vegetable production; and their powers of flight are moderate. With regard to their soft parts, Mr. Yarrell states that the esophagus is capable of great dilatation, that the stomach is a muscular gizzard, but that the internal cavity increases in size, the stomachs of the long-tailed duck and goldeneye most resembling the stomach of the mergansers, whilst the intestines and cæcal appendages are shorter, the latter diminishing from six inches in the first to four and a half in the tufted duck, three inches in the long-tailed, and but two in the golden-eye. The ribs of the birds of this division, according to the same author, are elongated; the keel of the breast-bone gradually decreases in depth; the position of the wings is more forward, and the legs are placed further back. The trachea of these ducks, moreover, are particularly distinguished from those of the others by the enlargement at the bottom of the tube being covered with a delicate membrane, supported by slender portions of bone; the trachea of the red-crested duck is an example of this form, and Mr. Yarrell is of opinion that it may be considered the type of this division. As the Egyptian goose, continues Mr. Yarrell, has in this arrangement been considered the link between the geese and the first division of the true ducks, from its possessing, with the characters of the former, the bony enlargement of the trachea common to the latter; and the velvet duck, for similar reasons, supplying the link between the two divisions of true ducks, possessing, among other characters, an altered form of the bony enlargement of the trachea of the one, with the lobated toe of the other; so the golden-eye, the last of the series, appears to complete the arrangement by exhibiting some of the characters found in the Mergansers, which are next in succession. The first point of similarity is found by Mr. Yarrell in the elongated feathers of the top of the head, forming a crest; they agree also, he adds, in the shape of the sternum, and a particular extension of its posterior edge, becoming an ensiform process; and this extension of the edge of the breast-bone prevails in the genera colymbus, alca, and uria; and, with the elongation of the ribs observable in all good salt-water divers, seems intended as a protection to the important viscera of the abdomen, and enables them to resist pressure when below the surface. The golden-eye, in the opinion of the same author, is also intermediate in its stomach, intestines, and cæcal appendages, the latter being only two inches in length. In the goosander indeed Mr. Yarrell found that these appendages reached three inches; but, as he well observes, the size of the bird being considered, they are reduced on a comparative estimate to less than two; in the red-breasted merganser he found them to measure but one inch, and the swan he states is without any. In the form of its trachea, the golden-eye, it seems, more closely resembles the mergansers than that of any other duck, by the enlargement in the tube, and in the shape of the labyrinth. "Thus the whole of the numerous species of the Anatidae appear to descend to the more perfect water birds by gradations, but with well-marked divisions throughout." C. L. Bonaparte, in his 'Tabella Analitica dei Generi,' (Specchio Comparativo, 1827) makes his 'Ordine' Anseres consist of five families: the Longipennes; the Lamellosodentati; the Steganopodes; the Lobipedes; and the Pygopodes. His Famiglia Lamelloso-dentati comprises the two genera Anas and Mergus, the first of which he characterizes thus-' Becco depresso, ottuso, con denti lamelliformi;' and it comprehends the swans, geese, and ducks in the large meaning of the term. M. Lesson, in his Manual' (1828), makes the Anatidae (Lamellirostres of Cuvier) the fifth and last family of the sixth order, Les Palmipèdes, Natatores of Illiger and Vieillot. Under the Anatide he arranges the genera Cygnus, Meyer; Anser, Brisson, with its subgenera; Cereopsis, Latham; Anas, Linnæus; and Mergus, Linnæus. The genus Anas he divides into two sections. The first section embraces those ducks which have the hind toe (pouce) bordered with a membrane (Hydrobates of Temminck), and contains the following subgenera :1st. Macreuse, Cuy., Maceranas (Anas fusca, Linn., A. nigra, Linn.) 2nd. Macroramphe, Macroramphus (Anas perspicillata, Linn.) 3rd. Hydrobate, Hydrobates, Temm. (Anas lobata, Shaw.) 4th. Garrot, Cuv., Histrionicus (Anas histrionica, Linn.) 5th. Eider, Cuv., Platypus, Brehm, (Anas mollissima, Linn.) 6th. Millouin, Cuv., Fuligula, Ray, (Anas fuligula, Linn.) 7th. Microptère, Micropterus (Anas brachyptera, Latham.) The second section includes those ducks whose hind toe is not bordered by a membrane, and the following subgenera are arranged under it :-8th. Souchet, Cuv. Clypeata (Anas clypeata, Linn.) 9th. Tadorne, Cuv., Tadorna, Leach, (Anas tadorna, Linn.) 10th. Musqué, Moschatus (Anas moschata, Linn.) The 11th subgenus is formed of the Canard proprement dit, Anas, and is separated into two subdivisions. 