THE SUMMER DUCK. 283 



marked with triangular spots of white, which are 

 very small anteriorly, bnt increase in size towards the 

 abdomen, where they spread into the general white of 

 that part. A broad white crescent, followed by another 

 of deep black, bounds the posterior part of the breast 

 on either side. The back and tail are dusky, with a 

 metallic gloss of green ; the primary quill-feathers of the 

 wings dusky, with a kind of bloom of bluish violet ; the 

 secondaries greenish-blue tipped with white ; and the 

 wing-coverts violet-blue tipped with black. The sides of 

 the body are marked by fine transverse undulating lines 

 of black on a drab-coloured ground ; immediately be- 

 neath the wings are placed a series of broad alternate 

 crescent-shaped bands of black and white ; and the 

 lateral tail-coverts, which are loose and hair-like in 

 their texture, exhibit a beautiful metallic gloss. The 

 bill is red, with a black margin and a patch of black 

 extending from between the nostrils nearly to the 

 strongly hooked tip, which is also black ; the iris 

 orange red ; and the legs and feet reddish yellow. 



In the female the crown of the head is deep purple, 

 with a bar of white behind the eye ; the throat white ; 

 the neck and sides of the head of a deep drab ; the 

 breast dusky, with large triangular spots of white ; and 

 the back dark glossy brown, with varying shades of 

 green and gold. In other respects her colours nearly 

 resemble those of the male, except that she wants the 

 fine pencilling of the sides^ and the long floating hair- 

 like coverts of the tail. 



We learn from Wilson that this elegant species is 

 familiarly known in every part of the United States 

 from Florida to Lake Ontario ; and it is equally abun- 

 dant in Mexico and in many of the West India Islands. 

 Its name of Summer Duck was given to it by the 

 Anglo-Americans on account of its usually mig)-ating 



