34 WILD FOWL SHOOTING. 
general, broad and rounded. Wings of moderate length, 
acute; primaries narrow and tapering; the second 
longest, the first very little shorter, secondaries broad, 
curved inward, the inner elongated and tapering; tail 
short, much rounded, of sixteen acute feathers, of which 
the four central are recurved. 
Bill, greenish yellow; iris, dark brown ; feet, orange 
red; head and upper part of neck, deep green, a ring 
of white about the middle of the neck ; lower part ante- 
riorly and fore part of breast, dark brownish chestnut; 
fore part of back, light yellowish brown, tinged with gray, 
the rest of the back, brownish black; the rump, black, 
splendent, with green and purplish blue reflections, as 
on the recurved tail feathers. Upper surface of wings, 
grayish brown; the scapulars lighter, except the inner 
webs, and with anterior dorsal feathers, minutely un- 
dulated with brown. The speculum, or beauty spot, on 
about ten of the secondaries, is of a brilliant changing 
purple and green, edged with velvet, black and white ; 
the anterior black and white being on the secondary 
coverts; breast, sides, and abdomen very pale gray, mi- 
nutely undulated with darker; lower tail coverts black 
with blue reflections. 
Length to end of tail, 24 inches; extent of wings 56 ; 
weight, from two and a half to three pounds. 
Adult Female: Bill, black in the middle, dull orange 
at the extremities and along the edges; iris as in the 
male, as are the feet. The general color of the upper 
parts is pale yellowish brown streaked, and spotted with 
dusky brown; the feathers of the head are narrowly 
streaked; of the back with the margin and centrai 
streak yellowish brown, the rest of the scapulars simi- 
lar, but with the light streak on the outer web. The 
