black, with an apricot-yellow beak-patch, the female is a 
dark brown, with grey cheeks. 
Though the duck tribe is represented by a considerable 
number of species, the number likely to be seen by the casual 
wanderer is very few; for these birds mostly keep well under 
cover during the day. In addition to the three species just 
described there are at least two others which are not infre- 
quently seen, out in the open, during the day. One of these 
is the goosander, which, on the lochs and rivers of Scotland, is 
common; and it is also frequently encountered in similar 
situations in the northern counties of England. You may 
know him by his bottle-green head, which bears a crest, 
black back, and white wings. His breast is suffused with a 
wonderful pale salmon colour—which fades away within a 
few hours of death, leaving the breast white. The beak is 
long, pointed, and coral red. Moreover, its edges are armed 
with horny teeth; for he is a fish-eater, capturing his prey 
by diving. On the wing he is very fast, but he rises from 
the water but slowly. His mate has a reddish-brown head 
and neck, and a grey back. The second species referred to 
is the mallard, though it is only very occasionally, and by 
accident, et with during the day. Its appearance has been 
so well represented in the coloured Plate that there is no 
need for description. 
When on the margins of lakes, large ponds, or slow-moving 
243 
