BIRDS ANSERINAE DENDROCYGNA FULVA. 
771 
Sp- Ch. — Nail of bill bent down at a right angle. Frontal feathers advancing as an obtuse angle. Bill and legs bluish 
black. Body beneath and anteriorly, and sides, uniform pale cinnamon The neck similar ; the head above dark cinnamon ; the 
nape with a black lino. Lesser wing coverts chocolate; rest of wings, tail, and rump, black. Scapulars and fore part of back 
black, barred at the ends with cinnamon. Upper and under tail coverts white. 
Length, 20; wing, 9.1(1; tarsus, 2.20 ; gape of bill, 2.18. 
Bab. — Fort Tejon, California; and south into Brazil. 
Feathers of forehead advancing on the bill as an obtuse angle. Nail of bill abruptly hooked, 
the posterior outline of tbe hook at a right angle with the commissure. Legs and feet very- 
large and stout. First quill intermediate between 4 and 5. Tail much rounded. 
Bill and legs entirely black. Prevailing colors, light yellowish brown, except on the lower 
back and wings. The head and neck are light yellowish brown ; the top of head, and, to a 
certain extent the cheeks, glossed with dark cinnamon. The central line of the chin and 
throat is rather paler, becoming nearly white posteriorly, this white finely streaked with dark 
brown on the edge and bases of some of the featbers. There is a well defined black 
nuchal line extending down the whole neck from behind the occiput. The entire under parts, 
including the jugulum, sides, and tibia, are uniform light reddish cinnamon, paler on the 
central line, and becoming whitish about the anus, and on the tibiae and under tail coverts. 
There is not the faintest trace of streaks or bands, except very obsolete lines on the tibiae. The 
lesser wing coverts are reddish chocolate ; the rest of the wings on both surfaces, the axillars, 
the tail feathers, the rump, and the hinder part of back, are uniform black. The scapulars are 
dark brown or black, with terminal bars of dark brownish yellow. The upper tail coverts are 
yellowish white. 
I have found great difficulty in identifying this bird with any description of species accessible 
to me. It comes nearest to D. fulva. As given by Burmeister, however, this appears to be con- 
siderably smaller, according to the description, and all the feathers of the under parts are said 
to have a broad light streak along the shafts, bordered anteriorly by a black line. The account 
as given by Latham, Gmelin, and others, however, makes no reference to these lines. It is 
quite possible that there are really two species included in the synonomy, and that the present 
bird is the original Anas fulva of Gmelin, from Mexico. 
I quote the names sinuata, collaris, and bicolor from Bonaparte, not having the opportunity at 
present to verify them. 
List of specimens. 
Catal. No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Whence obtained. 
Length. 
St'etch of 
wing. 
10399 
S 
Fort Tejon, Cal Spring of 1858 
L. J. X. de Vesey 
20.50 
36.50 
