THE KING DUCK. 59 
long, rather narrow and rounded, the dorsal line short and slightly convex, 
the edges with about fifty lamellae, the unguis very large and elliptical. 
Head large, compressed. Neck rather short. Body bulky and much 
depressed. Feet very short, strong, placed rather far behind ; tarsus very 
short, compressed, anteriorly having a series of narrow scutella in its whole 
length, and a partial series above the fourth toe, the rest reticulated with 
angular and oblong scales ; hind toe small, with a free membrane beneath ; 
anterior toes longer than the tarsus, connected by reticulated membranes 
having a sinus at their free margins, the inner with a broad lobed marginal 
membrane, the outer with a thickened edge; all obliquely scutellate above; 
the third and fourth about equal and longest. Claws small, arched, com- 
pressed, obtuse that of first toe very small and more curved, of middle toe 
largest, more depressed, and with a dilated inner edge. 
Plumage short, dense, blended. Feathers on the fore part of the head 
extremely small, on the upper part very narrow, on the sides of the head 
very short, stiff, and hair-like. Wings rather short, narrow, and pointed ; 
primary quills curved, strong, tapering, the second longest, the first almost 
as long, the rest rapidly graduated ; secondaries short, broad, rounded, 
excepting the inner, which are elongated, tapering, and curved outwards. 
Tail very short, much rounded, of fourteen stiff narrow feathers. 
Bill flesh-coloured, the sides of the upper mandible and the soft frontal 
lobes bright orange. Iris bright yellow. Feet dull orange, the webs dusky, 
the claws brownish-black. The band of feathers separating the frontal lobes, 
and those along their upper and posterior edges, black; lower eyelid, and a 
forked patch on the throat, the same. The upper part of the head light 
purplish-grey ; the hair-like feathers on the sides of the head pale bluish- 
green ; the fore neck cream-coloured; the sides and hind part of the neck, a 
patch on the wings, and another on each side of the rump, white. The hind 
part of the back, the scapulars, the larger wing-coverts, and the secondary 
quills, brownish-black, the latter glossed with green ; primary quills and 
tail blackish-brown. Breast and abdomen blackish-brown ; lower wing- 
coverts white, the outer brown. 
Length to end of tail 25 inches, to end of wings 23 ; wing from flexure 
11^ ; tail 31 ; bill from the base of the tumid part 1^, along the edge of 
lower mandible tarsus If; middle toe 2j4, its claw |. 
Adult Female. 
The female differs greatly from the male. The bill is shorter, its tumid 
basal lobes narrow and not ascending perpendicularly, so that the forehead is 
low as in most Ducks. The feathers of the head and upper part of the neck 
are small, soft, and uniform. The colour of the bill is pale greenish-grey; 
the iris dull yellow; the feet dull ochre. The head and neck are pale grey- 
