118 ARRIGONI DEGLI ODDl. 



sidesand attlie top; one onlyotthe longest uppcr tail-co- 

 verts is curleJ upwards at the lip; toes lively orange-red. 

 This Drake was killed on August the lO'" 1896 in the 

 Valle Zappa on the lake of the Countess by my father. It 

 is again, but not completely, inhis sunimer dress. To give 

 anidea of his plamage one can rather say that it is a very 

 dark coloured Mallard in summer ; what is of no little intc- 

 rest is that also the metallic tint becamo darker, because 

 generally they very rarely chango their lone of tint. 



N° 256 a of Count Ninni's CoUcclion. — Adult male. — 

 Melanistic variety. 



Head and neck rieh dark glossy-green followed by a 

 white collar that occupies only the sides of the neck ; 

 lower nape, upper back and scapulars dark-blackish ; 

 Upper breast deep shiny chestnut, edged with grey; the 

 rest of breast, abdomen and Hanks whitish with black zig- 

 zags, the black colour prevails especially in the lower 

 bellybetween the legs where it forms, as it were, a large 

 band; under tail-coverts black; greater coverts without 

 the white band at the top, but tipped by a black zone pre- 

 ceded by a narrow buffish one; speculum of a beautiful 

 blue-steel colour edged with white, so that on the wing 

 the double cross-band does not exist, as with the normal; 

 primaries like the normal colour but a little darker; 

 Upper tail-coverts black with green gloss, with scarce 

 buffish spots; tail-feathers darker than usual. 



No date and locality on ticket, but it was killed by the 

 punt-gunner I. Minotto in our lagoons, several years ago. 



N'' 256 ö of Count Ninni's Collection. — Adult male.^ — 

 Melanistic variety. 



Like the preceding, but the white collar is stretched 

 also on the former part of neck ; the general colour is less 

 dark and the zig-zags on underparts more distinct ; the 

 band on abdomen less visible ; it would appear from the 

 brilliant and uniform colour of the breast that this fine 

 specimen was caught in spring. 



