262 AMERICAN WIDGEON. 



towards the end, the sides nearly parallel, the tip rounded. Upper mandible 

 with the frontal angles short and obtuse, the dorsal line at first sloping, then 

 concave, at the end decurved, the ridge broad and flat at the base, then 

 broadly convex, the edges soft, with about fifty-five internal lamellse, the 

 unguis obovate, curved abruptly at the end. Nostrils sub-basal, lateral, near 

 the ridge, oblong, pervious. Lower mandible flattened, its angle very long 

 and rather narrow, the dorsal line very short, slightly convex, the edges soft, 

 with about seventy lamellse. 



Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck rather long, slender. 

 Body elongated and slightly depressed. Feet very short; tibia bare for 

 about a quarter of an inch; tarsus very short, compressed, anteriorly with 

 two series of scutella, the outer shorter, the rest covered with reticulated 

 angular scales; toes obliquely scutellate above; first very small, free, with a 

 narrow membrane beneath; third longest, fourth considerably shorter, second 

 shorter than fourth; their connecting webs entire, on the edge crenate; the 

 second or inner toe with a membranous margin. Claws small, slightly 

 arched, compressed, rather acute; the hind one very small and more curved, 

 that of the middle toe curved outwards, and having the inner edge dilated. 



Plumage dense, soft, blended. Feathers of the head and upper neck 

 oblong, small, those along the crown and occiput longer; of the lower parts 

 ovate, glossy, with the extremities of the filaments stiffish. Wings rather 

 long, little curved, narrow, pointed; the first quill longest, the next scarcely 

 shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries very short, broad, obliquely 

 rounded; the inner elongated and tapering; the tips of the filaments of the 

 outer web of the first primary are separated and curved a little outwards. 

 Tail short, rounded and pointed, of sixteen feathers, of which the middle 

 pair are more pointed and project considerably. 



Bill light greyish-blue, with the extremity including the unguis, and a 

 portion of the margins, black. Iris hazel. Feet light bluish-grey, the webs 

 darker, the claws dusky. The upper part of the head is white, more or less 

 mottled with dusky on its sides; the loral space and cheeks reddish-white, 

 dotted with greenish-black; a broad band from the eye to behind the occiput 

 deep green. The lower part of the hind neck, the scapulars, and the fore 

 part of the back, are minutely transversely undulated with brownish-black 

 and light brownish-red; the hind part similarly undulated with blackish- 

 brown and greyish-white. The smaller wing-coverts are brownish-grey; 

 the primary quills and coverts dark greyish-brown; the secondary coverts 

 white, tipped with black. The speculum is duck-green anteriorly, bounded 

 by the black tips of the secondary coverts, black behind, internally black, 

 with white streaks, the inner elongated secondaries having their outer webs 

 black, margined with white, their inner webs brownish-grey. The tail- 



