

 green at the base, black toward the end ; the next, or first 

 inner secondary, chiefly white, narrowly edged with black ; 

 the rest black, margined with white, their inner webs brown- 

 ish-grey. The tail-feathers light brownish-grey. The throat 

 brownish-black ; the lower fore part and sides of the neck 

 light broAvnish-red ; the breast, abdomen, and sides of the 

 rump white ; the sides of the body under the wings finely 

 undulated with white and dark grey ; the rump beneath and 

 the lower tail-coverts black. 



Length to end of tail 22 inches ; wing from flexure 11 ; 

 tail 4^ ; bill along the ridge ^j-2, from frontal angles 1-^, 

 its height at the base -f-^, its breadth at the middle -^ ; bare 

 part of tibia -^ ; tarsus ly'g- ; hind toe ^, its claw -^ ; third 

 toe 1^, its claw j^^- 



Female. — The female is much smaller, and diflerently 

 coloured. The bill and feet, however, are as in the male. 

 The head and upper neck are reddish-white, streaked with 

 brownish-black, the top of the head barred. The feathers of 

 the upper parts in general are dusky-brown, edged with 

 brownish-red, and barred with the same. The wings are 

 greyish-brown ; the secondary coverts white toward the end ; 

 the primary quills gi*eyish-brown, the outer secondary quills 

 brownish-black, the inner greyish-brown, with the outer 

 margin white. The tail-feathers brownish-grey, margined 

 with white. On the lower fore part and sides of the neck 



