104 



LAMELLIROSTUAL SWIMMKRS - ANSEUES. 



A 



If, 



ateil, fonsistiiiy of ciglitceii very stiff, narrow fcatlicis, witli the shafts strong iin<l rigid, iind grooved 

 underneath, towanl the base ; the tail-coverts extremely short, scarcely covering the base of the 

 tail ; wings very short, and very concave beneath, the i)riniaries scarcely or not at all extending 

 Ixivond the tertials ; tarsus very short, much less tiian one half as long as the longest toe. 



In the chiUacteM ilefined above, all the known species which we have examined ^ agree strictly, 

 with the exception of Awtn dominica, Linn., which has usually been referred to this geiuis, Imt wliich 

 dilfei-s radically in the character of the nail of the bill, this being broad and gradually curved, as 

 in other Ducks. This ditfirence is so great that A. dtmiinica should undoubtedly be separated 

 generically from the true Erisiwuunc,- among wliich the only important deviation in structure is 

 seen in E. leucociplutUt, of Europe, which has the base of the maxilla much swollen both verticidly 

 and laterally. 



The two American species of Erismatum may be distinguished as follows : — 



1. E. rubida. Rill, .!)()-.!)5 of an inch broad near the end. Adult mule : Above, bright reddish 

 ferruginous, including the whole neck, e.xcept upjier part of the nape ; pileuni and \ipper 

 part of the nape black ; entire si ^e of head, below the eyes, white ; lower parts whitish 

 (dark brownish gray beneath the surface, the breast tinged with buff). Adult faiuik and 

 yuuny nude: Above, grayish brown, finely mottled, and sometimes indistinctly barred, with 

 graj'ish buff ; pileum darker brown, finely mottled with reddish ; rest of head grayish 

 white, crossed longitudinally by a stripe of mottled brownish, from the rictus back over 

 the auriculars, and i)arallel with the lower edge of the brown of the top of the head ; neck 

 pale brownish gray ; lower parts as in the adult male. Hah. North America, south to 

 Guatemala and West Indies. 



i. H femiginea.^ Bill, .70-.85 of an inch broad near end. Adult viale : Head and neck, 

 except lower half of the latter in front, uniform black ; jugulum and upjjer parts dee]) 

 ferruginous, as in E. rubida; lower jmrts as in E. rubida. Adult finude: Similar to E. 

 rubida but darker, and very distinctly barred on the sides and upper parts with fulvous- 

 buff. Ilab. Southern South America. 



Erismalaira rubida. 



THE BTJDOT DUCK ; SPINE-TAILED DUCK. 



Auasmhitla, AVils. Am. Orn. VIII. 1814, 128, pi. 71, figs. 5, 6. 



Fiili'jula (Oiimnuni) rubida, Nl'lT. Man. II. 1834, 426. 



Ftiliijula rubida, Sw. k Kicii. F. 11. A. II. 1831, 455. — Aui). Orn. Biog. IV. 1838, 326, pi. 343 ; 



Synop. 1839, 288 ; B. Am. VI. 1843, 324, pi. 399. 

 Erismnfuru rubida, BoxAl'. Coiiip. List, 1838, 59. — B.UKi), B. X. Am. 1858, 811 ; Cut. N. Am. B. 



1859, no. C09. — CouKs, Kry, 1872, 295; Check List, 1873, no. 519, 2a ed. 1882, no. 741 ; 



Biixls N. W. 1874, 583. — HiDow. Noin. N. Am. H. 1881, no. 634. 

 AmisjatiMicauiis, Oui), cd. Wils. VIII. 1825, 138. 



Hab. The whole of North America, breeding throughout its range, which extends south to 

 Guatemala and New (Jrenada ; Cuba. 



Sp. Char, Adult male, full jdumage: Pileum and ujjper half of the nape uniform black ; entire 



' E. rubida (Wii,s. ), E. fcrrmjinea (Evton), of Chili, E. anslralis (Oould), of Australia, and J?. 

 leucocrphala (.Scop.), of FiUroj)o. There remains only E. mocma. Smith, of South Africa. 



* For "E." doiniuioi we Iiuvo already proiwsed the generic name Noiiimii/i; (cf. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mua. 

 II. March 27, 1880, p. 15). 



' KlIISMATUKA FKIillUOINRA. • 



Erixmaluraferriujinea, Evton, Monog. Annt. 1838, 170 (Chili). — OitAV & Mitch. Gen. R. I. 

 1844, pi. 169. — Ca.ss. it. S. Astr. Kxp. II. 1856, 204, —Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1876, 404 

 (monographic) ; Nom. Ncotr. 1873, 138. 

 ErumuUura vittata, Phil, h Landii. Weigin. Archiv, 1860, 26 (Chili). 

 Tlic Australian E. australis closely resembles the South American s{K>ciu8, but is rather larger and 

 deeper colored. 



