■ HJIUl^P IMJ 



420 



LAMELLIROSTRAL 8WTMMKRH — AN8ERES. 



AnserinaB. Neck iiicxlcrutely long (shorter thuii tbe botly) ; size viuiiible (iiMUrtUy meiliiim, 

 never very larne) ; bill not lonj,'er tliiin the lieiid, tiiperin^; to the end, which is chiclly 

 occupied by the \av^i; broail nuil ; tarsus lon},'er than the njiildle toe ; K)res leathered ; 

 tail-leathei's 14-:iO ; color extremely variable. 



AnatiuBB. Neck moderately lonj,' (shorter tiiaii the body) ; size variable (usually small or 

 medium) ; bill extremely variable ; tai-sus shorter than the middle toe ; lores usually 

 feathered ; tail-1'eathei-s 14-lH ; color exti'eniely variable. 



Sub-family CYGNIN.^, Bonapautk. — The Swans.* 



"1838. —Cygnimr, Br. Coniii. List, p. 55. 

 1850. — Cijgniih; KaiM' (Jide fiUAv). 

 1852. — VIorimv, Hkiciiii. .Syst. Av. p. x. 

 \mQ.— Cycnidtv, Des Muus, Tr. Ool. Ornith. p. 537. 



" DiAGN. Anatida havixg the hind toe without web and tlie lores naked, coincident with reticulatt 

 tarsi, the latter shorter than the middle with the claw. 



" Neck very long, as long as, or longer than, the body. Bill longer than the head, broad, ami 

 of nearly ecjual breailth for the whole length, roundetl at the end, culmen high, depressed at the 

 tip ; nail rather large, only slightly arched ; lamellie of u|)per maudiiile vertical, in one row ; 

 nostrils situated nearly at the middle of the bill, in the fore part of the oblong nasal sinus. Lores 

 naked in the adults ; in all species, except one, thinly covered with small down or feathers in the 

 young. Legs short, stout ; lower part of tibia naked ; tarsi compressed, much shorter than the 

 middle toe with the cLiw, and covered with small hexagonal plates, the size of which diminishes 

 laterally and posteriorly ; the anterior toes reticulate as far as the second Joint, then scutcllate ; 

 middle toe longest, longer than the tarsus, the outer longer than the inner, which has a broad 

 margin ; hind toe short, elevated, and without web, the cjaws strong, arched, compressed, except 

 the middle, which is only compressed on the one side, the claw of the inner toe in (dil birds the 

 largest and most arched. Wings long, am|)le, the inner remiges highly develoj)ed, with about 32 

 quills. Tail composed of 20-24 rectrices, short, rounded, or cuiieate. 



" Sexes similar. 



" The preceding marks eondjined appear to express the essential characters of the Gygnime. r>y 

 this diagnosis I follow Mr. Sundevall in excluding the genus Coscoroba, Rkichb., which has tlic 

 lores feathered at all ages. . . . The removal of Coscoroha to the Anatinw will be discussed more 

 explicitly below. The criterion ' tai-si reticulate' further excludes the genera Cairinu, Vi.vM, 

 and Plectropterus, Leach, which, it is true, have the lores naked, but the tarsi of which are scutel- 

 late instead of reticulate. Anseruuas, Less., luis cert^iinly both nakecl lores and reticulate tarsi, but 

 differs in having the tarsus longer than the middle toe with claw. 



" Anatidce which do not at once unite all the above cliaracters consequently belong to one uf 

 the other sub-families." 



"Synopsis of the Genera. 



a'. Predominant color of the adults white ; young with downy or feathered lores ; tertiaries ami 

 scapulars normal, not crisp ; tail longer than the midillc toe with claw. 

 6'. Tail cuneate ; the young with the down on the sides of the liill not forming loral antiiu.t 

 c\ Inner webs of outer four primaries an<l outer webs of the second, third, fourth, and 

 fifth sinuated ; the young with the down on the sides of the bill reaching alm<i-' 

 to the nostrils ; webs of the feet scalloj)eil. 



• In the preparation of this article on the ('ijffmme imicli use has been made of the very valimbU' 

 "Outlines of a Monograph of tlie Cijgnimv," by Dr. Ijtionhard Stejncgcr, ])ublishud in Vol. 5 of llif 

 " Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum," pp. 174-221. The matter taken directly therefrom is 

 inclosed in quotation marks. 



t This term denotes the ])rojecting angle of the loral feathering at the base of the bill. 



