]76 SMEW. 



straggler ; a single specimen of the male has only 

 occurred to ourselves recently killed, though we 

 know of a few other instances that can be depended 

 on. In Ireland it has sometimes been killed. In 

 Central Europe it does not seem unfrequent ; during 

 winter we have seen the females and young carried 

 about the Boulevards of Paris, among other water- 

 fowl. In Northern Europe it is also found, and 

 most probably will extend to North-eastern Asia. 

 M. Temminck gives Japan to it ; the Prince of 

 Canino, the northern and central coasts of North 

 America. Audubon, again, considers it of ex- 

 treme rarity, scarcely deserving of the rank of an 

 American species ; he only once saw a specimen 

 of a female, which he shot, and was obliged to have 

 recourse to a British specimen for his drawing of 

 the male. The modification is unknown. 



In this species, of much less size, we have again 

 the decided contrasts of black and white. The 

 plumage of the head is loose and silky, and rises on 

 the crown and hind head to an ample but gracefully 

 drooping crest ; the head, neck, breast, belly, vent 

 and under tail-covers are pure white, on the flanks 

 and under the wings irregularly crossed with black, 

 but the purity is broken on the head by a round 

 spot under the eye and bounded by the bill, of deep 

 black glossed with green, while the posterior part of 

 the occipital crest has a streak of the same colour 

 marking its base ; centre of the back, the rump, and 

 wings are black; the feathers of the back, where 

 joining the pure colour of the breast, being tipped 

 with black, run upon it in two crescented narrow 



