694 



SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —LA3IELLIB0STRES -AN SERES. 



Awilysis of Species. 

 Head and neck cinnamon-red, scarcely varied ; with mere traces of green, if any; top of head creamy or 



brownish-wliite 2^'-''^elopt 712 



Head and neck grayisb, speckled with dusky, the sides of the head with a broad patch of green, tlie top 



wliife or nearly so americana 713 



tVl. M. penelope. {Penelojie, a mythological name.) European Wigeon. Size and general 

 character of the next species ; differing as above. Europe ; Greenland ; rare or casual along 

 the whole Atlantic coast ; more numerous on the N. Pacific coast and S. to California. 

 713. M. america'iia. (Fig. 481.) American Wigeon. Bald-pate. Adult $ : Bill grayish-blue, 

 with black tip and extreme base ; feet similar, duller, with dusky webs and claws ; iris brown. 

 Top of head white, or nearly so ; sides the same, or more bufl'y, speckled with dusky-green, 



purer green forming a 

 broad patch from and 

 below eye to hind 

 head ; chin dusky. 

 Fore neck and breast 

 light brownish - red, 

 or very pale purplish - 

 cinnamon, each feath- 

 er with paler grayish 

 edge ; along the sides 

 of the body the same, 

 finely waved with 

 dusky; the breast and 

 belly pure white, the 

 erissum abruptly 



black. Lower hind 

 neck and fore back 

 and scapulars finely 

 waved with the same 

 reddish color and with 

 dusky; lower back and rump similarly waved with dusky and whitish. Lesser wing-coverts 

 plain gray ; middle and greater coverts jiure white, forming a large area, the greater black- 

 tipped, forming the fore border of the si)eculum, which is glossy green, bordered behind by 

 velvety black, internally by the black and \\\i\\G stripes on the inner secondaries. Tail brown- 

 ish-gray, the lateral upper coverts black ; axillary feathers white. Only old drakes have the 

 crown immaculate white, the chin dusky, the auricular patch definitely green ; generally the 

 will lie liead and upper neck are pale lirownish- yellow or reddish-white, speckled flith greenish- 

 dusky. 9 resembling the immature ^ on the head; the peculiar brownish -red is interrupted 

 with dusky and whitish bars. The wing-pattern is nearly as in the $ ; but the white is re- 

 stricted or interrupted Math gray, the greater coverts may lack black tips, the speculum is faint, 

 and the black stripes of the inner secondaries are replaced by brown. The normal variability 

 in coloration, aside from age or sex, is gTeat, but the bird cannot be mistaken under any 

 conditions ; the extensive white of the under parts and wings is recognizable at gun-shot 

 range. Length 18.00-21.00; extent 30.00-35.00; wing ] 0.00-11.00; tail 4..00-4.50; biU 

 1.60 ; tarsus 1..50 ; middle toe and claw more. N. Am. at large, breeding anywhere ; Europe, 

 casually. Eggs 8-12, 2.00 X 1.50, dull pale bufl:'. 

 288. QUERQUE'DULA. (Lat. querquedula, a small kind of duck ; related to English qiiach.) 

 Teal Ducks. Bill nearly or quite as long as the head, longer than tarsus, nan'ow and par- 

 allel-sided, the nail naiTOw, ^ to ^ of the tip. Size smallest among our ducks. Sexes more or 

 less unlike. Speculum glossy-green. Bill blackish. The genus contains two sections, perhaps 

 as worthy of distinction as some of the foregoing genera. 



■'"-i^' 



Fig. 481. — American Wigeon. (From Lewis.) 

 lower back and rump similarly waved with dusky and whitish. 



