90 
EGYPTIAN GOOSE. 
finally shot. Bewick’s description of this single 
specimen is as follows : — “ The bill is reddish- yel- 
low, with a jointed protuberance on the base of tlie 
upper mandible ; the upper parts of the head and 
neck are dingy brown ; the auriculars and sides of 
the throat white, spotted with brown; the lower 
part of the neck, sides of the breast, and all the 
upper plumage appear black, but this colour is lost, 
particularly in the scapulars and tertials, which are 
most resplendently bronzed and glossed with bril- 
liant green, and most of the outer webs of the 
feathers partake of the same hue ; on the bend of 
the wings or wrist is placed a strong white homy 
spur turning upwards, about five-eighths of an inch 
in length, and pointing rather inwards ; the whole 
of the edges of the wing from the alula spuria to 
the elbow and shoulder are white, all the under 
parts the same.” The bird apparently has been 
scarcely in complete plumage. 
Before describing the more typical ducks, w r e shall 
shortly notice the swans belonging to the present 
sub-family. They are far more natatorial in their 
habits, their unwieldy size and weight unfitting 
them for frequent flight, though, at the same time, 
their powers for sustaining themselves and perform- 
ing long migrations are very ample. The neck is 
much more elongated than in the birds we have 
already described, giving facilities for procuring food 
and cropping vegetation under water, and it is used 
in a similar manner to that member among the 
