Genu» Ïl-A RFXDA.
Gk,3î.î G h a r . Beale »«armed. a t its base-, v e n short, slender, n a n ow towards th e tip • the
U n d e r m andible fu rn ish ed w ith a small nail a t its tio. . jVWri/s linear. bas:v >' vorsn
elevated. Tail w ith its intmiwxliate feathers ejo o g a^ d ?ni<l pointed.
LO N G - T A I L E D D U €
Anas glacialis, Linn.
Harelda glacialis, fyeaeh. - -
be Canard de iniclon. -
f hw species o f Duck is generally uiffiLd ow>* foe'iwrtkiw f S j l v
hut is to be considered more especially as a »c-i ire c*J'the Arctic circfe e it dm W « w i. ■. ; !
Europe further south foan the JlrifHt
found'in winter as far south .is Kingston m C.wolivttt
These birds resort to the Orkneys dork# wiou.r. w d a few iranaiu there to breed during the
Of this fact we_ are well convinced, as we have ourselves received them in-the breeding season in the h .v ‘h ;
of dieir summer plumage. In severe winters the whole of our coast is visited by them is am*!! u. f !,i s
which seldou? remain any length of time, but return, on the Oldening o f the weather, to m. :■
latitudes. M. Temminck says they are sometimes found in the great lakes of Germany and ou the
of Holland,-but never in flocks. In Sweden, Laplaud and Russia they are in great abundance, The r, ,,
of their food, which consists of mussels and other shelled and naked Mollusca, confines them airaosi okcIii
sively to the sea, and they are remarkable for their activity and dexterity in diving. .Wilson observe,, foil
they are lively, restless birds, dying swiftly and sweeping round in short excursions. ji
This species of Duck builds a nest not unlike that o f the Eider, and equally '.valuable. ¿,»r its down ; it is
placed among the grass and herbage which grow near the seashore, and is lined with dowfi from ^ ill
female breast.. The eggs are from ten to fourteen in number, of a blueish white Ringed with olive colour.
One o f the most remarkable peculiarities in this bird is the contrast which exists between the p^mage
of winter and of summer, which may be thus described. The male in winter has § § head and neck, with
the exception of a blackish brown patch below: the ears, of a pure white, as are also the scapubrics .;d
long pendent secondaries wfr&fr foil <mt the quills'; the abdomen and outer tiuhfoathm K | |
cliest, back, shoulders, wings, and middle eljongated »arrow foibfratherti, which pwv- « .
inches, blackish brown. In "summer she m ifee h«!«l m b?,
brownish black, which is theu the iw««t w t v k i k ^ i ' .m r . i - • tfeat :he acapniah arm icrt '
brown, Beak greenish black, with a transverse feand of red; land and toes blheish lead I** «>(■'
blackish; iride
xbe young males of the year mut the adult fraudes resemble each : in ?.*.. ... ;
¡uicl taiM’eathers are wanting ; the lop of the head and «idea o f the «**$ ¡we ferowashe .< i (ral • . . .
the whole o f the upper surface duH brown, each ftsisjaw Iwvfo;; ‘l’Atee; :fo’ m i o f foe plunj
white.
W» «»trtct the following description of tlm windpipe ,i>f this bii-: from S U ’s General SSool■:.<«■.
p, I j j The tracheâ of this bird is o f a.singulier construction, and'diiSiifis from that .of ibe other
it rather increases in size at each extremity: at the lower end, d o sé ' to the labyrinth, one "Side is flatten
and instead of foe bony rings continuing round of their lull'breadth, this part is crossed with fo«r d itt
, which support a delicate t
s qtiaffers orj
length, and almost three eighths o f an inch broad at .the base : Lclo v this ribbed -tnembrap
part of the labyrinth, with a tympanum of a kidney shape placed transversely to thé tr»
«hiêh is flat and membranaceous : thé opposite side o f fod labyrinth is depressed, and from
The Plate exhibits a male and female, in their winter »tmnaire, rather more thau ■,■■.