224 ANI3IALS IN MENAGERIES. 



distinct under the name of Anas arborea, and of which 

 the following account is given by Latham, probably 

 from the living specimen he subsequently mentions : — 

 " Less than a mallard. Bill black : irides hazel : crown 

 of the head dusky, somewhat crested at the back part, 

 and rufous brown : neck long and slender ; hind part of 

 it brown ; back and scapulars the same, but the margins 

 of the feathers rufous : sides of the head and throat 

 white : fore part of the neck white ; breast pale rufous ; 

 both the latter spotted with black : belly, thighs, and 

 vent like the neck ; but the spots are smaller, and most 

 numerous on the sides : wing covers rufous, spotted with 

 black : rump, and upper tail covers, dark brown, edged 

 with rufous ; quills and tail dusky : legs longer than in 

 the common duck, and lead-colour : claws black. 



'" Inhabits Jamaica, where it is remarked for making 

 a whistling kind of noise, and is said to build in trees : 

 in some seasons migrates into Guinea, and other neigh- 

 bouring parts, and is valued for food. I once received," 

 continues the doctor, '^ a living specimen from Jamaica, 

 and kept it in my garden ; but it was in the highest 

 degree wild, and even ferocious ; it would by no means 

 become familiar, and rarely would take any food while 

 any one was near to observe it." * 



We are induced to suspect that the last described 

 bird is a female, chiefly on account of its plumage. It 

 rarely happens, either in the subfamily of AnserincB, or 

 in that of Anatince, (the first comprehending the geese, 

 the latter the ducks,) that the males have not a distinct 

 and decided tone of colouring on their plumage, not 

 broken into spots of uniformly plain colours, as we see 

 in female birds, and in the supposed Anas arborea of 

 authors. Whether this bird, however, be the female of 

 the red-billed species, or of some other, must be still a 

 question. With so many of our countrymen in the 

 regions where these birds are found, we really hope 

 some further information may be sent of them to the 

 Ornithological Society. 



* Gen. Hist, of Birds, x. 298. 



