OT DUCKa 



Mr. Yamtll in hi* ' Observation* on Ui Trachcw of Birds' (' Linn. 

 Truw.' TO). XT.), after ppeaiinK of the form of the windpipe, among 

 ubn of UM Black Swan of Australia, Aniu ftrala, Linn., and of 

 that of UM Semi-psliuated DOOM, A*<u itmifulmala of Dr. Latham, 

 goes ao to remark that the different .pecies of geese considered 

 British pnMBt nothing remarkable in their traclie, the Egyptian 

 OOOM alone excited, the male of which speciet possesses a bony 

 enlargement at the bottom of iU windpipe ; and he notice* the circum- 

 i that y utematic author* seem to agree in placing this bird at 

 *tom of UM list of the geese, where it appear* to occupy it* 

 i ; and observes that, combining an it doe* some of the 



: 



common to thoe birds and the true ducks, it becomes a 

 natural link between them, and he closes his interesting paper 

 i an arrangement of the British species of the latter portion of 

 thi family founded upon internal as well as external conformation. 



" The flnt division of true ducks," says Mr. Yarrell, " will contain 

 the Shielduck, Muscovy Duck, Wild Duck, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pintail,; 

 Wigeon, Bimaculated Duck, Oarganey, and Teal, all of which will U- 

 found to here the following characters in common. Externally they 

 exhibit considerable length of neck ; the wings are aim long, reaching 

 to the end of the tail ; the tarsi somewhat round ; the hind toe free 

 or baring no pendent lobe. In habits they may be stated generally 

 as frequenting fresh water, but passing much of their time on land, 

 feeding in ditches and about the shallow edges of pools on aquatic 

 plants, insects, worms, and occasionally fish, taking their food at or 

 near the surface ; possessing great powers of flight, but seldom diving 

 unless pursued. Of their internal soft parts, the stomach is in the 

 greatest degree muscular, forming a true gizzard ; the intestines long, 

 the csscal appendages from 6 to 9 inches in length in the larger birds, 



and decreasing only in proportion to the size of the species. Of the 

 bones it may be observed that the ribs are short, extending but little 

 beyond the line of the posterior edge of the sternum ; the keel of the 



breast-bone deep, affording great extent of surface for the insertion of 

 large and powerful pectoral muscles ; the enlargement at the bottom 

 of the trachea in all of them is of bone only. The wild duck may 

 be considered the type of this division." 



Mr. Yarrell then proceeds to state that the Eider-Duck, King-Duck, 

 Velvet-Duck, and Scoter, possessing some characters common to the 

 preceding class, and others belonging to that next in succession, appear 

 to supply the link between these two divisions ; and he regrets that 

 UM extreme rarity of the hut- named species had prevented him from 

 making any examination beyond that afforded by the external parts of 

 preserved specimens in collections. 



