136 AMERICAN WIDGEON. 



We select the description of the Northern Zoo- 

 logy, in the absence of any specimen. " A white 

 band from the forehead to the nape, bounded behind 

 the eye by a broad dark green patch, which ends in 

 the nuchal crest. Upper parts and sides of the 

 breast brownish red, glossed with grey. Base of the 

 neck above, interscapulars, scapulars, and flanks, 

 minutely undulated with brownish red and black ; 

 hinder parts of the back undulated in a similar man- 

 ner with clove-brown and white, the latter colour 

 prevailing on the tail-coverts. Lesser wing-coverts, 

 primaries, and tail, clove-brown ; intermediate and 

 greater coverts, sides of the rump, breast, and belly, 

 pure white; speculum velvet-black below, duck- 

 green above, bounded superiorly with black, as pos- 

 teriorly with white ; exterior webs of the tertiaries 

 and lateral and inferior tail-coverts greenish black, 

 the first bordered with white ; bill bluish grey, bor- 

 dered and tipped with black. Total length twenty- 

 three inches." " Female has the upper plumage 

 dark hair-brown, edged and remotely barred with 

 pale brown and white ; the intermediate wing-co- 

 verts are merely edged with white, and there is no 

 green on the head ; tail shorter and not so tapering. 

 Total length about two inches less than the male." 



