^20 MERGANSER SERRATOR. 



toward the end, four of the secondary quills having black 

 margins ; but the three inner secondaries and their coverts 

 are brownish-black. The hind part of the back is light ash- 

 grey, minutely undulated with black ; the tail brownish- 

 grey. 



Length to end of tail 24^ inches ; extent of wings 30 ; 

 wing from flexure 9^ ; tail 3| ; bill along the ridge 2|-, 

 along the edge of lower mandible 2-LO-, its height at the 

 base -j^ ; tarsus 1-|4 ; first toe -^, its claw -^ ; second toe 

 l|f , its claw -^ ; third toe 2-^, its claw -^ ; fourth toe 2^^, 

 its claw ^. 



FfiMALE. — The female is considerably smaller than the 

 male, and has the plumage much less variegated. The 

 feathers of the crest are shorter, and the tuft anterior to the 

 wing-joint is wanting. The oesophagus is twelve inches and 

 a half long; the stomach an inch and a half; the intestine 

 five feet, from half an inch to three-twelfths in width ; the 

 coeca an inch and a half long. The bill is dusky above, ver- 

 milion beneath and on the edges ; the feet of a paler tint 

 than in the male. The head, and the hind part and sides of 

 the neck to half-way down, are light reddish-brown ; the 

 throat greyish-white ; the lower part of the neck all round 

 greyish-brown, the anterior feathers tipped with white ; the 

 rest of the lower parts pure white, excepting the sides under 

 the wings, and some of the lower wing-coverts, which are 

 brownish-grey. The upper parts are brownish-grey, the 

 feathers edged with grey ; the smaller wing-coverts grey, 

 ■without the white patch seen in the male. The quills are 

 brownish-black, the inner secondaries tinged with grey, and 

 there are two white patches formed by the outer secondaries 

 and their coverts, as in the male, but of less extent. The 

 hind part of the back and the tail-feathers are dusky grey. 



Length to end of tail 22^ inches ; extent of wings 28^ ; 

 wing from flexure 9 j ; tail 3-^ ; bill along the ridge 2-^ ; 

 tarsus 1-]^; middle toe 2-^, its claw -^. 



Variations. — Very considerable differences as to size 

 occur in both sexes. The digestive organs vary several 



