ANATIDAE 



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to the \yliite speculum and some brown on the belly. JV. hrunnea, 

 of South and East Africa, is brown, mottled with grey above, the 

 head and upper neck being dark purplish-chestnut, the lower neck 

 black, the speculum white with a black posterior band. Some 

 white shows on the primaries, and the bill and feet are plumbeous. 

 The female has white at the base of the bill, on the throat, and 

 behind the eye. iV". nationi, of Peru, is hardly distinct. 



The majority of these two genera are wary sea-birds, though 

 breeding inland ; they feed at dawn or dusk on aquatic plants 

 and seeds, molluscs, insects, and even, small fish and frogs, chiefly 

 obtained by diving, wherein they are great adepts. VaUisneria 

 spiniHs, a plant largely eaten by the Canvas-Back, accounts for its 

 specific name and possibly for its flavour. The note is a grating or 

 guttural sound, varied by a low whistle ; the nest is generally close 

 to water, and contains from six to thirteen green eggs. X. afrieana, 

 N. austrcdis, and FuliguJa novae zealcmdiae are rather more 

 skulking species with weaker flight, rarely found at sea. 



Mftnpiana feposaca, of South America, northward to Chili and 

 South Brazil, is black with grey vermiculations above and on the 

 belly, the cheeks and upper neck are purplish, the speculum and 

 inner primaries chiefly white, the bill and its swollen base carmine, 

 the feet yellow. The female is brown, with whitish under parts and 

 grey on the wing. It frequents marshes on the Pampas, has a rapid 

 heavy flight, utters a long hoarse note, and lays a dozen creamy eggs. 



Xrtfa rufina, the Eed-crested Duck, found from the Mediter- 

 ranean to the Caspian and Turkestan, or to India in winter, 

 rarely occurs in Britain or North Europe, and is recorded once 

 from America : it is chiefly greyish-brown above and blacker below, 

 with a large crest on the chestnut head, white speculum and sides, 

 red beak and feet. The crestless female is duller, with whitish 

 cheeks and throat. 



Sub-fam. 5. Anatinae or typical Ducks. — Hctennietta atri- 

 capilld, of South Brazil, Uruguay, Chili, and Argentina, is dark 

 brown above with black head and rufous vermiculations, and white 

 below with dusky markings ; the tips of most of the wing-feathers 

 are white, the bill is blackish with basi-lateral flesh-colom-ed spots, 

 the feet are brownish. The female's head is brown. Stictonettco 

 naevosa, of West and South Australia and Tasmania, is brown with 

 freckles and spots of white in either sex. Marmaronetta angusti- 

 rostris, ranging from South Europe and North Africa to India, and 



