THE SMEW. 25? 



Description. 



white bars tipped with black, and the breast is 

 reddish,, mixed with black and white. The plu- 

 mage of the female is less splendid; and they 

 differ in another respect, viz. that the male has a 

 very full and large crest; the female only the ru- 

 diment of one. 



THE SMEW 



MEASURES from the end of the bill to the 

 end of the tail near eighteen inches, and from, 

 the extremity of each wing when extended, up- 

 wards of two feet, and weighs about a pound and 

 a half. It has a fine crest upon the head, which 

 falls down towards the back part of it, under 

 which, on each side of the head, is a black spot; 

 the rest of the head and the neck are white, as 

 is the under parts of the body ; the back and the 

 wings are of an agreeable mixture of black and 

 white. The tail is about three inches long, of a 

 sort of dusky ash-colour, the feathers on each 

 side shortening gradually. The bill is of a lead 

 colour, at the extremity of which is a dirty co- 

 loured spot of white; it is something less than 

 the generality of the duck kind, a little hooked 

 with large open nostrils; and darkish coloured 

 eyes; the legs are pretty much of the same co- 

 lour of the bill. 



The female of this bird has no crest ; the sides 

 of the head are red, the throat white, the wings 



YOL. iv. NO. 28. 2 K 



