678 



dots on the fore part; lower neck to the fore part of the back, except in the centre, chestnut-red, this 

 colour extending to the fore neck and upper breast, where it is delicately marked with buffy white ; 

 back and scapulars ochreous or reddish buff; rump darker brownish, all finely vermiculated with 

 blackish ; lower rump and upper tail-coverts chestnut-red ; quills greyish black, the secondaries 

 externally and larger wing-coverts greyish buff, vermiculated with blackish grey; lesser coverts dull 

 ashy, but slightly vermiculated ; tail long and stiff, blackish in colour ; underparts below the breast 

 buffy white, obscurely marked with reddish brown ; flanks dull chestnut-brown, tinged with warm buff, 

 and vermiculated with darker brown ; bill much swollen at the base, pale ultramarine-blue in colour ; 

 iris dark brown; legs dull blackish plumbeous. Total length about 17'5 inches, culmen l - 9, gape T82, 

 wing 6-3, tail 43, tarsus T35. 



Adult Female (Zah, 16th May). Differs from the male in lacking the clear white on the head, and in being 

 much more rufous in plumage ; crown and nape blackish brown with a chestnut tinge ; sides of the 

 head similarly coloured, but marked with white; a white streak passes below the eye nearly to the 

 nape ; and the chin and upper throat are white, slightly dotted with blackish brown ; general colour of 

 the upper parts darker than in the male, being deep chestnut-red ; underparts as in the male ; bill dull 

 plumbeous ; iris dark brown ; legs plumbeous black. 



Young {fide H. Otto, Ibis, 1875, p. 428). Beak bluish black, with a swelling at the base ; feet of a similar 

 colour ; plumage brown-black ; from the base of the bill, under the eye, and continued over the ear a 

 white stripe ; chin with a broad outward curve back under the cheek white, so that the brown cheek 

 appears bordered underneath by this curve, and above by the eye-stripe; belly dirty white, which 

 colour loses itself in the sides ; under the shoulder a light spot on both sides, which hardly shines 

 through, and in many specimens is wanting ; tail-feathers slit up and spread out like a fan. 



Young in down (S. Europe). Crown, sides of the head, and upper parts generally sooty blackish brown with 

 an olivaceous tinge ; chin and a streak passing from the base of the bill below the eye nearly to the 

 nape dull white ; underparts sooty greyish with an olivaceous tinge ; the breast darker than the rest of 

 the underparts. 



This Duck inhabits Southern Europe and North Africa, ranging eastward into Turkestan, but not 

 visiting Persia. It but rarely straggles into the northern portions of the continent of Europe, 

 and has not been met with in the British Isles, Scandinavia, North Kussia, or Denmark ; but it 

 has been recorded from North Germany, though only as a rare visitant. Naumann says that it 

 has occurred on both lakes in the Mannsfeld district, and that a pair have been met with in 

 Schleswig ; and Borggreve states that it has been observed in Upper Silesia by Gloger. It is not 

 known to have occurred in Holland or Belgium ; but Messrs. Degland and Gerbe cite several 

 instances of its occurrence in France. Mr. Hardy, they say, purchased one in the Dieppe market 

 early in January 1842 ; M. Bouteille obtained four in the market in Grenoble in January 1846 ; 

 and a young example, killed in the south of France, was sent to M. de Lamotte. It is not 

 recorded from Portugal ; but it occurs in Spain. Colonel Irby says (Orn. Str. Gibr. p. 205) that 

 it is found chiefly on the coast and on large lakes, and occurs near Cadiz, no doubt breeding in 

 the country ; but he never personally met with it on the Spanish side of the Straits of Gibraltar. 

 Mr. Howard Saunders states (Ibis, 1871, p. 397) that it is " resident and common in the lower 



