BIRDS — ANA! IN AE — MARECA AMERICANA. 



783 



A specimen of this bird from Illinois, otherwise similar, is entirely without chestnut red on 



the wing. 



List of specimens. 



Locality. 



Eulorn Uniied Suiea.. 



Rabbit river, Minn 



Treniont, lil 



Pecos, Tcxna 



Mimbres to Rio Qraiide. 



Janos, Mex 



San Jas£, Cal 



Bodega, CaJ 



San Francisco, Cat 



Port Steilacoom 



When col- 

 lected. 



June 2J.iaS5 

 May 23,1655 



April - 



Feb. —,1855 

 Mai. — , 1854 

 Feb. — , 1?54 



Whence obtained. 



S. F. BainI 



Gov. Stevens 



W. J. Shaw 



Capt. Pope 



Dr. Henry 



Major Einor>' 



A. J. Grayson 



Lieut. Trowbridge. 

 Lieut. Whipple.... 

 Gov. Stevens 



Orig. 

 No. 



14 



Collected by— 



Dr. Suckiey. 



Dr. Kenncrly. 



T. A.Sxabo. 



Dr. Suclfley. 



Len{;th 



Stretch 

 of wings. 



19.50 



Wing. 



10.50 



MARECA, Stephens. 



Mareea, Stepbeks, Shaw's Gen. Zool. XII, ii, 1824, 130. Type ^nos penelope, L. 

 Penelope, Kaup, 18i29. 



Ch. — Bill shorter than tlie head, and equal to tho inner toe claw. The sides parallel to near the end, which is rather ohtusely 

 pointed, the nail occupying the tip, and about one-third as broad as the bill. Bill rather high; the upper lateral angle at 

 the base not prominent, nor extending as far back as the lower edge. Tail pointed ; not half tho wings. 



The North American and European species of 31areca have the upper parts finely waved 

 transversely with black and gray or reddish brown, the under parts, with the usual exceptions, 

 snowy white. The top of the head is uniform white or cream color ; the neck more or less 

 spotted. The middle and greater coverts are white, the latter tipped with black. The 

 speculum is grein, encircled by black. The tertials are black on the outer web, edged with 

 hoary white ; the entire outer web of one of them hoary. The cliaracteristics of the species are 

 as follows : 



Head and neck grayish, the feathers of the former thickly spotted, of the latter banded with 

 black. Top of head nearly white ; a broad and continuous patch of green around and behind 

 the eye M. americana. 



Head and neck reddish brown or cinnamon, the feathers of the former slightly spotted with 

 dusk}', of the latter almost uniformly colored. Top of head cream colored ; only a faint trace 

 of green around the eye, and a few spots behind it M. penelope. 



MARECA AMERICANA, Stephens. 



Baldpate ; American Widgeon. 



.anas amtricana, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 526.— Lath. Ind. II, 8G1 .— Wii.sox, Am. Orn. VlII, 1814, 86 ; pi. 



Ixix.— Bos. Obs. No. 259.— Add. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 337 ; pi. 345.— Ib. Syn. 1839, 279.— 



Ib. Birds Amer. VI, 1843, 259 ; pi. 389. 

 Martca americana, Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. XII, ii, 1824, 135.— Sw. F. Bor. Am. II, 1831, 445.— Bos. List, 



1838.— Etton, Mon. Anat. 1838, 116. 

 Jlnas (Boschus) americana, Nuttall, Man. II, 1834, 389. 

 .American widgeon, Penn. U, 567. 



