2G1 /VVES. 



only in the year, the change of cuhjiir of the males, ahont midsummer, taking place without a rpncwal 

 of the feathers.] Among thcra we may dibtinguish 



The Scoters {Oidenda, Fleming) — 

 By the bn-adth and inflation of tlie bid. [Their plumage is chiefly deep black, and they are found 

 almost excUisively in i^alt water, wdiere they prey mn'^tly on Tcslocea. Feet particularly large. 



Two species are not Qiironiinon in the British seas— tlie Common or Black Scoter {Anas nigra, Lhi.), entirely 

 l.ilack, with an orange protuberance at the base of the biU, and orans^e-coloured lej,''s ; which is the most abundant, 

 and has swollen bronchi ; and the Velvet Scoter {A. fusca, Lin.), which is larg'er, with pink feet and black mem- 

 branes, a white hand on the w'nvx, and spot of the same at each eye, its trachea havinij a sudden box-like enlarge- 

 ment about tlie middle. A third, alhf-d to the last, the .-iurf Scoter (A. perspiciUata, Lin.), occasionally strays 

 from America, and IS (h&tiri;^uislHjd by the tri;ui;;LiIar ;iat(_'[ios of white on the cro\^n and occiput: females of all 

 dusky. 



The author adds certain species to this ^enus, with stiiP and pointed tail-feathers, forming; the Oxi/ura, Bonap. ; 

 as the A. leucocephala, Pallas; and A. lobata , Shaw; which latter, a New Holland kind, is remarkable for a 

 large fleshy api^eudage hanijini,^ under the bill. The A. ruhida of AVilson is referable to the same natural 

 division.] 



The Garhots {Clanyulo, Leach) — 

 Have a shorter bill, which is narrower in front : and at their head we place a species with the middle 

 tall-feathers very knig, which renders the tail pointed. [This bird, forndng tlie di\ision UardOa of 

 Leach, is quite distinct from the others, and moults twice in the year.] 



The Lon^-tailed Hareld {An. gtacialh, Lin.). — "White, with a fulvous spot on the cheek and side of the neck, the 



breast, back, tail, and point of the wing-, black : [scapularies broadly eclg;ed with rufous-bi'own in summer, con- 

 siderably Iong"er and pure white in winter, wdien they hang; over the wing, as in the Eiders.] Its ti-achea, ossitied 

 towards the base, has on one side four square membranous facets, above which it is inflated into a bony labyrinth. 

 [A very active and noisy marine species, not rare otf the coast of Scotland in winter, flying" in small flocks. 

 Further nortli, it becomes exceedingly numerous.] 



The Harlequin Garret u4«- ^"'*'''''(^J"'crt, Lin.).— Ash-coloured, the male fantastically streaked with white; eye- 

 brows and flanks rufous. [Also chiefly a marine species, not very closely allied to the j^eniainder. 



The rest have a very large head, or which appears, rather, to he so from the fulness of the plun.age, and are 

 remarkable for their sexual disparity of size. They are chiefly found in fresh water, and prefer to breed in the 

 hollows ol trees, as severally observed liy Linnaeus, Hewitson, and Audubon. One is a common winter visitant in 

 Britain]. 



The Golden-eyed Garrot {An. clangnln, Lin-), — 'iVhite, with a black head, back, and tail, a round white spot before 

 each eye, and two white bands on the wing ; female ashy, with rufous head : the middle of the trachea is very 

 much enlarged, but preserves its flexibility, and it again becomes singularly widened towards its divarication. 

 [The little BuflVl-headed Garrot {An. alheulay Lin.), coninmn in North America, is nearly allied]. 



The Eiders (Soina/eria, Leach) — 

 Have a longer bdl than the Carrots, ascending higher upon the forehead, where it is cut into by an 

 angle of the feathers ; but wdiich is still narrower towards the tip. [These birds are more partictdarly 

 allieil to the Scoters, with which they accord in their exclusively marine habits and food. 



There are two species, both with long white scapularies, hanging laterally over the wing, and black and wldte 

 plumage in the adult male. The Common Eider {An. ntolltss-imn, Lin.), witli a singular green stain on each side 

 of the neck ; and the King Eider {A. spectahiUs), remarkable for a huge protuberance over the base of its upper 

 mandible. Both yi^ld the celebrated Eiderdown of couiuierce]. 



After these separations, there still remain 



Thr Poch.vrds {Fi<!/f/iila, Leach), — 

 The beak of wdiich is wide and flat, but offers no other marked distinguishing character. We possess 

 several species, in all of which the trachea terminates by nearly similar labyrinths, forming a capsule 

 to the left, in part membranous, supported by a framework and raniilic:dions of bone. 



[Three are very common in Britain, — the Scaxip Pochard {An. innrila, Lin.), grey, with leaden-coloured bill, and 

 green-lilack head and neck, which is chiefly found in salt water; the Red-headed Pochard (J. /fW/m, Lin.), ash- 

 coloured, with rufous head and neck, and black breast, nearly allied to which, but larger, is the celebrated Ame- 

 rican Canvass-back (.-i. valianaria, Wilson); and the Tufted Pochard [A. ful/giiln, Lin.; F. cr/sfata, Auct.), 

 pnrple-black, with pendent occi|iital crest, and white flanks and belly. A fourth, the AVhite-eyed Pochard 

 (A. ni/roca, Gm.), is not common, and is distinguished by its maronne head and neck, the latter encircled with a 

 black collar, and a white spot on the chin. A flfth, the Red-crested Pochard {A. rirfiua, Liu.), is larger than any 

 of the foregoing (except the American), with elongated, bright ferrugineous, coronal feathers, and the rest mostly 

 dark : this bird belongs properly to Asia, and is only known as a straggler so far west. Lastly, the Pied Pochard 

 {An. ^telleri and dispar), with plumage not unlike that of an Eider, another native of eastern Asia, has likewise 