1st. Les Pilets, which have the tail pointed or surpassed by the two largest quills; Type: Le Pilet (Anas acuta, Linn.) 2nd. The true ducks, distinguished by the curled feathers on the upper tail-coverts; Type: (Anas boschas.) The 12th subgenus is the Canaroie, Anseranas (Anas melanoleuca, Latham, Cuv.); and the 13th the Sarcelle, Teals, Querquedula, Brisson (Anas querquedula, Linn., Anas crecca, Linn., &c.) Mr. Swainson, in his paper On those Birds which exhibit the Typical Perfection of the Family of Anatidae' (Journal of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, August, 1831), remarks, that the most superficial observer, on looking to the family of the Anatidae, or ducks, under which he will include the geese and swans, must be struck by the remarkable shape and structure of the bill, totally different from that of all other birds. This, in fact, he adds, is the only group in the aquatic order wherein the bill is very considerably dilated in its breadth, and of a texture unusually soft. In addition to these, a third and a very important character is discerned; the cutting margins of the bill are provided with numerous transverse lamellar plaits, so much developed in some species as to project beyond the bill: thus assuming an analogy to the teeth of quadrupeds. This analogy, however, is more imaginary than real, since these appendages are destined for a very different purpose. The feet, although in general short, are adapted to more than one purpose, since they are not only used for swimming and diving, but for walking. Mr. Swainson proceeds to state that the gulls feed indiscriminately upon marine animals, whether living or dead: they are the purifiers of the waters as the vultures are of the land. The pelicans and the penguins derive their support from those large fish which the more feeble gulls can nei ther capture nor swallow, while the terns skim the ocean in search of small fish which rise to the surface. But the inconceivable multitudes of minute animals which swarm, as voyagers assert, in the northern seas, and the equally numerous profusion inhabiting the sides of rivers and fresh waters, would be without any effectual check upon their increase, but for a family of birds destined more particularly for that purpose. In the structure, accordingly, of the ducks, we see all these qualifications in the utmost perfection. By means of their broad bill, as they feed upon very small and soft substances, they capture at one effort considerable numbers. Strength of substance in this member is unnecessary: the bill is therefore comparatively weak, but great breadth is obviously essential to the nature of their food. As these small insects also which constitute the chief food of the anatida live principally beneath the surface of the mud, it is clear that the bill should be so formed that the bird should have the power of separating its nourishment from that which would be detrimental to the stomach. The use of the lamina thus becomes apparent: the offensive matter is ejected between their interstices, which, however, are not sufficiently wide to admit the passage of the insect food at the same time. The mouthful of stuff brought from the bottom is, as it were, sifted most effectually by this curiously-shaped bill; the refuse is expelled, but the food is retained. It is probable also that the tongue is materially employed on this process; for unlike that of all other birds, it is remarkably large, thick, and fleshy. From being so highly developed, it must be endowed with an unusual degree of sensation; and indeed, a very exquisite sense of taste must belong to any animal which has to separate its food from extraneous substances, without deriving any assistance in the process from its powers of sight: against this deficiency nature has wisely provided, by heightening and increasing the senses of taste and touch.' In the physiological series of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London-Gallery (317)—is the head of a Muscovy duck, Anas Moschata, Lynn., showing the serrated character of the margins of the mandibles, and the peculiar tuberosity at the base of the beak; and a good opportunity of studying the structure of the tongue is afforded by the preparations numbered 1468 and 1469. In the for mer are seen the bones of the tongue and upper larynx of On the other hand, I deem it but justice to the great merits Mr. Swainson, in the paper above quoted, divides the ge- Bill spatulate, simple; lamina} considerably projecting. 