AXATID.E. 5 



stirpes) among the birds of this family; the first com- 

 prising the Swans and Geese ; the second, the sin- 

 gular New Holland genus Cereopsis of Latham ; the 

 third, the true Ducks ; the fourth, the Mergansers ; 

 and the last, those Ducks with short wings and a lobated 

 hind toe. As I have not had an opportunity of ex- 

 amining many specimens, and have been compelled, 

 from the lamentable want of any public or other exten- 

 sive zoological collection in this country, to confine my 

 observations to the descriptions of Latham and others, 

 who, in most instances, describe only the feathers of 

 birds, I do not give the above as a perfect natural 

 distribution of this family, but as an approximation 

 thereto ; my chief object being to stimulate others, 

 who have not only better opportunities and more 

 leisure to investigate the subject and lay their ob- 

 servations before the public, but are at the same time 

 zealous in promoting the cause of science, and in con- 

 tributing towards the increase of our ornithological 

 knowledge. 



STIRPS 1. 



Rostrum basi altius quam latum; tarsi el on gat i ; trachea simplex. 

 Beak higher than broad at the base ; tarsi elongated ; trachea 

 simple. 



