246 
MEDGUS SERRATOR. 
narrow bands of black ; primaries, black ; secondaries) 
white ; several of the latter edtred with black ; lower 
part of th«3 back, the rump, and tail-coverts, graft 
speckled with black ; sides under the n’inffs, elegantly 
crossed with numerous waving lines of black; belly 
and vent, white; legs and feet, red; the tail, dusky 
ash ; the black of the back passes up the hiud neck ii* 
a narrow band to the head. 
The female is twenty-one inches in length, and thirty, 
in extent ; the crested head and part of the neck are o‘ 
a dull sorrel colour ; irides, yellow; legs and bill reii 
upper parts, dusky slate; wings, black ; greater covert* 
largely tipt with W’hite ; secondaries, nearly all white* 
sides of the breast, slightly dusky ; whole lower part* 
pure white; the tail is of a lighter slate than the back' 
The crest is much shorter than in the male, and soiue" 
times there is a slight tinge of ferruginous on the breast- | 
The w'indpi|)e of the male of this species is vet? 
curious, and differs soraetbingfrom that of thegoosandet' 
About two inches from the mouth, it swells out to fo*^^ 
times its common diameter, continuing of that size 
about an inch and a half. This swelling is capable O' 
being shortened or extended ; it then continues of 
first diameter for two inches or more, when it beconi^ 
flattish, and almost transparent for other two inches* 
it then swells into a bony labyrinth of more than t"'® 
inches in length by one and a half in width, over tb'* 
hollow sides of w-hich is spread a yellowish skin lik*'. 
parchment. The left side of this, fronting the back o' 
the bird, is a hard bone. The divarications <*ome o*^^ 
very regularly from this at the lower end, and entef 
the lung's. 
The intention of Nature in this extraordinary stru<!' 
ture is probably to enable the bird to take dowo * 
supply of air to support respiration while diving; J'**' 
why should the female, who takes the same submario® 
excursions as the male, be entirely destitute of tb*^ 
apparatus ? 