2. Sub-typical Group. Bill spatulate, furnished with a] Sub-genera. lobed membrane; lamina consi- MALACORHYNCHUS, Sw. 3. Aberrant Group. Bill of equal breadth, project-) ing lamina short, slender, acute. crowded. Bill more cylindrical, lengthened; tail long. Bill depressed, ofequal breadth; laminæ distant, obtuse, and generally concealed; tail short. CHAULIODUS, Sw. DAFILA, Leach. BOSCHAS, Antiq. We entirely agree with the author above quoted in the praise awarded to Mr. Yarrell; but we hesitate to join in the conclusion that he has marked out the true circle of the anatidæ, so far as the British species are concerned, totally unconscious of having done so,' an expression repeated also in italics in the second volume of Fauna Boreali-Americana.' Mr. Yarrell proposed his method on the combined principles of ascertained habits, external characters, and anatomical structure;' and his paper, though it is marked with his usual modesty, shows that he well knew all those principles and their value as elements of arrangement. In addition to this, we have the best authority for stating that Mr. Yarrell had not the want of consciousness attributed to him. Dr. Richardson ('Fauna Boreali-Americana') observes that the Anatidae are of great importance in the fur-countries, as they furnish at certain seasons in the year, in many extensive districts, almost the only article of food that can be procured. The arrival of the water-fowl marks the commencement of spring, and diffuses as much joy among the wandering hunters of the arctic regions as the harvest or vintage excites in more genial climes. The period of their migration southwards again, in large flocks at the close of summer, is another season of plenty, bountifully granted to the natives, and fitting them for encountering the rigour and privations of a northern winter. The Anatidae have therefore very naturally been observed more attentively than any other family of birds, both by the Indians and white residents of the fur-countries; and as they form the bulk of the specimens that have been transmitted to England, they are also better known to ornithologists.' Mareca Americana, breed in the woody districts up to their most northern limits, in latitude 68°. A. (Boschas) crecca is abundant to the extremity of the continent, both in the woody and barren districts. A. (Boschas) discors, though very plentiful on the Saskatchewan, was not observed farther north than the fifty-eighth parallel; while Dendronessa sponsa seldom goes to the northward of the fifty fourth degree of latitude, and is rare even to the southward of that parallel. Sub-family, ANATINE, Swainson. (The true Ducks.) Geographical Distribution. Dr. Richardson, in the work last quoted, states, that Anas clypeata and A. (Dafila) acuta frequent chiefly the clear lakes of the northern districts, The type of the genus Anas is considered by Mr. Swain- and breed in the barren grounds, being found in numbers son to be the shoveler duck; and he thus speaks of the in the more southern woody districts in spring and autumn arrangement above set forth: In regard to the tabular dis-only. A. (Boschas) domestica, A. (Chauliodus) strep era, and position of the five sub-genera, or types of form, it will be expected that I should say a few words, since it is at variance with the mode of exhibiting circular affinities adopted by that distinguished writer who first detected this arrangement. On this point I must refer the reader to the ornithological volume of the Northern Zoology,' now about to appear, where he will find our peculiar views explained and illustrated. I have, indeed, chosen to enumerate, in both instances, the subordinate divisions of the aberrant group, but they are always viewed by me as forming a distinct circle of their own, the primary divisions of every natural group being considered as THREE and not FIVE. In the present instance, the three sub-genera of Chauliodus, Dafila, and Boschas, possess one common character, in not having the bill conspicuously dilated at its extremity; while their circular succession can hardly be questioned, when we find the greatest modern reformers leave the Gadwall and the Mallard in the same group; these writers having overlooked the modifications of the lamina, and passed over the difference in the habits of these birds, as not bearing upon the question. The theory that the mallard is the typical representation of this family has now, I trust, been thoroughly investigated, and demonstrated to be erroneous; nor can I consider the two circular arrangements that have been made of the whole family, each apparently perfect, but essentially different, in any other light. They appear to me to be the result of abstract theory, and of a theory misapplied. Dr. Leach, Dr. Fleming, Stevens (Stephens?), Vigors. It appears also from Dr. Richardson's tables that Anas Clypeata was observed in 70° lat. N. migratory across the continent; numerous: that it was observed on the Saskatchewan, in 53° to 54° N. lat., and from 600 to 1000 miles distant from the sea coast, very common as a bird of passage in spring and autumn; that it frequents the vicini y of Philadelphia, rather common in winter (Bonaparte), and that its winter quarters are in the United States and Mexico. A. (Chauliodus) strepera has been noticed in 68° N. lat. east of the Rocky Mountains, migratory; and on the Saskatchewan (same range of lat. and same distance from the sea coast) common in summer; rare in the vicinity of Philadelphia in winter (Bonaparte): its winter quarters are the Mexican lakes (Swainson):-A. (Dafila) caudacuta in lat. 70° east of the Rocky Mountains, migratory; very common; and on the Saskatchewan, as above, in spring and autumn, but not rare; common in the vicinity of Philadelphia in winter (Bonaparte); and having its winter A. (Boschas) quarters in the Mexican lakes (Swainson). domestica in lat. 68°; migratory across the continent: com VOL. IX.