114 



HYNCHASPIS. SHOVELER. 



Generic Character. 



Rostrumlongum, basi inerme, 

 semicylindricum, apice di- 

 lato subspathiforme, ungue 

 incurvo, parvo ; mandibulae 

 lateribus laminato-pecti- 

 natis. 



Nares mediales, ovales, ba- 



sales. 

 Cauda brevis, simplex; rec- 



tricibus quatuordecim ple- 



rumque instructis. 



Beak long, its base unarmed, 

 semicylindric, the tip di- 

 lated, somewhat spoon- 

 shaped, with a small in- 

 curved nail; the sides of 

 the mandibles with pecti- 

 nated lamellae. 



Nostrils medial, oval, basal. 



Tail short, simple, furnished 

 mostly with fourteen fea- 

 thers. 



RHYNCHASPIS. Leach. MSS. 

 ANAS. Linn., Gmel., Lath., &c. 



-I HE singular form of the beak in this genus suf- 

 ficiently characterizes it from the rest of the group : 

 this part is larger than in the Ducks, and, like them, 

 has the base free and unincumbered with any tuber- 

 culated appendages : at its origin the upper mandible 

 is semicylindric, it then becomes depressed, and at 

 the tip is greatly expanded on the sides, the tip itself 



