ANAS. 207 



ANAS. 

 Anas, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 134 (1766) ; Salvad. Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 187 (1895). 



Thi.s genus includes the typical Uucks, which have the outer web of the primaries 

 blackish, the inner one drab with a blackish tip {cf. Gates, ' Manual of the Game-Birds 

 of India,' ii. p. 21). The bill is broad and of the same width throughout, and equals 

 the head in length; the lamellae are scarcely exposed. The sexes diflFer markedly in 

 colour, and the upper wing-coverts are never blue. The wing is similarly coloured, and 

 has a brilliant speculum, in both male and female. 



Sixteen species of Anas are known, of which three are found in Central America. 



1. Anas boscas. 



Anas boschas, Ijmn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 205'; Licht. Preis-Verz. Mex. Vog. p. iii, no. 157"; Cab. 



J. f. Orn. 1863, p. 59^ Wagl. Isis, 1831, p. 532*; Lawr. Ann. Lye. N. York, viii. p. 13 =; 



Mem. Best. Sec. Nat. Hist. ii. p. 314'; Duges, La Nat. i. p. 143"; Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 



1876, p. 380 ' ; Sumichr. La Nat. v. p. 234 ' ; Baird, Brewer, & Ridgw. Water-Birds N. 



Amer. i. p. 491'°; Ridgw. Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. ix. p. 173''; Herrera, La Nat. (3) i. 



pp. 187", 328'^; A. O. U. Check-1. N. Amer. Birds, 2nd ed. p. 48". 

 Anas boscas, Salvad. Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 189 '^ 

 Anas maxima, Scl. P. Z. S. 1859, p. 369'". 



Capite efc coUo superiore leete nitenti-viridibua, hoc torque albo interrupto ornato ; interscapulio et scapularibus 

 griseis, brunneo tinctis et minute vermiculatis; dorso medio saturate brunneo; uropygio et supracaudalibus 

 nigris ; alis cinerascenti-brunneis, speculo alari secundariorum purpurascenti-cyaneo metallice nitente, 

 fascia subterminali alba ante apicem nigrum ; tectricibus alarum majoribus et secundariis griseis, albo 

 nigroque fasciatim terminatis ; secundariis iufcimis extus partim laete brunneis ; rectricibus griseis albo 

 marginatis, pennis 4 medianis recurvatis nigris ; gutture nitenti-viridi, pectore summo saturate castaneo, 

 corpore reliquo subtus grisescenti-albo, fasciis angnstissimis saturate brunneis vermiculatim transfasciatis ; 

 subcaudalibus nigris ; subalaribus et axillaribus albis : rostro flavescenti-olivaceo, apicem versus nigro, 

 mandibula ad basin rufescenti-flava ; pedibils aurantiacis ; iride brunnea. Long, tota circa 24-0, 

 alse 10'5-ll-5, caudse 4-4, culm. 2-2, tarsi 1'8.5. (Descr. maris adulti ex Corpus Christi, Texas. 

 Mus. nostr.) 



g . Supra saturate brunnea, plumis singulis brunnescenti-fulvo marginatis ; corpore subtus fulvo, saturate 

 brunneo striolatim maculato ; mento, gutture et praepectorc fulvescentibus concoloribus ; ala fere ut in 

 mari colorata. (Descr. feminse adultse ex Corpus Christi. Mus. nostr.) 



Juv. feminae similis. Mas junior pectoris plumis saturatius indicatis distinguenda. 



cJ ad. in ptilosi vera cestiva feminas adultae similis, sed pileo nigricante, et fascia sordida oculum 

 transeunte. 



Hob. North America, breeding southward to the Southern United States ; less 

 common in the East ^^. — Mexico {Dejope & Schiede - ^, Wagler ^), Hermosillo, 

 Sonora [Ferrari-Perez i*), Rio San Pedro, E.io Janos, Rio Conalitos [Kennerly ^^), 

 Mazatlan [Grrayson ^), Guanajuato, Guadalajara [Buges ''), Valley of Mexico 

 (Herrera ^^ ^^, Sumichrast »), Jalapa {de Oca ^ ^^) ; Panama [M'Leanann ^ ^). — West 

 Indies ^^. — Europe and Northern Asia, rarely north of the Arctic Circle, in winter 

 to Northern and North-eastern Africa ; Noethebn India ; China and Japan ^^. 



