20 
CAKYASS-BACK DUCK. 
309 
of the tarsus, outer a little shorter. Claws small, compressed, that of the 
first toe very small and curved, of the third toe larger and more exDanded 
than the rest. 
Plumage dense, soft, blended. Feathers of the upper part of the head 
small and rather compact, of the rest of the head and neck small, blended, 
and glossy. Wings shortish, narrow, pointed ; primary quills strong, taper- 
ing, the first longest, the second almost as long, the rest rapidly diminishing ; 
secondary quills broad and rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail 
very short, much rounded, or wedge-shaped, of fourteen feathers. 
Bill black, with a tinge of green. Iris bright carmine. Upper part of the 
head, and a space along the base of the bill, dusky ; a small transverse band 
of white on what is called the chin ; the rest of the head, and the neck all 
round, for more than half its length, of a rich brownish-red. A broad belt 
of brownish-black occupies the lower part of the neck, and the fore part of 
•the body, of which the posterior part is of the same colour, more extended 
on the back than under the tail. Back and scapulalfe white or greyish- white, 
very minutely traversed by undulating black lines ; wing-coverts similar but 
darker. Alular feathers greyish-brown. Primary quills brownish-black, 
tinged with grey towards the base ; the shaft brown. Secondaries ash-grey, 
whitish, and undulated with dark grey towards the end ; five of them also 
having a narrow stripe of black along their outer margin. Tail brownish- 
grey, towards the end ash-grey. The lower parts white, the sides and 
abdomen marked with fine undulating grey lines, of which there are faint 
traces on most of the other feathers. The feet are greyish-blue, tinged 
with yellow. 
Length to end of tail 22 inches, to end of wings 20, to end of claws 25 ; 
extent of wings 33 ; wing, from flexure, 91 ; tail 2f# ; bill along the back, 
measured from the tip of the frontal process to the end of the unguis, 3 ; 
lower mandible along- the edge 2 T V ; tarsus II ; first toe y 6 ^, its claw T \ ; 
middle toe 2f J? its claw ; outer toe scarcely shorter ; inner T \ shorter. 
Weight 3f lbs. 
Adult Female. 
The female has the bill coloured as in the male ; the iris reddish-brown ; 
the feet lead-grey ; the upper parts greyish-brown ; the top of the head 
darker, its anterior part light reddish ; the chin whitish ; the neck greyish- 
brown, as ai'e the sides and abdomen ; the breast white ; wing-coverts brown- 
ish-grey ; primary quills greyish-brown, dusky at the end ; secondary 
quills ash-grey, five of the inner with an external black margin, the inner- 
most greyish-brown, like the back, and with some of the scapulars faintly 
undulated with darker. Tail greyish-brown, paler at the end ; axillars 
and smaller under wing-coverts white, as in the male. 
