172 
ANATINiE. RHYNCHASPIS. 
longest ; inner secondaries elongated and tapering ; tail small, 
much rounded, of fourteen stiffish, tapering feathers. 
In this genus the lamellae of the mandibles receive their 
highest degree of development as to elongation. They ap- 
pear to be thus modified to be adapted for separating from 
the mud the insects, mollusca, worms, and the like, on which, 
more than on vegetable substances, the Shovel-Bills feed. 
The male is larger, and more highly coloured than the 
female. 
251. Rhynchaspis clypeata. Blue- winged Shovel- 
bill. 
Male with the bill greyish-black, two inches and a half 
long, an inch and a quarter in breadth near the end ; feet 
orange-red ; head and upper neck glossed with green and 
purple ; lower neck white ; breast purplish-chestnut ; back 
greenish-black; smaller wing-coverts light blue; scapulars 
white, greenish-black and pale blue ; speculum bright green, 
margined anteriorly with white ; tail short, much rounded, 
of fourteen pointed feathers. Female with the bill dusky 
above, reddish-brown beneath ; the head and upper neck pale 
reddish, streaked with dusky, the lower neck and breast simi- 
lar, with dusky spots ; feathers of the upper parts blackish- 
brown, edged with reddish-white ; smaller wing-coverts faint- 
ly tinged with light blue; speculum duller and of less extent 
than in the male. 
Male, 20, 32, 9f, 1&, 1 T \, 1*, tV Female, 18, 29. 
Rare in Britain, where it is met with chiefly in winter, 
and for the most part in the eastern counties. Some pairs 
remain and breed in the marshy parts of the county of Nor- 
folk. In Scotland it has not, I believe, been met with. It 
is said to be common in Holland, France, and Germany, and 
to occur in various parts of Asia, Africa, and America. The 
nest is placed on the ground, among rushes or other tall 
plants. The eggs, ten or twelve, are greenish- white, two 
inches and two-twelfths in length, an inch and a half in 
breadth. 
Shoveller. Broad-bill. Red-breasted or Blue-winged 
Shoveller. 
Anas clypeata, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 200. — Anas clypeata, 
Lath. Ind. Ornith. it. 856,—-Anas clypeata, Temm. Man. 
d’Ornith.ii. 842.— -Rhynchaspis clypeata, Blue-wingedShovel- 
bill, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, v. 
