72 ANATIDiE. 



1829-30, but the species is not procured here regularly every 

 season. One, shot on a pond of fresh-water near Mount Stewart, 

 county of Down, in the middle of August 1833, came into my 

 possession, and on the 11th of September, the same year, I saw 

 a recently killed bird which was purchased in the inland town of 

 Lisburn. One was shot on the fresh- water dam at Beers' Bridge, 

 near Belfast, on the 21st of October, 1844. But nearly all the 

 shovellers seen in this town are killed in the bay. Eour, shot 

 here, from a flock of seven, on December 15tli, 1847, came under 

 my notice immediately afterwards.^ A practised wild-fowl 

 shooter imagined, from their manner of feeding, that they were 

 wild ducks. They did not attempt to dive until wounded and 

 endeavouring to escape, and then dived but badly. Two of them 

 were in the beautiful plumage of the adult male. In weight, 

 they varied from 12 ^ to 15 ounces, and were all in very fine con- 

 dition, so much so, that I measured the tliickness of fat on one of 

 them, and found it to be an inch on the breast. The stomachs 

 of the five contained minute pebbles only. Yarrell describes the 

 adult male as having the bill lead-coloured, but this organ in 

 both birds is wholly — above and below — of a shining black ; a 

 third male, all but adult (the next spring moult would have made 

 him so), has the bill blackish, with a reddish-brown tinge apparent, 

 when viewed with the Hght upon it ; the bill of the fourth, a 

 female, is dusky-black with a reddish-brown tinge. Tarsi and 

 toes of all four are reddish-orange, those of the female palest. 

 Irides of all are dark, golden-yeUow ; those of the female the least 

 pure in colour. 



The latest period of the spring in which this species has come 

 under my notice here, was on the 3rd of April, 1849. A sj)lendid 

 adult male, then shot, was accompanied by another in similar 

 plumage, which was wounded. The specimen was 18 oz. in 

 weight ; its length 1 9 inches ; wing, from carpus to end of quills, 

 9 inches ; first quill of each wing longest, and not the second, as 

 mentioned by Yarrell ; — in another specimen examined, the second 

 is the longest in the wing ; the character of comparative length, 

 * A couple were on sale in Belfast market about three weeks previously. 



