133 



RHYNCHASPIS RHYNCHOTIS. 



Iihyn. Mas. — Ferrugineus ; capite c olio que superiore cseruleis; tectricibus caudse oigris : speculo viridi. 

 Rhyn. Fern. — Briumea, marginibus pennarum suturatioribus ; rostro pallido. 



NEW HOLLAND SHOVELLER. 



Male shoveller, with the head and upper part of the neck blue ; under and upper tail coverts 

 black ; -wing spot green. 



Fein, shoveller, brown, each feather edged with lighter ; bill horn colour. 



IN. IN. 



Length 20 Tarsi \\ 



Bill 1 -2-5ths Middle toe I 1 



8 



Male: head and neck, lesser coverts, and tertiaries light blue, some of the latter with a stripe 

 on the inner side of the shaft white ; bar behind the base of the bill on each side white ; centre of 

 the back, quills, and tail white, with a lunule near the tip and two spots on the shaft of each 

 feather brown ; w T ing spot bright brassy green, anterior to which is awhile stripe; flanks, belly, 

 and breast deep ferruginous, the former barred and dotted, and the latter undulated with brown ; 

 above the thighs on each side a white spot ; under and upper tail coverts black ; under wing coverts 

 white ; top of the head and back of the neck darkest ; bill black ; legs orange. 



Fem. : brown, with the tip of each feather lighter; below lightest; lesser coverts slightly 

 inclining to blue ; bill and legs horn colour in the dried specimen. 



Young: male nearly intermediate between the two ; bill black ; legs orange. 



Anas Rhynchotis Lath. Ind. Orn. . 1pp. 1 . 



Rhynchaspis Rhynchotis Steph. in Sh. Zool. 12. 123. 



.A 'em Holland Shoveller Lath. Gen. Syn. Sup. 359. 



Inhabits New Holland, and appears to be identical with specimens received from South America. 



The bird described by Latham under the name of Anas Rhynchotis is the young. It is 

 possible also that the white markings mentioned as present in our specimens of the old male, behind 

 the base of the bill and down the fore neck, are not constant, but merely appear during the moult. 



