492 
LAMELLIROSTRAL SWIMMERS — ANSERES. 
umber-brown, this also tinging the adjoining scapulars wing-coverts uniform deep brownish gray, 
the last row tipped with opaque velvety black, and with a subterminal bar of pure white ; specu- 
lum rich metallic violet, with a subterminal velvety black, and terminal pure white bar ; primaries 
plain brownish gray. Rump, upper tail-coverts, and crissum, intense velvety black, showing faint 
reflections of bluish green. Tail white, the feathers grayish centrally. Two middle feathers black, 
slightly recurved ; the two longer upper tail-coverts greatly recurved. Bill olive-yellow or ochra- 
ceous-olive (in life), the nail black ; iris hazel ; tarsi and toes line rich orange-red (changing to 
yellowish in dried skin). Length, about 24.00 inches; extent, 38.00; wing, 11.00-11.85; cul- 
men, 2.10-2,40; tarsus, 1.60-1.80; middle toe, 2.00-2.15. Adult male in summer: “Closely 
resembling the female, being merely 
somewhat darker in color. This 
plumage is donned by degrees early 
in June ; and in August the full 
rich winter dress is again resumed ” 
(Sharpe & Dresser). Adult fe- 
male : Wing as in the male. Above, 
brownish dusky, much variegated by 
broad pale ochraceous edges to the 
feathers ; beneath pale ochraceous, 
the feathers dusky centrally, pro- 
ducing a thickly spotted or striped 
appearance. On the top of the head 
the dusky predominates, as it also 
does in a loral and auricular line, 
forming a lighter superciliary stripe 
between this and the crown. Wing, 
10.25-11.50 ; culmen, 2.00-2.35 ; tar- 
sus, 1.50-1.80; middle toe, 1.90-2.05. 
Downy young : 1 Above, deep oli- 
vaceous, relieved by two pairs of yel- 
lowish buff spots, the first pair on the 
back, j list behind the wings, the second 
at the base of the tail, the first not 
confluent with the buff of the lower 
parts ; wings deep olivaceous, varied 
on both edges with dull greenish yel- 
low ; pileum and nape olivaceous, 
darker on the occiput, lighter on the 
forehead ; a broad superciliary stripe, 
including the sides of the forehead, 
sides of the head and neck, and entire 
lower parts, yellowish buff, deepest on 
the head, paler on the anal region and crissum ; sides more grayish, and crossed, between the wings 
and thighs, by two wide patches of dark olive projecting from that of the back. Side of the head 
marked by a narrow but very distinct stripe of dark brown from the upper basal angle of the 
maxilla to the eye, thence back to and confluent with the olivaceous of the occiput ; beneath 
the latter, almost directly over the ear, an isolated spot of the same. 
The adult males in winter plumage vary chiefly in the extent and richness of the chestnut of 
the jugulum. Sometimes this is restricted to the jugulum, but occasionally it spreads over the 
Male. 
1 Described from No. 77546, Washoe Lake, Nev., May 22, 1877 : H. W. Hens haw. This specimen 
represents the youngest stage, not long from the egg, and is less than 6 inches in total length, the bill 
about half an inch long. Older specimens are larger, the size, of course, proportioned to the age, while as 
they increase in size the bright yellowish tints become gradually replaced with pale dingy grayish ; the 
olivaceous of the upper parts also becomes more gray. 
