108 LONG-TAILED DUCK. 
elongated, acuminate, the posterior decurved over the wing. Wings 
shortish, narrow, pointed; primary quills curved, strong, tapering, the 
second longest, exceeding the first by about one twelfth of an inch, the 
rest rapidly decreasing ; secondaries broad and rounded, the inner elon- 
gated and pointed. ‘Tail of fourteen pointed feathers, the outer very 
short, the middle extremely attenuated and slightly recurved, the in- 
termediate proportional. 
Bill black in its basal half, orange-yellow towards the end, the un- 
guis bluish-grey. Iris bright carmine. Feet light bluish-grey, the 
webs dusky, claws black. A large oblong greyish-white patch on each 
side of the head from the bill to behind the ear; the upper part of the 
head and nape black, that colour being narrowed in front by the en- 
croachment of the white patches. The neck all round, and anterior 
half of the breast, of a rich dark chocolate-brown ; the back and wing- 
coverts brownish-black; the scapulars broadly margined with light 
reddish-brown ; the quills are of the same chocolate tint as the breast, 
the secondaries margined externally with lighter, the primaries inter- 
nally. The middle four feathers of the tail brownish-black, the outer 
two of these slightly margined with white, all the rest white, but the 
inner with a longitudinal dusky patch on the outer web. 
Length to end of tail 23 inches, to end of wings 15, to end of claws 
17; extent of wings 293; wing from flexure 94; middle tail-feathers 
10, lateral tail-feathers 23 ; bill along the ridge 15%, along the edge of 
lower mandible 1,8; tarsus 1,4; outer toe and claw 2,5, middle toe 
and claw 1;%, hind toe and claw 7. 
Female in summer. Plate CCCXII. Fig. 3. 
The female is somewhat less than the male, and differs not only in 
colour, but in the scapulars, which are not elongated, and in the tail, 
which is short and rounded. The bill and feet are dusky green, 
the iris yellow. The head is dark greyish-brown, with a patch of 
greyish-white surrounding the eye, but not extending to the bill; 
there is a larger patch of the same colour on the side of the neck, 
the hind part of which is similar to the head, the fore part greyish- 
brown, the feathers broadly margined with whitish. All the upper 
parts are of a dark greyish-brown, the two lateral tail-feathers edged 
with white ; the lower parts white, the feathers under the wings slightly 
tinged with grey. 