The next division of true ducks, according to Mr. Yarrell, includes 

 in the following order the Red-Crested, the Pochard, Ferruginous, 

 Scaup, Tufted, Harlequin, Long-Tailed, and Golden-Eye ; and their 

 general distinctions, he remarks, internal as well as external, compared 

 with those of the birds of the first division, will be found of an 

 opposite character. Externally, they exhibit the neck and wings 

 short, UM latter only reaching to the origin of the tail-feathers ; the tarsi 

 abort and compressed ; the hind toe lobated, and an extended web to 

 the inner toe. They frequent the sea, or the deep parts of the fresh- 

 water Ukes, and have been called Oceanic Ducks ; they are seldom 

 seen on land ; their walk is embarrassed from the backward position of 

 their leg*, but they dive constantly and with great facility, taking their 

 pray U various depths below the surface; their food consist* of 

 finned and shell-fish, and marine insect*, but of little or no vegetable 

 production ; and their power* of flight are moderate. With regard to 

 their soft parts, Mr. V arrell states that the cosophsgus is capable of 

 grot dilatation, that the stomach is a muscular gizzard, but that the 

 internal cavity increases in size ; the stomachs of the Long-Tailed 

 Duck and Golden- Eye most resembling the stomach of the Mergansers, 

 whilst UM intestine* and ctscal appendage* are shorter, the latter 

 dtainishmg from inches In the first to 4( inches in the Tufted Duck, 

 S inches in UM Long-Tailed, and but 3 inches in th . The 



ribs of UM birds of this division, according to the same author, are 

 elongated ; the keel of the brewt-bone gradually decreases in depth 

 UM position of UM wings is more forward, and the legs are placet 

 farther back. The tncbest of these ducks, moreover, are particularly 

 distinguished from tbo*t of UM others by the enlargement at the 

 bottom of UM tab* being covered with delicate membrane, supported 

 by .lender portion* of bone; the trachea of the Red-Crested Duck is 

 an example of U,,. form, and Mr. Yarrell is of opinion that it may be 

 cosio*rd the type of this division. 



"As UM Egyptian Goose," continues Mr. Yarrell, "has in thin 

 amuwcsoeut been considered UM link between the geese and the tin. 

 division of UM true ducks, from its possn*ing, with the characters o 

 UM former. UM bosry enlargement of the tncbea common to the latter 

 and the Velvet- Duck, for similar reasons, supplying the link betweei 

 the two divisions of true ducks, ponwssing, among other characters, 

 an attend form of the bony enlargement of the trachea of the one, 

 with the lobated toe of UM other; so UM Golden-Eye, the Ust of the 

 series, api-ears to complete UM arrangement, by exhibiting some of the 

 characters found in the Mergansers, which are next in succession.' 

 The Ant point of similarity is found by Mr. Yarrcll in ths elongated 

 feather, of UM top of the bead, forming a crest ; they agree also, be 

 adds, in the shape of the sternum, and a particular extensions of its 

 posterior edg, brooming Ml fusiform process; and this exteii-iou .. 



DDCKS. 400 



he edge of the breast-bone prevails in the genera t'otymbtu, Alfa, and 

 '.'ria : and, with the elongation of the ribs observable in all good salt- 

 water divers, seems intended as a protection to the important viscera 

 of the abdomen, and enables them to resist pressure when below tin 

 surface. ^The Golden-Kye, in the opinion of the same author, U alsu 

 ntermediate in its stomach, intestines, and coecal appendages, the 

 alter being only 2 inches in length. In the Goosander indeed Mr. 

 Yarrell found that these appendage* reached 3 inches ; but, as he well 

 observe*, the size of the bird being considered, they are reduced on a 

 comparative estimate to less than 2 inches ; in the Red-Breasted Mer- 

 ranner he found them to measure but 1 inch, and the Swan he states 

 s without any. In the form of its trachea, the Golden-Eye, it seems, 

 uorr closely resembles the Mergansers than that of any other duck, 

 jy the enlargement in the tube, and in the shape of the labyrinth. 

 ' Thus the whole of the numerous species of the A nalidte ap|>ear to 

 descend to the more perfect water-birds by gradations, but with well- 

 marked divisions throughout." 



Prince C. L. Bonaparte, in his ' Tabella Analitica dei Generi.' 

 'Specchio Comparative,' 1827) makes his -Ordine Anttm consist of 

 ive families : the Lonyiptnnet, the LamtUutudentati, the Sttyanopodri, 

 ;he Lobi/iiilrt, and the Pygopodtt. His Famiglia LameUotodentali 

 comprises the two genera Aiuu and Mergut, the firr-t of whii-li In 

 characterises thus " Becoo depresso, ottuso, con deuti lamellitWmi : " 

 and it comprehends the swans, geese, and ducks in the large meaning 

 of the term. 



