CHAPTER XIV. 



BLUE-WINGED TEAL (ANAS DISCORS). 



Adult male : Ibili almost as long as the head, 

 deeper than broad at the base, depressed towards 

 the end, its breadth nearly equal in its whole 

 length, being, however, a little enlarged towards 

 the rounded tip. 



Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. 

 Neck of moderate length, rather slender. Body 

 full, depressed. Feet short, placed rather far back. 



Plumage dense, soft, and blended. Feathers of 

 the head and neck very small and slender; of the 

 back and lower parts in general broad and round- 

 ed. Wings of moderate length, rather narrow and 

 acute. Primaries strong, slightly curved, tapering ; 

 the first scarcely longer than the second; the rest 

 rapidly decreasing. Secondaries broad, the outer 

 obliquely rounded, the inner elongated and acu- 

 minate, as are the scapulars. Tail short, rounded, 

 and acuminate, of fourteen rather narrow acumi- 

 nate feathers. 



