ANAS FLAVIEOSTRIS. 
red, all the feathers narrowly edged and tipped with dirty white. Bill — upper 
mandible and the lower towards tip gamboge-yellow, — the former with an 
oblong liver-brown stripe extending from its base to within less than an inch 
of its point, in which are situated the nostrils ; the nail and tip of upper man- 
dible and a triangular block at the corresponding part of the lower liver- 
brown. Legs, toes, and webs brownish red. 
Form, &c. — Body moderately robust; head large and slightly compressed. 
Wings pointed, and when folded reach rather beyond the first half of the 
tail, the second feather rather the longest, the first and third equal and rather 
shorter, the fourth a little shorter than the third and about the same length as 
the tertiary quill feathers. Tail rigid and slightly rounded, the feathers 
pointed. Bill rather long, narrow, and throughout of the same width. Tarsi 
and toes moderately long and rather slender, the former laterally and poste- 
riorly covered with small reticulated scales, anteriorly with small transverse 
plates ; the web between the toes reaches to the base of the claws, and on 
each side of the middle toe is covered with a few rows of small scales. Claws 
slightly curved and pointed. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Inches. 
Lines. 
Inches. 
Lines. 
Length from the point of the bill to 
Length of the tarsus 
i 
6' 
the tip of the tail 
23 
6 
of the outer toe 
i 
ioi 
of the bill to the angle of the 
of the middle toe 
i 
mouth 
2 
n 
of the inner toe 
i 
5 
of the wings when folded 
10 
6 
of the hinder toe 
0 
4 
of the tail 
4 
0 
Female . — Colours like those of the male, only not quite so dark ; the wing 
speculum has less lustre, and her size is inferior. 
Of all the South African ducks this is perhaps the most common and widely diffused. 
Near Cape Town it occurs in the marshes, on the small lakes, and about the banks of the 
various streams. In the interior again, it is generally found on the comparatively stagnant 
portions of rivers, probably from the circumstances that the other collections of water in which 
it more particularly delights exist only in but a few localities. 
