SUBFAMILY A A' A TIN ^. 277 



one species are supposed to have accidentally straggled into 

 Greenland, that fact is hardly sufficient to give it a rightful claim 

 to be included among North American birds, especially as I am 

 not aware that those who record its presence in Greenland saw 

 the individuals there alive. 



GENUS ANAS 

 (Latin Anas, a duck). 



Anas, Linn. Syst. Nat., 1766, vol. i., p. 134. Type Anas 

 bosc/ias, Linn. 



Bill about as long as the head, longer than the tarsus, broad 

 and swelling outward toward the tip, where its greatest width 

 is nearly one-thii-d the length of the culmen. 



In the A. O. U. Check List this genus is made to include 

 a number of species such as the Gadwall, Widgeon, and Teal, in 

 addition to those closely related to the type. Genera, of course, 

 are not found in nature, but afford convenient boundaries for 

 the more complete arrangement of groups in natural science. 

 So perhaps it would not be absolutely incorrect if all the Fresh- 

 Water Ducks were placed under Anas; but as a number of them 

 possess characters which may properly be called generic, and 

 which are not possessed by others, there is no reason why these 

 should not be recognized. To be consistent we must do one of 

 two things: include most of the species under one genus, or 

 accept the fact that there are numerous genera and recognize 

 the characters that indicate them wherever found. Anas, as 

 1 regard it, possesses only four species and subspecies in North 

 America, one {A. f. maculosa) possibly of doubtful validity, as 

 we become more familiar with its claims for separation from the 

 others. There are nearly twenty species that belong to this 

 genus, not including any of those not typical retained in it accord- 

 ing to the A. O. U. List, but which properly should be placed in 

 other genera. These twenty .species are scattered throughout the 

 world, and from the type, the Common Wild Duck, are descended 

 most of the domesticated races. The members of this genus 

 rarely go beyond the Arctic circle, and the species often remain 

 in the temperate zone throughout the year, and breed wherever 

 they may be. In fact, the two subspecies inhabiting the United 

 States are rarely met with as far north as Kansas. They are 

 " mud ducks" ; that is, fond of dabbling in the ooze found along 



