314 NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. PINTAIL. 
and the eggs are from eight to ten, of a bluish-white. Its 
flesh is sweet and well-flavoured. 
General PLATE 49. represents the Male bird of the natural size. 
re - Head, chin, and throat, dark hair-brown, glossed behind 
Male. the ears with auricula-purple. Lower part of the neck, 
and two streaks running upwards to the hind part of 
the head, white. Nape and back part of the neck deep 
brown. Breast, belly, and abdomen, white. Flanks and 
thighs with fine transverse black lines. Vent and under 
tail-coverts velvet-black. Back beautifully marked with 
alternate waving lines of black and greyish-white. Sca- 
pulars black. Tertials long and acuminate, velvet-black, 
margined with yellowish-white, or sometimes with pearl- 
grey. Lesser wing-coverts deep smoke-grey. Larger 
coverts tipped with pale reddish-brown. Speculum 
blackish-bronzed green, tipped with white. Greater 
quills hair-brown. ‘Tail having the two middle feathers 
elongated, acuminate, black ; and the lateral ones hair- 
brown, margined with white. Bill, from the gape, two 
and a quarter inches long, black. Legs and toes black 
ish-grey. 
Puate 51.* Fig. 2. The Female, also of the natural size. 
Female. Forehead and crown pale chestnut-brown, streaked with 
black. Cheeks and neck pale ochreous yellow, speckled 
with black. Chin and throat plain cream-yellow. Sides 
of the breast hair-brown, barred and tipped with white. 
Mantle and scapulars amber-brown, barred and varied 
with pale buff-orange and white. ‘Tertials hair-brown, 
margined with white. Lesser and greater wing-coverts 
pale broccoli-brown, edged and tipped with white. Spe- 
culum hair-brown, glossed with green; the feathers ha- 
ving white tips. Quills hair-brown. Tail deep hair- 
brown, with imperfect bars of white and pale buff- 
orange; the two middle feathers exceeding the rest in 
