262 
AMERICA!? WIDGEON. 
towards the end, the sides nearly parallel, the tip rounded. Upper mandible 
with the frontal angles short and obtuse, the dorsal line at first sloping, then 
concave, at the end decurved, the ridge broad and flat at the base, then 
broadly convex, the edges soft, with about fifty-five internal lamellae, the 
unguis obovate, curved abruptly at the end. Nostrils sub-basal, lateral, near 
the ridge, oblong, pervious. Lower mandible flattened, its angle very long 
and rather narrow, the dorsal line very short, slightly convex, the edges 
soft, with about seventy lamellae. 
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck rather long, slender. 
Body elongated and slightly depressed. Feet very short ; tibia bare for 
about a quarter of an inch ; tarsus very short, compressed, anteriorly with 
two series of scutella, the outer shorter, the rest covered with reticulated 
angular scales ; toes obliquely scutellate above ; first very small, free, with a 
narrow membrane beneath; third longest, fourth considerably shorter, second 
shorter than fourth ; their connecting webs entire, on the edge crenate ; the 
second or inner toe with a membranous margin. Claws small, slightly 
arched, compressed, rather»acute ; the hind one very small and more curved, 
that of the middle toe curved outwards, and having the inner edge dilated. 
Plumage dense, soft, blended. Feathers of the head and upper neck 
oblong, small, those along the crown and occiput longer ; of the lower parts 
ovate, glossy, with the extremities of the filaments stiffish. Wings rather 
long, little curved, narrow, pointed ; the first quill longest, the next scarcely 
shorter, the rest rapidly graduated ; secondaries very short, broad, obliquely 
rounded ; the inner elongated and tapering ; the tips of the filaments of the 
outer web of the first primary are separated and curved a little outwards. 
Tail short, rounded and pointed, of sixteen feathers, of which the middle 
pair are more pointed and project considerably. 
Bill light greyish-blue, with the extremity including the unguis, and a 
portion of the margins, black. Iris hazel. Feet light bluish-grey, the webs 
darker, the claws dusky. The upper part of the head is white, more or less 
mottled with dusky on its sides ; the loral space and cheeks reddish-white, 
dotted with greenish-black ; a broad band from the eye to behind the occiput 
deep green. The lower part of the hind neck, the scapulars, and the fore 
part of the back, are minutely transversely undulated with brownish-black 
and light brownish-red ; the hind part similarly undulated with blackish- 
brown and greyish-wliite. The smaller w'ing-coverts are brownish-grey ; 
the primary quills and coverts dark greyish-brown ; the secondary coverts 
white, tipped with black. The speculum is duck-green anteriorly, bounded 
by the black tips of the secondary coverts, black behind, internally black, 
with white streaks, the inner elongated secondaries having their outer webs 
black, margined with white, their inner webs brownish-grey. The tail- 
