1 2 2 ANSERIFORMES chap. 



white round the base of the bill. F. ajfinis, of North America,, 

 has the head purplish ; F. cristata, the Tufted Duck of the whole 

 Palaearctic area, breeding freely in Britain and apparently in the 

 Abyssinian highlands, while wintering in India, Japan, China, 

 tlie Malay Archipelago and Polynesia, is distinguished by an oc- 

 cipital crest, and in the male by a black back. F. novae zecdaniliae, 

 of New Zealand, the Auckland and Chatham Islands, has a purple 

 and green gloss above, a few white dots on the back, and rufous- 

 brown abdominal feathers, the latter being brown and white in 

 the female. F. coUaris, of North America generally, has a violet 

 tinge on the black portions, a chestnut collar, a blue-grey speculum, 

 and white under parts barred with dusky ; the bill shows two 

 whitish bands ; the female has white lores and throat. 



JVyroca ferina, the Pochard, which breeds not uncommonly 

 in Britain, ranges from Iceland to Japan, and in winter to North 

 Africa, India, and China ; it has a chestnut head and neck, a black 

 gorget, and upper parts finely freckled with black and white ; the 

 speculum is grey, the quill-feathers and rump are black, the lower 

 parts greyish-white; the bill is black, banded with dull blue, and 

 the feet are bluish. In the female, or Dunbird, the head, neck, and 

 chest are dull reddish and the back browner. J}f. americana, of 

 North America, has a purple shade on the head and neck, a white 

 belly, and no black at the base of the bill. The female has a grey- 

 brown head. The larger N. vallisneria, the Canvas-Back of the 

 same country, which breeds in the north-west, has the crown and 

 comparatively long bill black. The female has some white on the 

 head and neck, and is vermiculated with white on the back. N. 

 laeri, of Eastern Asia, has a green-black head and neck, but is 

 chiefly brown, with a black-edged white speculum and whitish wing- 

 quills, the female being duller with a chestnut cheek-patch. M. 

 africana, the White-eyed Duck of British Lists, breeds from Central 

 Europe to the Mediterranean basin, and from the Ob Valley to 

 Kashmir, wintering southwards to the Canaries, Al:)yssinia, and 

 Arrakan. It has a chestnut head, neck, and chest, a white spot 

 on the chin, blackish -brown upper parts, a brown collar, a black- 

 edged white speculum, a little white on the primaries, and white 

 lower surface, the bill and feet being plumbeous and the irides 

 white. The female is duller with lirowner head. N. innotata, of 

 Madagascar, has a darker head and no chin-spot. N. australis, of 

 most of the Australian Region, is not dissimilar, but has a brown tip 



