CHAPTER XIV. 



BLUE-WINGED TEAL (ANAS DISCORS). 



Adult male : bill almost as long as the head, 

 deeper than broad at the base, depressed towards 

 the end, its breadth nearly equal in its whole 

 length, being, however, a little enlarged towards 

 the rounded tip. 



Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. 

 Neck of moderate length, rather slender. Body- 

 full, depressed. Feet short, placed rather far back. 



Plumage dense, soft, and blended. Feathers of 

 the head and neck very small and slender; of the 

 back and lower parts in general broad and round- 

 ed. Wings of moderate length, rather narrow and 

 acute. Primaries strong, slightly curved, tapering ; 

 the first scarcely longer than the second; the rest 

 rapidly decreasing. Secondaries broad, the outer 

 obliquely rounded, the inner elongated and acu- 

 minate, as are the scapulars. Tail short, rounded, 

 and acuminate, of fourteen rather narrow acumi- 

 nate feathers. 



i8b 