-2 A • Linn. Trans. xv., p. 378. mon on the Saskatchewan, as above, in the summer; common in the vicinity of Philadelphia in the winter (Bonaparte); and having its winter quarters in the Middle and Southern States, Columbia R. and California. A. (Boschas) crecca, in lat. 70°, migratory across the continent; very abundant; on the Saskatchewan, as above, abundant in summer; very common near Philadelphia in the winter (Bonaparte); and with its winter quarters in the Middle and Southern States towards the tropics. A. (Boschas) discors, in lat. 58°, migratory across the continent; very abundant; and on the Saskatchewan, as above, abundant in summer; very common near Philadelphia, in summer (Bonaparte); and with the Mexican States, Columbia R. and California for its winter quarters. Mareca Americana, in lat. 68°, migratory; rather common on the Saskatchewan, as above, in summer; common near Philadelphia in the winter (Bonaparte); wintering in the Middle and Southern States and the West Indies. Dendronessa sponsa, in lat. 54°, migratory; rare on the Saskatchewan, as above, in summer; common in the vicinity of Philadelphia, in summer (Bonaparte); wintering in the Southern States, Mexico? West Indies. In the same work we find in the list of species which merely winter in Pennsylvania, and migrate in summer to rear their young in the fur-countries, Anas clypeata, A. (Chauliodus) strepera, A. (Dafila) caudacuta, A. (Boschas) domestica, A. (Boschas) crecca, and Mareca Americana ;in the list of species which summer (or breed) in the furcountries and in Pennsylvania, but winter farther to the southward, Anas (Boschas) discors and Dendronessa sponsa;-and in the list of species common to the Old World and the fur-countries, Anas clypeata, A. (Chauliodus) strepera, A. (Dafila) acuta, A. (Boschas) domestica, and A. (Boschas) crecca.* Food, Habits, &c.-The Anatinæ feed on soft substances, such as fresh-water insects and tender aquatic plants, which they procure near the surface, or, aided by the length of their necks, at the bottom, in shallow muddy places, and worms and slugs, which they search for among the grass. By day they resort to small lakes and rivers, and in the night retire to the fields. They are strong and swift on the wing, and are watchful birds, that seldom dive to escape pursuit, unless when moulting; but when disturbed fly away, making at the outset a circle in the air to survey the cause of their alarm. (Fauna Boreali-Americana.') Dr. Richardson gives in a note the following interesting information derived from an intelligent keeper of a decoy in the neighbourhood of the Rev. W. Booth of Friskney, in Lincolnshire, to whom Dr. Richardson expresses his obligation for the statement:- Skelton is unacquainted with the habits of the Gadwall; but he tells me that the widgeon and pintail do not willingly dive: of course, if driven to it, they can, but they do not dive for their food; and though in play they sometimes splash under water, they never remain beneath the surface like the pochard. With respect to food the mallard, pintail, and teal frequent rich flooded lands, "swittering with their nebs in the soil, and sucking out its strength;" but the widgeon feeds quite differently, being "an amazing fowl to graze, a strange eater of grass.' It is especially fond of flutter-grass' (Glyceria aquatica vel Auitans?) which it crops on the surface, but it likewise eats many other herbs. When the decoy has been so full of widgeons that they have devoured every blade on the landings, Skelton has taken advantage of their absence in the night, when they resort to the green salt marshes on the sea coast, and laid down sods pared from the fields, on which they readily graze. In common, however, with the mallard, teal, and pintail, they are fond of willow-weed, seeds (Epilobium) with which he feeds all the fowl in the decoy, as they prefer it to oats and every other kind of grain. Mr. Waterton states that the widgeon feeds by day, eating grass like a goose; whilst its congener the mallard invariably refuses this food and seeks for its sustenance by night.' Sub-genera. Anas. Example. Anas clypeata (Linn.) The Shoveler.-This is the Souchet of the French, Cucchiarone of the Italians, die Schild-Ente, and Löffel-Ente of the Dutch, Mimenick of the Cree Indians, Huyad lydanbig of the antient British, Rhynchaspis clypeata of Shaw's Zoology (Leach MSS.), Spathulea clypeata of Fleming. The Anas rubens of See also Localities' under each genus, and the lists of Col. Sykes and Mr. Keith Abbott, towards the end of the article. Description of a male killed at Fort Franklin, Mav 1826. Colour.