210 MERGANSER. 



inner scapulars, back, coverts on the side of the wing, and greater 

 quills, black; tail cinereous, consisting of sixteen feathers; legs 

 bluish grey. 



The second set of synonyms, supposed to be of the female, refer to 

 a bird sixteen inches long, twenty-three broad, and weighing fifteen 

 ounces. Bill lead-colour; head ferruginous, and slightly crested; 

 cheeks, chin, and throat, white ; between the bill and eyes the same 

 oval black spot as in the other bird : back dusky ash-colour ; wings 

 as before described : belly white ; legs pale ash-colour. 



The Minute Merganser, meant by the last division of synonyms, 

 is rather smaller than the other two ; length fourteen inches and a 

 half, breadth twenty-three. Bill black ; top of the head and sides, 

 including the eyes and hind part of the neck, dusky ferruginous, 

 deeper on the head, the feathers of which are somewhat elongated ; 

 chin, throat, fore part of the neck, and sides of it for half the length, 

 white ; lower part of the neck and breast mottled dusky and white; 

 wings much as in the Smew, dusky black, with a patch of white on 

 the coverts, and two bars of the same below ; legs dusky. 



It seems now certain, that both sexes, while young, are more or 

 less brown, with a reddish, or chestnut head ; the under parts white; 

 and as some of these have the oval spot between the eye, and others 

 without, it may not be unreasonable to suppose, that the former may, 

 when complete, be the males, and the others the females : in such 

 case reducing several birds described by authors as distinct, into one 

 and the same species; that at first all are without the distinguishing, 

 oval black spot, which may break forth more or less distinct in the 

 second year, with some change also of plumage, and on the third, 

 the plumage may arrive at its mature state. I have been led to this 

 supposition, by finding the trachea of a Minute Merganser, which 

 proved to be a male, exactly of the same conformation with that of 

 the adult Smew, with this difference only — that the parts were less 

 ossified. The trachea when complete, may be described thus :— near 

 the upper part it is very small in diameter, but enlarges as it descends 