M. Lesson, in his 'Manual' (1828), makes the Anatida (LamtUi- 

 rottra of Cuvier) the fifth and lost family of the sixth order, Lrs 

 Palmipedes, Natatorct of Illigerand Vieillot. Under the Anatida he 

 arranges the genera Cygntu, Meyer ; An$er, Brisson, with its sub- 

 genera; C'ereopnt, Latham; Amu, Linntcus ; and Mtrytu, Lin: 

 The genus A not he divides into two sections. 



Mr. Swainson, in his paper 'On those Birds which exhibit the 

 Typical Perfection of the Family of Anatidaj' ('Journal of the Royal 

 Institution of Great Britain'), remarks, that the most superficial 

 observer, on looking to the family of the Anatida, or Ducks, under 

 which he will include the geese and swans, must be struck by the 

 remarkable shape and structure of the bill, totally different from that 

 of all other birds. This, iu fact, he adds, is the only group in the 

 aquatic order wherein the bill is very considerably dilated in its 

 l.readtli, an. I of a texture unusually soft. In addition to these, a 

 third and a very important character is discerned ; the cutting margins 

 of the bill are provided with numerous transverse lamellar plaits, so 

 much developed in some species as to project beyond the bill, thus 

 assuming an analogy to the teeth of quadrupeds. This analogy how- 

 ever is more imaginary than real, since these appendages are destined 

 for a very different purpose. The feet, although in general short, art' 

 adapted to more than one purpose, since they are not only u.- 

 swimming and diving, but for walking. 



Mr. Swainson proceeds to state that "the gulls feed indiscrimi- 

 nately upon marine animals, whether living or dead: they are the 

 purifiers of the waters, as the vultures are of the land. The pelican* 

 and the penguins derive their support from those large fish whic-h the 

 more feeble gulls can neither capture nor swallow, while the term 

 rkim the ocean iu search of small fish which rise to the surface. But 

 the inconceivable multitudes of minute animals which swarm, ar 

 voyagers assert, in the northern seas, and the equally numerous pro 

 fusion inhabiting the sides of rivers and fresh waters, would be 

 without any effectual check upon then- increase, but for a family of 

 birds destined more particularly for that purpose. In the structure 

 accordingly of the ducka we Rue all these qualifications in the utmost 

 perfection. By means of their broad bill, as they feed upon very 

 small and soft substances, they capture at one effort conaid. 

 numbers. Strength of substance in this member is unnecessary : the 

 bill is therefore comparatively weak, but great breadth U obvimi-K 

 essential to the nature of their food. As these small insects also 

 win. li constitute the chief food of the A natiJa live principally beneath 

 the surface of the mud, it is clear that the bill should be so formed 

 that the bird should have the power of separating its nourishment 

 from that which would be detrimental to the stomach. The use of 

 the lamina 1 thus becomes apparent : the offensive matter is ejected 

 between their interstices, which however are not sufficiently wide ., 

 admit the passagti of the insect food at the same time. The mouthful 

 of stuff brought from the bottom is, as it w, r,., ,-ificd in,.M ,11, vtualiy 

 by this curiously-iibaped bill ; the refuse is expelled, but the fud i 

 retained. It is probable also that the tongue is materially employed 

 on this process; for unlike that of all other bird*, it i. runmrkalily 

 Urge, thick, and fleshy. From being so highly developed, it must be 

 endowed with an unusual degree of sensation; anil ind..d, a very 

 exquisite sense of taste muKt belong to any animal which has t > 

 separate its food from extraneous substances, without deriving any 

 assistance in the process from its powers of sight; against this defi- 

 ciency nature has wisely provided, by heightening and increasing the 

 eases of taste and touch." 



In the physiological series of the Museum of the Royal College of 

 Surgeons in London -Gallery (317) is the head of a Muscovy Duck, 

 Anai JHoichala, Linn., showing the serrated character of the tiargin* 

 of the mandibles, and the peculiar tuberomty at the base of the beak ; 

 and a good opportunity of studying the structure of the tongue is 