-Head, adjoining half of the neck, media stripe to the interscapulars, the whole back, interior scapulars, and primaries, umber-brown; sides of the head, the neck, and crest, glossed with duck-green; rump and tail coverts above and below, with blackish green. Lower half of the neck, the breast, shoulders, shorter scapulars, ends of the greater coverts, and sides of the rump, white; longer scapulars striped with berlin-blue, white and blackish brown. Lesser coverts berlin-blue. Speculum brilliant grass-green, broadly bordered above, and narrowly edged below with white; bounded interiorly with greenish black. Belly and flanks deep orange-brown, the latter undulated posteriorly with black. Bill black. Legs orange. Mandibles Form.-Bill a little higher than wide at the base, much depressed, dilated and rounded at the end. furnished with long, slender, crowded laminæ, the upper ones acute and projecting, forming an apparatus admirably fitted for sifting small insects from the water. Surface of the upper mandible pitted near its oblong unguis. Wings scarcely an inch longer than the tail, which is graduated, moderately acute, and consists of 14 acute feathers. Tarsus scarcely compressed. Hind-toe not lobed, and the outer-toe shorter than the middle one, as in the rest of the Anatinæ The female is liver-brown above, with road borders of pale wood-brown; underneath pale wood-brown with obscure liver-brown marks. She wants the dark-brown and green colours of the head, rump, and tail coverts, the white of the neck, breast, sides of the rump, and scapulars, and also the orange-brown of the belly. The lesser coverts are slightly glossed with berlin-blue, and the speculum is less vivid than in the male. Length 21 inches 6 lines, &c. (Richardson.) The weight is about 22 ounces. Temminck states that the young males in autumn, and the old males during their moult, have some of the feathers proper to the winter plumage of the male, and others pecu|| Îiar to the female, or to the young male before the moult, and that these feathers are indistinctly mingled. Young and old males in the summer change are supposed to be the origin of The Red-breasted Shoveler. The trachea of the male is of equal diameter, excepting towards the lower larynx, where it is very slightly enlarged. It forms a slight bony protuberance on the left side, which is dilated a little below. The bronchiæ are very long. (Temminck.) Localities.-Marshes, lakes, and rivers: in Russia, and a great part of Asia. Very abundant in Holland. In France, Germany, and England, it is a bird of passage, arriving in the British islands generally about October, and departing about March. In England the principal resorts of the species are the fens of Lincolnshire and Cambridge. Bonaparte (Specchio Comparativo) notes it as one of those birds common to the neighbourhoods of Rome and of Philadelphia, and as being rather common in both places in winter. For its American distribution see Geographical Distribution.-According to Latham it inhabits the Coromandel coast and parts of India. The form occurs in Aus tralia (New Holland Shoveler); and Swainson says that the geographical distribution of the true Shovelers may be deemed universal. Food.-Fishes and insects, rarely plants and seeds. | of the upper mandible are still very fine, distinct, and more Propagation.--Nest upon the borders of lakes covered with reeds or coppice. Eggs, twelve to fourteen, of a bright greenish yellow, or oil-green. It is said to have bred in France, and has been known to breed in the marshes of Norfolk, and in the neighbourhood of the Tweed. But these may be deemed exceptions to the general place of nidification, which is far north. Utility to man.-The flesh is highly esteemed for the table, and is considered by many to excel that of the mallard, or common wild-duck, in flavour. Mr. Swainson ('Journal of the Royal Institution,' loc. cit.) observes that among the broad-billed ducks of the southern hemisphere there is a very remarkable modification of form. The breadth of the bill and the length of the laminæ are nearly the same; but the edge of the upper mandible, instead of being smooth, as in the European species, is furnished with a thin membranaceous skin, which projects considerably, and hangs down somewhat like a wattle on each side. Mr. Swainson proposes for this form the sub-generic name above given, remarking that the bill of the European Shoveler is flexible, but that in this group it is much more so. One species, he adds, described by authors under the name of the Soft-billed Shoveler, can scarcely exhibit this debility more than another before him when he wrote his paper: it came, according to him, from the same country (Australia?) and seems to be unde scribed. Bill of Malacorhynchus. (Swainson.) Mr. Swainson states that the Gadwall certainly makes as near an approach to the Shovelers as any other yet The form of the bill, indeed, is no longer spatulate, or perceptibly broader towards the end; but the lamina known. Bill of Chauliodus (Gadwall). (Swainson.) Example. Chauliodus strepera (Swainson). The Gadwall, or Gray. This is the Chipeau, or Ridenne, of the French, Anitra montanara and Anatra canapiglia of the Italians, Schwatterente and grave Mittel-ente of the Germans, and Y gors Hwyad lwyd of the antient British. Description of a male killed on the Saskatchewan, May 22, 1827. Colour.