ANAS. BIRDS. 319 



A. Penelope, Lin. The Widgeon. Head and neck red chestnut ; 

 forehead whitish yellow; throat black; breast wine-coloured; wing- 

 coverts and lower parts whitish ; speculum of the wing of three 

 bands, the middle one green, the lateral deep black ; scapulars 

 black, edged with white ; back and flanks with zigzag black and 

 white lines; bill blue, black at the tip. 18 inches long. Inhabits 

 Northern Europe. B. Lewin's Brit. Birds, vii. pi. 251. 



A. clypeata, Lin. Shoveler Duck. Head and neck deep green, with 

 reflections ; belly and flanks red chestnut ; wing-coverts blue ; 

 scapulars white, with blackish points and spots ; bill broad, rounded 

 like a spoon, brownish black, yellowish beneath. 18 inches long. 

 Inhabits Europe. Shaw, xii. pi. 48. 



A. querquedula, Lin. The Garganey Teal. A white band on the 

 sides of the head ; small wing-spot cinereous green ; throat deep 

 black ; head and neck reddish brown, with small white points ; 

 a white band on the middle of the scapulars ; wing-coverts bluish; 

 belly whitish yellow; zigzag black lines on the flanks; bill black- 

 ish. 16 inches long. Inhabits Europe. B. Shaw, xii. pi. 51. 



A. crecca, Lin. The Common Teal. Head, cheeks, and back chest- 

 nut red ; a broad green band extends from the eyes to the nape ; 

 lower part of the neck, back, scapulars, and flanks striped with 

 black and white zigzag lines ; breast reddish, with round spots ; 

 belly yellowish white ; speculum of the wings half white and half 

 black, edged with two white bands ; bill blackish. 1 4 inches long. 

 Northern Europe. B. Lewin's Brit. Birds, vii. pi. 260. 

 The flesh of this species was much prized by the Roman epicures, and is still in 



request for the table. 



** Hind toe with a loose membrane. 



A. mollissima, Lin. Eider or St Cuthbert's Duck. On each side 

 and above the eyes a broad band of black violet ; cheeks, a band 

 on the top of the head and occiput greenish white ; back, scapu- 

 lars, and smaller coverts white ; breast reddish white ; belly and 

 rump deep black ; base of the bill laterally prolonged into two 

 flattened plates on the forehead ; bill and legs greenish-ash. 21 

 to 22 inches long Shaw, xii. pi. 60. 



This species inhabits the high and icy latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, and 

 feeds chiefly on testaceous animals and fish. They are very abundant during sum- 

 mer in all the islands situated in the Greenland sea. Their appearance in great 

 numbers is an indication of the proximity of land. They are capable of protrac- 

 ted flights in the day time, but generally return to their stations at night They 

 are rarely, if ever, seen in the south of England, but they breed in the Orkneys and 

 the Hebrides in June and July. The nest is composed of marine plants, and lined 

 with down of exquisite fineness, which the female plucks from her own body. The 

 eggs are usually four, of a pale olive green, and rather larger than those of a common 

 duck. About Iceland the eider ducks generally build their nests on small islands not 

 far from the shore. When the collectors come to the nest, they carefully remove 

 the female, and take away the superfluous down and eggs. They then replace the 

 mother, and she begins to lay afresh, covering the eggs with new down ; and this is 

 repeated several times. When the young ones leave the nest, it is once more plun- 

 dered. The best down and most eggs are got during the first three weeks of her 

 laying ; and it has been generally observed, that they lay the greatest number of eggs 



