BROWN PHALAROPE. 131 



pale ferruginous; back part of the neck, deep ferru- 

 ginous, which descends on each side, and mingles with 

 the plumage of the back and scapulars, which are of 

 a clove brown, the feathers tipt with whitish ; wings 

 and tail, dark clove brown, some of the lesser coverts 

 having a reddish tinge ; the upper tail-feathers, tinged 

 with red at their tips, the under feathers, marked with 

 white on their inner webs ; irides, dark brown ; legs 

 and feet, dark plumbeous ; claws, long, of a dark horn 

 colour; hind toe, independent of the claw, five six- 

 teenths of an inch long; the tertials, when the wing is 

 closed, extend to within three-eighths of an inch of 

 the tip of the primaries; weight, an ounce and three 

 quarters ; length, nine inches and a half; breadth, 

 sixteen inches. This was a female; her eggs very 

 small. 



In the grand chain of animated nature, the phala- 

 ropes constitute one of the links between the waders 

 and the web-footed tribes, having the form of the sand- 

 pipers, with some of the habits of the gulls ; the scal- 

 loped membranes on their toes enabling them to swim 

 with facility. They are clothed with a thick coat of 

 feathers, beneath which, as in the ducks, lies a mass of 

 down, to protect them from the rigours of the northern 

 climates, of which they are natives. They do not 

 appear to be fond of the neighbourhood of the ocean, 

 and are generally found in the interior, about the lakes, 

 ponds, and streams of fresh water, where they delight 

 to linger, swimming near the margin in search of seeds 

 and insects. They are no where numerous, are com- 

 monly seen in pairs, and are so extremely tame and 

 unsuspicious, that one may approach to within a few 

 feet of them. 



The genus lobipes of the Baron Cuvier is founded 

 upon this species ; and it must be confessed that its 

 characters are sufficiently distinct from those of the 

 bird which follows, to authorize such a separation ; but 

 unless some new species should be discovered, we see 

 no impropriety in associating the t\vo birds already 

 known, taking care, however, to preserve a consistency 