-Top of the head and nape liver-brown, edged with grey; head beneath and neck, grey, with small brown specks. Base of the neck above and below, anterior part of the back, exterior scapulars, flanks, and sides of the vent, clove-brown, marked with concentric horse-shoeshaped white lines. Interior scapulars, lesser coverts, primaries, tertiaries, and tail, hair-brown; intermediate coverts chestnut-brown; greater coverts, rump, and upper and under tail-coverts, bluish-black; speculum white, its anterior border black. Lower part of the breast, middle of the belly, and under surface of the wings, white. Bill, brownishblack, pale beneath. Legs orange-coloured. Form-Bill as long as the head, of equal breadth and height at the rictus; depressed, but not widening anteriorly. Laminae of the mandibles rather stronger and much shorter than those of the Shoveler, but finer and more numerous than those of any northern species. The upper ones project a full tenth of an inch beyond the margin. Wings nearly equal to the tail; first and second quills equal and largest. Tail consisting of sixteen feathers, the lateral ones graduated. Total length twenty-three inches, &c. (Richardson). Size rather less than that of the wigeon. Temminck makes the length eighteen or nineteen inches. The female has the feathers of the back of a blackish-brown, bordered by bright ruddy (roux); the breast reddish-brown, marked with black spots; no zigzags on the flanks; rump and lower coverts of the tail greyish. Localities.-The marshes, &c., of the north and east of Europe; very abundant in Holland. Rarely seen in the British islands except at the period of its vernal migration, and then generally in the marshes of Norfolk. Common in winter on the maritime coasts of France; rare in the interior. Bonaparte (Specchio Comparativo) notes it as rather common in the neighbourhood of Rome in the winter. For its American range see the general Geographical Distribution. Food.-Fishes, molluscs (coquillages), insects, and aquatic plants (Temminck). Insects and their larvæ, aquatic plants, and seeds (Selby). Propagation-Nest in the most covered part of marshes or rushy meads. Eggs eight or nine, of a greenish ash (Temminck); ten to twelve, of a pale oil-green (Selby). Utility to man.-Flesh excellent. N. B. The trachea of the male is slightly enlarged in its diameter at about two-thirds of its length, but becomes narrower as it approaches the lower larynx: this consists of a large bony arch, with a globular, or rather pyriform, bladder attached to the left side, being in shape much like that of the common mallard, but smaller. 2 A 2 Gadwall. Chauliodus strepera. Dafila (Leach). Bill of Pintail Duck. (Swainson.) Mr. Swainson observes that nature has now so far receded from the typical form that one of the chief peculiarities of that structure is nearly lost, and another considerably modified. The lamina of the upper mandible, which, in Chauliodus strepera, are so much shorter than those of the true Shovelers, and are so much abbreviated in C. Cayensis, become almost concealed by the margin of the bill in Dafila. The most striking characteristic therefore of the genus we are now considering,' continues Mr. Swainson, has nearly disappeared, precisely in that form which is furthest removed from the type. But the shape of the bill, although essentially modified, has not undergone a total alteration its breadth towards the tip is not only as great as at the base, but is even more dilated; so that in this respect it resembles the Shovelers more than the Gadwalls, while it differs from both in being higher at its base, considerably more lengthened in proportion, and much more convex throughout. It assumes, in short, a semi-cylindrical form, the end being particularly obtuse and slightly dilated; the precise point of junction between the Pintails and that group which was known to the antients by the name of Boschas.' Example. Dafila caudacuta. The Pintail Duck. This is Le Canard à long Queue ou Pilet of the French; Anitra codilanza and Anatra di coda lunga of the Italians; Spiessente and Fasan Ente of the Germans; Aler, Ahlvogel of the Fauna Suecica; Sea Pheasant, or Cracker, of Willughby; Keeneego yaway sheep of the Chippeway Indians; Huyad gynffonfain of the antient British; Anas caudacuta of Ray; Anas longicauda of Brisson; Anas acuta of Linnæus; Querquedula acuta of Selby. Description of a male killed on the Saskatchewan, May, 1827. Colour.