186 BUFFEL-HEADED CARROT. 



orange : claws black. The female is smaller than the 

 male : length fourteen inches : beak black : irides 

 hazel : the head and upper parts deep brown : behind 

 the eye an oval white spot: throat and under parts 

 pale grey : greater quills deep brown ; the lesser ones 

 the same, but outwardly edged with white, forming 

 a patch on the wing : tail brown : legs black. 



Common on the sea-shores, rivers,,and lakes of the 

 United States of America, during the autumn and 

 winter : about the middle of April, or early in May, 

 they retire to the north to breed, and are said to 

 make their nests in trees in the woods near ponds : 

 the young of both sexes resemble the females. They 

 are expert divers, and fly with great rapidity : their 

 note is a short quaJc. They generally fly in pairs in 

 the early part of the winter, but towards the spring 

 they associate in flocks. They feed chiefly on shell- 

 fish and shrimps, and though they are often exceed- 

 ingly fat, their flesh is not very excellent. 



