4, 
ANATIDHA—ANATINZ: RIVER DUCKS. 691 
A'NAS. (Lat. anas, a duck.) Common Ducks. MALLARD anp Buack Ducks. Bill 
not shorter than 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, ete., framed in black and white (in both 
sexes). Sexes unlike (boscas) or alike (obscura). 
Analysis of Species. 
¢ Head and neck green, neck with white ring, breast Sk he etc. : variegated with dusky 
and yellowish-brown . . : Dito) el veh anh DOSCOS MOG 
od ¢ entirely dusky, variegated eit Cllowiste “Si lining of wings white . * . « + « Obscura 708, 709 
A. bos/eas. (Gr. Booxds, boskas; Lat. boscas or boscis, probably this very species. Fig. 47S.) 
MALLARD. WILD OR Domestic Duck. GREEN-HEAD. Adult @: Bill greenish-yellow. Feet 
orange-red. Iris brown. Head and upper neck glossy-green, succeeded by a white ring. Breast 
purplish-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; erissum 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 palez 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. 
Tm the drake, a tuft 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. 8S. as well 
as farthe: 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 yellowish-drab. 
Oxs. —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, the 
balance of its parentage supposed to be museovy; Anas maxima Gosse; Fuligula viola Bell. — 
A supposed hybrid of mallard x gadwall is Anas glocitans or A. breweri Aud.; A. audubons 
Bp. The mallard is known to xX with various other species. Upwards of 50 kinds of hybrid 
ducks are recorded; some of them prove fertile. There is even a Clangula  Mergus. 
A. obsewra. (Lat. obscura, dark.) Dusky Duck. Buack Duck. Size of the mallard, 
and resembling the 9 of that species, but darker and without white anywhere except the 
lining of the wings in @\ Q, and a narrow white line along proximal border of speculum 
of @. Sexes alike. Bill yellowish-green, with dusky nail; feet orange-red, with dusky 
webs. Iris brown. General plumage dusky-brown, paler below than 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 the 
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. Q boscas is much 
lighter in tone, and more variegated with tawny-brown. Chiefly Eastern N. Am.; Western ? 
Abundant along the Atlantic Coast, Texas to Labrador. One of the commonest ducks in 
summer in New England and N. E.-ward. W. to Kansas, Iowa, etc., but not positively 
known beyond. Nest ou 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. 
