218 ANATID.E. 



former having already a white spot under the eye. The 

 down with which they were covered was rather stiff and 

 hair-like ; of a black colour, excepting under the chin, where 

 there was a small patch of white. They swam with great 

 ease, and when we drove them into a narrow place for the 

 purpose of catching them, they several times turned upon us 

 and dived, Avith the view of getting back to the middle of the 

 pond, so that at last we found it necessary to shoot them. 

 Only one escaped ashore, which was afterw-ards caught and 

 restored to its mother, who continued on the pond, manifest- 

 ing the greatest anxiety, and calling to her brood all the 

 while with short squeaking notes, by no means unpleasant 

 to the car. A pair had bred on the same water for six or 

 seven years in succession, and the young did not leave the 

 pond until they were able to fly." 



The adult male has the beak orange, based and edged 

 with black ; the irides pale yellowish-white ; the eye-lid and 

 a small patch behind each eye white ; the ends of the secon- 

 dary quill-feathers white, forming a conspicuous bar across 

 the wing ; all the rest of the plumage uniform velvet-black ; 

 the legs and toes reddish-orange, the intervening membranes 

 dark brown, 



The whole length twenty-two inches. From the point of 

 the wing to the end of the longest quill-fcathcr ten inches 

 and three- quarters. 



In the female, Mr. Audubon says, the basal prominence of 

 the bill is much less elevated, and the colour of the whole 

 bill is dusky. The irides and feet are as in the male, but 

 of duller tints ; the general colour of the plumage is a sooty 

 brown ; the breast and abdomen lighter ; there are two 

 whitish spots on each side of the head, one near the base of 

 the upper mandible, the other behind the eye ; the secondary 

 (juills arc white, as in the male. 



'I'hc trachea of the male Velvet Duck is remarkable for a 