-Head and adjoining part of the neck anteriorly umber-brown, with paler edges; neck above blackishbrown; the whole of the back, shorter scapulars, sides of the breast, and flanks, marked with fine waved transverse lines of brownish white and black, most regular and broadest on the long feathers lying over the thighs: long scapulars and tertiaries black, the borders of the former and outer webs of the latter white; wing coverts and primaries hair-brown; the primary shafts white, and the interior coverts mottled with the same; speculum dark-green, with purple reflections, bounded above by a ferruginous bar and interiorly and below by white. Tail, and most of its upper coverts, dark-brown with pale borders. Two long central upper coverts, vent, and under coverts, black; the latter bordered with white. A lateral streak on the upper part of the neck, the sides and front of its lower part, the breast, and belly, white. The posterior part of the abdomen minutely marked with grey. Bill black; sides of the upper mandible bluish-grey. Feet blackish-grey. Form.-Bill much lengthened, fully as long as the head, considerably higher than wide at the base; the upper mandible of equal breadth to the point; the lamina not projecting beyond the margin. Wings two inches shorter than the tail. Scapulars, tertiaries, tail-feathers and their coverts, tapering and acute; the middle pair of tail coverts having long slender points that project two inches and a half beyond the tail. Tail graduated. Tracheal dilatation, a small osseous sac, the size of a hazel-nut. Total length 26 inches 6 lines (Richardson). Selby observes that the labyrinth of this species consists of a round long bladder, situated on the left side of the arch of the lower larynx; its upper surface being nearly even with the top of the arch, but its lower one reaching much below it. Its texture very fine, and, in young birds, may be indented by slight pressure; but becomes brittle in adults. The weight of the bird is about 24 ounces. The female is smaller. Forehead and crown pale chestnut-brown, streaked with black. Cheeks and neck pale ochreous yellow, speckled with black. Chin and throat pale cream-yellow. Sides of the breast hair-brown, barred and tipt with white. Mantle and scapulars amber-brown, barred and varied with pale buff-orange and white. Tertials hair-brown, margined with white. Lesser and greater wingcoverts pale broccoli-brown, edged and tipped with white. Speculum hair-brown, glossed with green, the feathers having white tips. Quills hair-brown. Tail deep hairbrown, with imperfect bars of white and pale buff-orange; the two middle feathers exceeding the rest in length about half an inch. Belly and abdomen yellowish-white, indistinctly marbled with broccoli-brown. Under tail-coverts white, speckled with chestnut-brown of different shades. Bill greyish-black. Legs and toes grey, tinged with brown. (Selby.) Young Males.-Head red-brown, spotted with black; belly yellowish, and the speculum of a green, inclining to olive, without reflections. Selby remarks, that like many other of the Anatidae (particularly of the species belonging to this group), the plumage of the male Pintail, towards the end of summer, or after the sexual intercourse is completed, undergoes a remarkable change, and becomes very like that of the female. This appears to be an actual change of the colour in the feathers rather than a renewal of them; and the same change, he adds, is observable in the mallard, and the males of the Teal, Wigeon, &c. It also prevails, if not in all, at least in some species of the genus Mergus, as he noticed it in Mergus serrator. Localities.-The north of Europe and America; very numerous at its double passage in Holland and in France: equally abundant in Germany: in winter in the south (Temminck). Selby says 'it is with us a regular winter visitant; and considerable numbers are annually taken in the decoys of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, &c. Montagu says that it is most abundant in the north of England and Scotland, and especially in the Orkney Islands. This assertion, however, I must in part contradict, as the result of long observation tells me it is of rare occurrence in the northern counties of England; and the same may be said of the southern districts of Scotland, which Dr. Fleming confirms in his history of British animals. With respect to the Orkneys, I cannot speak so confidently, although it appears probable that what had been represented to him as the present species was in fact the Long-tailed Duck (Harelda glacialis), which is found in great numbers during the winter in the bays of this group of islands. The Pintail has a wide geographical range, being met with in all the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America, and retires in the summer to breed in high latitudes. Its equatorial migra tion extends as far as Italy; and during its periodical flight |