ANATID.E. 355 



lamellee of the upper mandible not prominent, and the nostrils 

 oval, and placed near the base ; wings lengthetied and 

 pointed, with the two first quills the longest ; tail short and 

 rounded ; tarsi half the length of the middle toe, and com- 

 pressed ; toes lengthened, and united by a full web. 



659. Nyroca Brunnea, Eyton's Anat, pi. p. 16i. 



6 . — General colour above, deep brown, minutely variegated 

 with grey ; below, deep brown, tinged with rufous, more 

 especially on the flanks and shoulders; lower part of the 

 neck and breast approaching to black, tinged with faintish 

 purple ; cheeks and sides of upper part of neck, rich dark- 

 chestnut ; small spot on the chin and bar on the wing, white. 

 9. — Throughout a lighter-brown, approaching to whit© 

 on the under parts, and all tinged and blotched with dirty- 

 rufous ; chin, anterior portion of throat, base of the bill, and 

 stripe through the eye, white ; i rides, bright reddish-crimson. 

 Length, 19"; wing, 9i"; tail, 3". 



A periodical visitant to tliis end of the colony. I saw a pair in 

 Zoetendals Vley in November, 1865, apparently breeding in the vast 

 bed of rushes at the south end of the vley. 



The Sub-Family, ERISMATURINiE, or Spiny- 

 tailed Ducks, 



have the bill elevated at the base, and the anterior half much 

 depressed to the tip, which is furnished with a nuil ; the 

 wings short and concave, with the ends of the quills 

 incurved ; the tail len^^thened, and composed of narrow, ligid 

 feathers, which are but slightly protected with coverts both 

 above and below ; the tarsi shorter than the middle toe, and 

 compressed ; the toes lengthened, the anterior ones united by 

 a full web, and the hind toe long, and furnished with a 

 broad web. 



Genus THALASSORNIS, Eyton. 



Bill nearly the length of the head, more elevated at the 

 base than broad ; the culmen sloping to near the tip, and 

 then depressed, and armed with a strong, broad, hooked nail ; 

 the width of the upper mandible nearly equal throughout, 

 and the sides somewhat compressed ; the nostrils small, oval, 

 and placed in the middle of the bill ; wings short, with the 

 second and third quills longest ; tail rounded, and composed 

 of slightly rigid feathers ; tarsi much shorter than the middle 



