ANAS FLAVIEOSTRIS. 



red, all the feathers narrowly edged and tipped with dirty white. Bill — upper 

 mandihle and the lower towards tip gamboge-yellow, — the former with an 

 oblong liver-brown stripe extending from its base to within less than an inch 

 of its point, in which are situated the nostrils ; the nail and tip of upper man- 

 dible and a triangular block at the corresponding part of the lower liver- 

 brown. Legs, toes, and webs brownish red. 



Form, &c. — Body moderately robust ; head large and slightly compressed. 

 Wings pointed, and when folded reach rather beyond the first half of the 

 tail, the second feather rather the longest, the first and third equal and rather 

 shorter, the fourth a little shorter than the third and about the same length as 

 the tertiary quill feathers. Tail rigid and slightly rounded, the feathers 

 pointed. Bill rather long, narrow, and throughout of the same width. Tarsi 

 and toes moderately long and rather slender, the former laterally and poste- 

 riorly covered with small reticulated scales, anteriorly with small transverse 

 plates ; the web between the toes reaches to the base of the claws, and on 

 each side of the middle toe is covered with a few rows of small scales. Claws 

 slightly curved and pointed. 



Inches. 

 Length from the point of the bill to 



the tip of the tail 23 



of the bill to tlie angle of the 

 mouth 2 



DIMENSIONS 



Lines. 



of the wings when folded 10 



of the tail 4 



Inches. Lines. 



Length of the tarsus 1 6' 



of the outer toe I 10| 



of the middle toe 1 II J 



of the inner toe I 5 



of the hinder toe 4 



Female. — Colours like those of the male, only not quite so dark ; the wing 

 speculum has less lustre, and her size is inferior. 



Of all the South African ducks this is perhaps the most common and widely diffused. 

 Near Cape Town it occurs in the marshes, on the small lakes, and about the banks of the 

 various streams. In the interior again, it is generally found on the comparatively stagnant 

 portions of rivers, probably from the circumstances that the other collections of water in which 

 it more particularly delights exist only in but a few localities. 



