ANATIDjE — ANATINJE: RIVER DUCKS. 
697 
Broad-bill. Adult $ : Bill blackish ; iris orange-red : feet vermilion-red. Head and neck dark 
glossy green. Lower neck and fore breast pure white. Abdomen purplish-chestnut. Wing- 
coverts sky-blue ; speculum rich green, set between white tips of greater coverts, and black sub- 
tips and white tips of secondaries ; inner secondaries greenish-black, with long white stripe ; 
long scapulars blue on outer webs, striped with white and greenish -black on inner; short 
anterior scapulars white. Rump and upper and under tail-coverts black ; a white patch on 
each side at root of tail. Adult 9 : Bill dull greenish ; iris yellow ; feet orange. Wing- 
niarkings similar to those of though imperfect : traces of chestnut on belly. Head and 
neck brownish-yellow, speckled with dusky. In any plumage the species is of course at once 
recognized by the peculiar bill. Length 17.00-21.00 ; extent 30.00-38.00 ; wing 9.50 ; tail 
3.00; bill about 2.70; along commissure 3.00 ; tarsus 1.33. Europe, Asia, etc.; in N. Am. 
at large, breeding throughout, and wintering in abundance from the middle districts to C Am. 
Fig. 483. — Shoveller Duck, \ uat. !^ize. (From Breliiu.) 
Eggs about 8, averaging 2.10 X 1-50, smooth, elliptical, in color dull pale greenish-gray, 
sometimes faintly bluish. In full dress, which is comparatively infrequent, since it character- 
izes only the breeding season, this is a very smart and jaunty drake, tricked out in parti-color ; 
the great majority of specimens, however, are found in a plumage more like that of the duck. 
The bird is among the best of the ducks for the table. 
290. AIX. (Grr. a'i| or m^, aix or aix ; application not obvious.) Bridal Ducks. Head crested. 
Bill shorter than head, no longer than tarsus, very high at base, the reentrances at sides of 
culmen much prolonged towards the forehead. Nostrils large, oval, set little in advance of the 
feathers on culmen. Terminal nail occupying the whole end of the bill, and much curved 
downward. Lamellae small, few, and distant. Tarsus incompletely scutellate in front, much 
shorter than middle toe. Claws compressed, curved, and acute, that of the middle toe dilated 
on inner edge. Tail half as long as wings, rounded, of sixteen rounded feathers, and very 
