52 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



I. THE SMEW. MERGUS ALBELLUS. 



Mergus albellus. Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 209 (1766); Macg. Br. 

 B. v. p. 233 (1852) ; Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 699, pis. 

 454, 455 (1874); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 137 (1883); 

 Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 449 (1885); Seebohm, 

 Br. B. iii. p. 636 (1885); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 463 

 (1889) ; Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xiv. (1891) ; Salvad. 

 Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 464 (1895). 

 Adult Male. General colour black and white ; the black parts 

 on the upper surface being the following a patch embracing 

 the lores and fore-part of cheeks, and extending to behind the 

 eye, a black crescentic mark round the nape, the centre of the 

 back, and mantle, to which extend two narrow lines of black, 

 one on the sides of the fore-neck and another on the sides of 

 the upper breast ; rump and upper tail-coverts grey, with hoary 

 margins ; scapulars white, with a black border to the outer 

 ones, forming a line on each side of the back ; wing-coverts 

 white, the inner ones and those round the bend of the wing 

 black ; the greater coverts black, with white tips, forming a 

 wing-band ; quills black, the secondaries tipped with white, the 

 inner ones grey and slightly narrowed, the outer ones more or 

 less white; tail-feathers grey, with hoary tips; entire under 

 surface of body white, the flank-feathers more ashy, lanceolate, 

 and having wavy bars of ashy-brown ; under wing-coverts 

 dusky-blackish, the central ones and the axillaries white ; bill 

 bluish lead-colour, the nail lighter; feet bright bluish lead- 

 colour, the webs darker; iris bluish-white. Total length, 17 

 inches; culmen, 1*2; wing, 7'6; tail, 2*9; tarsus, 1*25. 



Adult Female. Differs from the male in being grey above, 

 with paler ashy margins to the feathers ; the lower back, rump, 

 and upper tail-coverts darker and somewhat blackish; wing- 

 coverts grey, with a patch of white in the middle, the wings 

 otherwise as in the male ; crown of head and nape dull rufous, 

 as also the lores and sides of face; entire under surface of 

 body white, with an ashy shade on the lower throat and fore- 

 neck, the sides of the body also ashy-brown. Total length, 16 

 inches; culmen, n ; wing, 6*8; tail, 2-65; tarsus, n. 



Young Males. At first resemble the old female, but have the 

 lores and sides of face rufous, like the head. These are the 



