CHAPTER XX. 



SHOVELLER DUCK (ANAS CLYPEATA). 



Local names : "Spoonbills," " Butler Ducks " (the last a name of 

 quite recent origin). 



Adult male : Bill longer than the head, higher 

 than broad at the base, depressed and much wi- 

 dened towards the end, where its ]jreadth is 

 doubled. 



Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed, 

 rounded above; neck moderate; body rather full, 

 slightly depressed. Feet short, stout, placed a lit- 

 tle behind the centre of the body ; legs bare a 

 little above the joint ; tarsus very short. Hind 

 toe very small, with a narrow, free membrane. 



Plumage dense, soft, and elastic ; of the head 

 and neck short, blended, and splendent; of the 

 occiput and nape considerably elongated ; of the 

 other parts in general broad and rounded. Wings 

 of moderate length, acute. Tail short, rounded, 

 of fourteen acute feathers, of which the two mid- 

 dle extend five-twelfths of an inch beyond the 

 next. 



817 



