328 
BRITISH .BIRDS. 
fmall waved threads of brown : wing coverts afh : 
quills brown; and between thefe intervenes the 
beauty.fpot (common in the Duck tribe) which 
erodes the clofed wing in a tranfverfe oblique di- 
reftion ; it is of a rich glofly purple, with violet or 
green reflexions, and bordered by a double ftreak 
of black and white. The belly is of a pale grey, 
delicately pencilled and eroded with numberlefs nar- 
row waved duiky lines, which, on the fides and 
long feathers that reach over the thighs, are more 
ftrongly and diftinXly marked : the upper and un- 
der tail-coverts, lower part of the back, and rump, 
are black ; the latter glofled with green : the four 
middle tail-feathers are alfo black, with purple re- 
fleXions, and, like thofe of the domeftic Drake, 
are ftiffly curled upwards ; the reft are fharp-point- 
ed, and fade olF to the exterior fides, from a brown 
to a dull white : legs, toes, and webs red. 
The plumage of the female is very different from 
that of the male, and partakes of none of his beau- 
ties except the fpot on the wings. All the other 
parts are plain brown, marked with black. — She 
makes her neft, lays from ten to fixteen greenilh 
white eggs, and rears her young, generally in the 
moft fequeftered mofles or bogs, far from the haunts 
of man, and hidden from his fight among reeds and 
ruflies. To her young helplefs unfledged family, 
(and they are nearly three months before they can 
fly) fhe is a fond, attentive, and watchful parent. 
