130 



MARECA. WIGEON. 



Generic Character. 



Rostrum breve, basi inerme, 

 subcylindricum, sublineare, 

 apice ungue parvo instruc- 

 to ; mandibulas lateribus 

 dentato-subserratis. 



Nares parvae, basales, ovales. 

 Cauda brevis, acuta, rectri- 



cibus plerumque quatuor- 



decim ornatis. 



PENELOPE Antiquorum. 



Beak short, its base unarmed, 

 subcylindric, rather linear, 

 the tip furnished with a 

 small hook ; the mandibles 

 with their edges slightly 

 dentato-serrated. 



Nostrils small, basal, oval. 



Tail short, acute, mostly fur- 

 nished with fourteen fea- 

 thers. 



1 HE Wigeons have the beak rather broader and 

 less elevated at the base than the Teals : it is also 

 shorter than in the last-mentioned : in other respects 

 the two genera are similar, but the individuals 

 comprised in the present are usually much larger 

 than the Teals, which are amongst the smallest of 

 the Anatidae. Wigeons have a peculiar whistling 

 note, unlike that of any other Duck. The name 

 Penelope having been used, by Linne, for another 

 genus, I have adopted the appellation given to some 

 of the species by the illustrious Ray. 



