PHCENICONAIAS.— ANSERES. 251 



Genus FH(ENICONAIAS. 



Upper mandible flat and included between rami of lower. Small bind toe. 

 Throat feathered. 



285. Fhoeniconaias minor. The Smaller Flauinqo. 



$ 33" to 36". ? 30". Legs deep red. Bill dark red, tip black.— /« winter: 

 Pale rose. — In summer : Bright rose, with cherry-coloured plumes on scapulars. 

 E. Africa, Madagascar, and N.W. India. (B. 1576. S.F. i. 35.) 



Also the genus Phcenicqparrus. Hind toe wanting. Lamellae on upper mandible prominent 

 and horizontal. Two species, from the Andes of Peru and Chili — P. andinus, 48", legs 

 yellowish, bill pale yellow, tip black, quills and tertials black ; and F. jamesi, 36", quills 

 black, tertials rosy. 



Order ANSERES. Swans, Geese, Ducks, and 

 Mergansers. 



Bill straight, with distinct nail at tip of upper mandible. Margins of bill 

 laminated (Mergince serrated). Tarsus reticulated at back, and generally in front. 

 Ventral tract bare. Desmognathous. Posterior border of breast-bone with a 

 notch (in some a foramen) on each side of keel. Young hatched covered with 

 down, and able to run or swim at once. Cosmopolitan. 



Family ANATID^. 



Bill broader at base than high, of equal width or wider at tip, with numerous 

 lamellae. Tongue large and fleshy, denticulated laterally to correspond with 

 lamellae. Anterior toes fully webbed to end of digits {Anseranas excepted). 

 Hind toe always present. Primaries eleven. Fifth secondary wanting. After- 

 shaft rudimentary or wanting. Oil-gland tufted. Monogamous. In moulting 

 most, if not all, shed all their quill-feathers at once, and are consequently for a 

 time unable to fly. Eough nest. Numerous eggs. Swans and Geese have no 

 lobe on the hind toe. In Ducks the hind toe is narrowly lobed, while the Diving 

 Ducks and Mergansers have a broad lobe. 



(i.) Hind toe not lobed (286-297). 



Subfamily Cygnin^. 



Lengthened neck, but short legs. Bill high at base, and of equal breadth 

 throughout. Lores bare (except in Coscoroha.) Of very large size. Feed on 

 seeds, roots of water-plants, and also on grass. Sexes alike, no seasonal change. 

 Principally Arctic. 



Genus OYGNUS. 



KiKt/0!=a, Swan. 



Bill covered with short fleshy core that extends in a point to the eye on each 

 side. Nostrils more or less in middle of bill, rather oblique and oval. Lores 

 naked. Second and third quills equal and longest. Hind toe short, and without 

 any marginal lobe. 



