ANATID^ — ANATINyE: lUVER DUCKS. 691 



284. A'NAS. (Lat. anm, a duck.) Common Ducks. Mallard and Black Ducks. Bill 



nut pliorlrr limn head, rather longer than tarsus, broad and about parallel-sided, higher than 

 wide at base, then much depressed and flattened, the end rounded, the nail narrow, less than 

 one-third as wide as the end of the bill. Nostrils high up, in basal half of bill. Feathers 

 reaching to about the same distance on forehead, cheeks, and chin. Tail rounded, less than 

 half as long as wing, of 16-18 pointed feathers. Bill greenish, or blackish blotched with 

 orange. Feet bright-colored. Speculum violet, etc., framed in black and white (in both 

 sexes). Sexes unlike (boscas) or alike (obscura). 



Analysis of Species, 

 (f Head and neck green, neck with white ring, breast purplish-chestnut, etc. $ variegated with dusky 



and yellowish-brown boscas 707 



(f $ entirely dusky, variegated with yellowish-brown ; lining of wings white obscura 708,709 



707. A. bos'cas. (Gr. /3oo-/caj, Z>osZ;as; Lat. boscas or fcoscis, probably this very si^ecies. Fig. -IZS.) 

 Mallard. Wild or Domestic Duck. Green-iiead. Adult (J: Bill greenish-yellow. Feet 

 orange-red. Iris brown. Head and upper neck glossy-green, succeeded by a white ring. Breast 

 purphsh-chestnut. Lower back, rump, and tail-coverts glossy-black. Tail-feathers mostly 

 whitish. Under parts from the breast, and scapulars, silvery-gray, finely undulated with 

 dusky-; crissum black. Speculum violet, purplish and greenish, framed in black and white 

 tips of the greater coverts, and black terminal border. 9 > adult : Feet and wings as in the ^ , 

 Bill blackish, blotched with orange, especially at base, tip and along edges- Entire body- 

 colors with dusky-brown and tawny-brown ; the tone paler and in finer pattern on the head, 

 neck, and under parts than on the back. Length 22.00-24.00; extent 32.00-36.00; wing 

 10.00-11.00; tail 3.00-4.00; bill about 2.00; tarsus rather less; middle toe and claw more. 

 In the drak^, a tult of curly feathers on tail. Weight 2 or 3 pounds. Habitat nearly cos- 

 mopolitan; nearly everywhere domesticated, being the well-known original of the barn-yard 

 duck. Wild in abundance throughout N. Am., breeding sparingly in the U. S. as well 

 as farther north; rare in New England, and .scarcely found beyond Massachusetts, being 

 replaced farther N. E. by the dusky duck. Nest on ground, of trash and feathers; eggs 

 usually 8-10, 2.25 X 1-60, smooth, dingy yeUowish-drab. 



Obs. — An anomalous duck, with the general aspect of a mallard, but nearly as large as 

 a goose, is occasionally taken on the Atlantic coast; it is unquestionably part mallard, tlic 

 balance of its parentage supposed to be muscovy ; Anas maxima Gosse; Fuligida viola Bell. — 

 A supposed hybrid of mallard x gadwall is Anas glocitans or A. breweri Aud. ; A. auduboni 

 Bp. The mallard is known to X Avith various other species. Upwards of 50 kinds of hybrid 

 ducks are recorded ; some of them prove fertUe. There is even a Clangula X Mergus. 



708. A. obseu'ra. (Lat. obscura, dark.) Dusky Duck. Black Duck. Size of the mallard, 

 aud resembling the 9 <jf tbat species, but darker and without white anywhere except the 

 lining of the wings in (J 9 > and a narrow white line along proximal border of speculum 

 of ^. Sexes alike. BiU yellowish-green, with dusky nail; feet orange-red, with dusky 

 webs. Iris brown. General plumage dusky-brown, paler below tlian above, variegated 

 with pale rusty-brown edgings of the feathers ; top of head darker than sides and throat, 

 the former blackish with pale brown streaking in fine pattern, the latter grayish -brown with 

 dark streaking. Wing-coverts dusky-gray ; the greater tipped with black, edging tlie 

 purplish-blue or violet speculum. The general blackish color, contrasting with white lining 

 of wings, and the violet speculum framed in velvety-black, are diagnostic. 9 &oscas is much 

 lighter in tone, and more variegated with tawny-brown. Chiefly Eastern N. Am. ; Western f 

 Abundant along the Atlantic Coast, Texas to Labrador. One of the commonest ducks in 

 summer in New England and N. E.-M-ard. W. to Kansas, Iowa, etc., but not positively 

 known beyond. Nest on ground, of weeds, grass, and feathers ; eggs 8-10, dirty pale yellowish- 

 drab, about 2.30 X 1-75. One of the best table ducks. 



