FORKED MERGANSER. ? 



white : breast, back, and rump black, the feathers 

 appearing scaly : belly and vent white : tail forked 

 as in the Swallow : the outer feathers white : wing- 

 coverts shaded not unlike the back : lesser quills like 

 the back, part of them white, making a large spot of 

 that colour between the back and wings." Latham. 



STIRPS V. 



Rostrum basi latins quam altum, lateribus laminato-dentatis ; tarsi 



elongati, compressi ; pollex lobo insiructus. 

 Beak bruader than high at its base, its sides laniinato-dentated ; 



the tarsi elongated, compressed ; the hinder toe furnished with 



a membrane. 



THE birds belonging to this stirps are distinguished 

 from those of the third by the lobated appendage to 

 the hinder toe, and from the preceding by the form 

 of the beak, which is not serrated. They are stouter 

 made, and some of the genus approach in stature and 

 affinity to the Geese ; others to the Divers : their wings 

 are very short : their legs are placed more backward 

 on the body than in any other Ducks : the tarsi are 

 much compressed, and the toes are longer and more 

 webbed. They walk and fly indifferently, but swim 

 and dive with facility. Their food consists almost 

 exclusively of fishes and insects. 



