AQUATIC FOWL. 163 



common wild duck in colour, is livid brown above, with pale, 

 yellowish brown on the under parts, the speculum less vivid than 

 in the male. Weight, about twenty-two ounces. 



THE HARLEQUIN DUCK, 



Is another of our very beautiful water-fowl : it is a scarce visitor 

 in Britain, but in America it was known to Wilson, Audubon, 

 and Buonaparte. It has been found to breed in the Bay of Fundy, 

 under the bushes, a few yards from the water ; but in Newfound- 

 land and Labrador, they frequent, for the same purpose, the 

 inland lakes, incubating near the edges. It is beautifully con- 

 trasted with black and white stripes, harmonized by a mixture 

 of chesnut red and gray. The secondaries are black, glossed 

 with indigo-blue, forming the speculum ; quills, brownish-black. 

 Scotland and the Orkneys, are its favourite resort. Mr. Yarrell 

 mentions having purchased two in the London market. It has 

 been shot in Cheshire. 



THE GADWALL, 



Though abundant in Holland, from whence I have had living 

 specimens, is rather scarce in Britain ; it is a winter visitor, in 

 Ireland, but scarce ; it breeds in the high northern latitudes of 

 Europe, Asia, and America ; it is a fresh- water duck, being sel- 

 dom found on the sea coast. Its food is insects and their larvae, 

 fresh-water shelled mollusks, small fishes, and aquatic plants, 

 and grain of any sort ; its flesh is in high estimation ; it is of 

 modest colour, consisting of brown, gray, white, and blackish- 

 brown; speculum white, with a black anterior border; bill 

 brownish-black, legs orange. The female is not so bright in her 

 colouring as the male ; it is about the size of a widgeon, but 

 longer, and smaller in shape. 



THE RED-HEADED POUCHARD, OR DUN-DIVER 



Of British authors, is to be found during the winter months in 

 most parts of Great Britain, and is known to breed in both Eng- 

 land and Holland. In America it is found in great numbers, in 

 the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. It is a diver, 

 for its food; will feed on tadpoles, lizards, grass, corn, beech- 

 mast, and acorns. The head and neck are of a rich chesnut- 

 brown, shading into deep brownish- black on the breast ; the rump, 



