62 WOOD DUCK. 



part of the latter, light brownish-grey ; throat white, but without the 

 lateral processes of the male. Fore part of neck below and sides light 

 yellowish-brown, mottled with dark greyish-brown, as are the sides under 

 the wings ; breast and abdomen white, the former spotted with brown. 

 Hind neck, back, and rump, dark brown, glossed with green and purple. 

 Wings as in the male, but the speculum less, and the secondaries exter- 

 nally faint reddish-purple, the velvet black of the male diminished to a 

 few narrow markings. Tail dark brown, glossed with green ; lower tail- 

 coverts pale greyish-brown, mottled with white ; lower wing-coverts as in 

 the male. 



Length 191 inches. 



The tree represented in the plate is the Platanus occidentalism which 

 in different parts of the United States is known by the names of Button- 

 wood, Sycamore, Plane-tree, and Water Beech, and in Canada by that 

 of Cotton-tree. It is one of our largest trees, and on the banks of our 

 great western and southern rivers, often attains a diameter of eight or ten 

 feet. Although naturally inclined to prefer the vicinity of water, it grows 

 in almost every kind of situation, and thrives even in the streets of several 

 of our eastern cities, such as Philadelphia and New York. 



