498 



minimis vix saturate cseruleo lavatis : subtus saturate ochracea, pectore et hypochondriis brunneo 

 guttatis : subcaudalibus saturate brunneo notatis : rostro viridi-brunneo, ad basin et in mandibula 

 aurantiaco : iride brimnea : pedibus saturate aurantiacis. 



Adult Mule in winter (Leadenhall Market, December). Head and upper portion of tbe neck black, glossed 

 with bottle-green and purple ; centre of the neck behind and back blackish brown, edged with dull 

 white ; rump and upper tail-eoverts blackish, here and there imperceptibly edged with dull fulvous ; 

 smaller scapulars on each side of the bacn white, one or two washed with sandy yellow and barred with 

 dark brown ■ quills dark brown, with white shafts; outer secondaries with the outer web bright metallic 

 green, forming a large speculum ; inner secondaries much elongated, the outer ones having a white 

 central stripe at the tip and being slightly glossed with green, the innermost two having the terminal 

 half of the outer web bright blue, and the inner web white in the centre, otherwise greenish brown ; 

 larger wing-coverts blackish brown, tipped with white, median and lesser coverts brown at the base, 

 but otherwise rich sky-blue, this latter colour alone being visible ; outer tail-feathers dull white, with 

 narrow dark centres ; central tail-feathers brownish grey, edged with dull white ; lower part of the neck 

 and upper part of the breast white ; lower part of the breast and underparts generally rich rufous, this 

 colour being brightest on the flanks, which are dark fox-red, a patch on each side of the base of the tail 

 pure white; under tail-coverts dull creamy yellow, marbled with dark brown, some being glossed with 

 bright metallic green; under wing-coverts white, marked with dull brown; bill black; eye bright 

 yellow; legs and feet very bright orange. Total length 205 inches, culmen 2*9, wing 90, tail 3* 1, 

 tarsus T3. 



Adult Female (Leadenhall Market, December) . Head and neck dull yellowish clay-brown, the feathers 

 having dark centres, giving a striated appearance ; back dark brown, each feather broadly margined 

 with clay-brown or dull ochre; rump dark brown, some of the feathers with a subterminal white 

 margin ; upper tail-coverts reddish clay, marked with dark brown ; quills dull brown, darker on the 

 outer web and towards the tip; secondaries margined with dull white, and faintly washed with 

 greenish; lesser wing-coverts slightly washed with dull light blue; larger coverts tipped with white ; 

 chin dull yellowish clay, unspotted; underparts generally dull clay-colour, on the breast and flanks 

 and here and there on the abdomen marked with large dark brown drops; under tail-coverts marked 

 with dark brown ; beak olive-brown, base of the maxilla and the entire mandible orange ; eye hazel- 

 brown ; legs and feet dull orange. 



Adult Male in autumn. Resembles the female, but is darker in colour, and may be easily distinguished by 

 the bright green speculum and blue on the wings, which it never casts; the beak is also generally 

 somewhat larger in the male than in the female ; and the former has the iris yellow, whereas in the 

 female it is hazel-brown. 



Young in down. Upper parts dull olive, underparts dark dull sulphur-yellow, on the sides of the head washed 

 with rusty yellow ; centre of crown, nape, and neck dark olive-brown ; from the base of the bill, through 

 the eye to the nape, a dark brown line, and a dark spot on the auriculars; on each side of the back 

 behind the wing two irregular yellow spots, and a similar spot on each side of the rump. 



The young of this species resemble those of the Garganey, but may at once be recognized and distinguished 

 from those of any other duck by their broad bills. 



The range of the Shoveller, like that of many of the Natatores, is very extensive, as it is found 

 throughout Europe down into Africa, Asia — even, according to Mr. Gould, extending to Australia — 



