RHYNCHASP SIS CAPES S I S .
.Aves___Plate98. .A Male. .B ."Female.
■NTS
A ves.— P late XCVIII. (M ale and Y oung.)
R. superne brunneus teeniolis rufo-albis variegatis; humeris pallide caeruleo-griseis; tectricibus secon-
dariis partim albis; alarum speculo viridi nitente; rostro superne profunde rubro-brunneo.
Longitbdo e rostri apick ad basin caudse 17 unc.; caudee 4 unc.
Rhynchaspis Capensis, Smith, Eyton’s Monograph on Anatidee, p. 135, Lond. 1838.
CoLouitBlThe upper surface of the head dull brownish red, finely freckled
or pencilled with rusty white arising from each feather being narrowly edged
with the latter colour ; sides of the head and upper portion of the neck rusty
white, freely sprinkled with short and narrow waved brown lines. Lower
portion of neck posteriorly umber-brown narrowly barred with pale buff-
orange; interscapulars, back, rump, and upper tail coverts umber-brown
glossed with duck-green, all the feathers variegated with one or more narrow
waved bars of pale buff-orange, and also indistinctly tipped with dusky
whitb ; lower part of throat, breast, belly, and vent mottled reddish brown
and pale buff-orange, the latter colour edges each feather, and also forms a
transverse lunule some way behind the point. On the belly and vent the
light colour, instead of being buff-orange, is often rusty reddish orange.
Shoulder coverts bluish purple with a faint shade of green, and a few of them
towards the point of the shoulder are narrowly barred with white. The
primary and base of secondary quill coverts umber-brown, the remainder of
the latter pure white, and the outer vanes of the former are narrowly edged
with a faded bluish purple. Primary quill feathers and inner vanes of
secondaries brownish red ; outer vanes of latter shining duck-green, and
indistinctly edged with bluish purple. Scapulars and outer vanes of tertiary
quill feathers towards base shining blackish green, inner vanes and portion
of outer vanes towards tip tinted with shining blackish green. Insides of
shoulders and axillary feathers pure white. Tail feathers brownish red,
narrowly and faintly edged with pale cream-yellow. Bill deep reddish brown
shaded with umber-brown ; nail, at apex of upper mandible, the latter colour.
Legs, toes, and webs connecting toes intermediate between gall-stone and
ochre-yellow ; claws light brownish red.
F orm, &c.—Body rather robust; head large, compressed and subcrested ;
wings pointed and when folded reach nearly to the point of the tail, first and
second quill feathers equal and longest, third rather shorter, and the fourth