RED-HEADED DUCK. 225 



glossy reddish chestnut, ending- in a broad space of 

 black that covers the upper part of the breast, and 

 spreads round to the back ; back, scapulars, and tertials, 

 white, faintly marked with an infinite number of trans- 

 verse waving lines or points, as if done with a pencil ; 

 whole lower parts of the breast, also the belly, white, 

 slightly pencilled in the same manner, scarcely percep- 

 tible on the breast, pretty thick towards the vent; 

 wing-coverts, gray, with numerous specks of blackish ; 

 primaries and secondaries, pale slate, two or three of 

 the latter of which nearest the body are finely edged 

 with deep velvety black, the former dusky at the tips; 

 tail, very short, pointed, consisting of fourteen feathers 

 of a hoary brown ; vent and tail-coverts, black ; lining 

 of the wing, white ; legs and feet, very pale ash, the 

 latter three inches in width, a circumstance which 

 partly accounts for its great powers of swimming. 



The female is somewhat less than the male, and 

 weighs three pounds and three quarters ; the crown is 

 blackish brown ; cheeks and throat, of a pale drab ; neck, 

 dull brown ; breast, as far as the black extends on the 

 male, dull brown, skirted in places with pale drab ; 

 back, dusky white, crossed with fine waving lines ; 

 belly, of the same dull white, pencilled like the back ; 

 wings, feet, and bill, as in the male ; tail-coverts, dusky ; 

 vent, white, waved with brown. 



The windpipe of the male has a large flattish concave 

 labyrinth, the ridge of which is covered with a thin 

 transparent membrane ; where the trachea enters this, 

 it is very narrow, but immediately above swells to 

 three times that diameter. The intestines are wide, 

 and measure five feet in length. 







276. ANAS FERIXA LINNJEUS AND WILSON. 



RED-HEADED DUCK. 

 WILSON, PLATE LXX. FIG. VI EDINBURGH COLLEGE MUSEUM. 



THIS is a common associate of the canvass-back, 

 frequenting the same places, and feeding on the stems 

 VOL. in. p 8 



