AMERICAN WIDGEON. 263 



feathers are light brownish-grey. The throat is brownish-black; the lower 

 part of the neck in front, and the fore part of the breast, light brownish-red; 

 the breast, belly, and sides of the rump, white; the sides of the body finely 

 undulated with white and dusky; the rump beneath and the lower tail- 

 coverts black. 



Length to end of tail 20^ inches, to end of claws 21; extent of wings 34^; 

 bill to frontal processes lyf, along the edge of lower mandible ly^; wing 

 from flexure 11; tail 4-J; tarsus 1 T 7 ^; hind toe -£%, its claw f|, middle toe ly^; 

 its claw ff . Weight 1 lb. 14 oz. 

 Adult Female. 



The female is considerably smaller. The bill, feet, and iris are coloured 

 as in the male. The head and upper part of the neck all round, are white 

 or reddish-white, longitudinally streaked with brownish-black, the top of 

 the head transversely barred; the lower part of the neck in front and behind, 

 the fore part of the back, and the scapulars, are blackish-brown, the feathers 

 broadly margined with brownish-red, and barred with the same, the bars on 

 the back narrow; the hind part of the back dusky; the upper tail-coverts 

 barred with white. The wings are greyish-brown; the secondary coverts 

 tipped with white; the secondary quills are brownish-black, the inner grey- 

 ish-brown, all margined with white. The tail-feathers are greyish-brown, 

 margined with white. All the lower parts are white, excepting the feathers 

 of the sides, and under the tail, which are broadly barred with dusky and 

 light reddish-brown. 



Length to end of tail 18 inches, to end of claws 19|-; extent of wings 30; 

 bill along the ridge l-^; wing from flexure 9^; tail 3^; tarsus ly 6 ^; middle 

 toe 1 T 9 2, its claw T 3 2. Weight 1 lb. 5 oz. 



A very great diversity of colouring exists in this species, which, how- 

 ever, is not yet properly understood. Although males are often found as 

 described above, and as represented in the plate, others have a very different 

 appearance. Thus, an individual shot at the mouth of the Mississippi, in 

 the beginning of April 1S37, has the head and neck brownish-orange, the 

 feathers all minutely tipped with dark green, the lower fore neck lilac; all 

 the upper parts finely undulated with white and dusky, as are the sides; the 

 wing-coverts light brownish-grey; the other parts as described above, but 

 the upper tail-coverts black at the end. In some individuals the top of the 

 head is reddish-white, in others light red, in others pure white; in some, 

 most of the smaller wing-coverts are white, in others grey or brownish-grey; 

 in some the throat is whitish, in others black. These differences, no doubt, 

 depend upon age and season: 



The American Widgeon has been considered distinct from the European; 

 not on account of any difference in size or form, or texture of plumage, but 



