Part 73

Iris brown; bill dark blackish blue, its nail black; legs and claws dark brown. A male from Luzon measures: Length, 635; wing, 262; tail, 114; exposed culmen, 51; bill from nostril, 40; tarsus, 43; middle toe with claw, 63.

The Philippine mallard does not often occur in large numbers; usually, however, it may be found in pairs in tide creeks, small ponds, or other suitable localities.

"We found this fine mallard to be rare in all the localities visited by us with the single exception of the region about the town of Milagros, on the west coast of the Island of Masbate. In the last-mentioned district it was very abundant, occurring in great flocks." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

"Extraordinarily abundant on the Abulug River in northern Luzon in March, 1906. Flocks of twenty-five to two hundred were constantly met with on the lower river." (Worcester.)

Genus POLIONETTA Oates, 1899.

A wide yellow band across the tip of bill, otherwise like Anas from which it is scarcely separable.

158. POLIONETTA ZONORHYNCHA (Swinhoe).

ZONE-BILLED DUCK.

Anas zonorhyncha Swinhoe, Ibis (1866), 394; Salvadori, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1895), 27, 211. Polionetta zonorhyncha Sharpe, Hand-List (1899), 1, 217; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 37.

Calayan (McGregor). Eastern Siberia, Mongolia, China, Japan, Kurile Islands.

"Adult male.--Upper part of head and a broad stripe from lores through eyes to some distance behind them dark brown; superciliary stripe, sides of head, and throat whitish; from gape toward eyes a slightly indicated dusky band, formed by dusky streaks; upper parts brown, back and scapulars paler, with edges of feathers pale grayish; rump and upper tail-feathers uniform dark brown; lower part of fore neck and upper breast dull whitish buff, with centers of the feathers dusky; lower breast and abdomen almost uniform brown, deepening into black-brown on under tail-coverts; wings brown; speculum glossy blue, more or less with a green luster, bordered anteriorly and posteriorly by two velvety black bands; tips of the secondaries narrowly edged with white; tertials brown, with only the apical part of outer web white; tail brown, the edges of the feathers whitish. 'Bill black, with the apical portion, except the tip of the nail, yellow, no red spots at base; feet light bright red, the web slightly dusky; iris yellowish brown.' (Holst.) Length, about 580; wing, 295; tail, 117; culmen, 56; tarsus, 44.

"Female.--Smaller and paler, the feathers of the breast for a greater extension than in the male having broader whitish edges.

"Young.--Paler even than the female, with smaller dusky spots on the under parts; edges of upper wing-coverts pale; a broad subapical white band across the greater wing-coverts, and the outer web of tertials for the most part white." (Salvadori.)

On December 7, 1903, a dozen birds of this species were observed in Calayan. A female, the only specimen killed, measured 560 in length; wing, 267; tail, 99; exposed culmen, 53; bill from nostril, 42; tarsus, 44; middle toe with claw, 37. Bill jet-black with a broad tip of bright yellow; most of the nail black; iris tan-brown; legs and feet light salmon; nails black; webs dusky.

Genus MARECA Stephens, 1824.

Bill small, shorter than head, depressed and slightly narrowing toward tip, nail large; wings long and pointed.

159. MARECA PENELOPE (Linnæus).

EUROPEAN WIGEON.

Anas penelope Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 10 (1758), 1, 126. Mareca penelope Salvadori, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1895), 27, 227; Sharpe, Hand-List (1899), 1, 218; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 168; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 37.

Basilan (McGregor); Calayan (McGregor); Luzon (Worcester); Mindanao (Celestino). Palaearctic Region from Iceland to Kamtschatka, in winter to Madeira, Abyssinia, Persia, northern India, Burma, China, Japan, Borneo; occurs as a straggler in the Marshall Islands and North America.

"Adult male.--Forehead and top of head buff, rest of the head and neck cinnamon, minutely spotted, especially round the eyes, with bottle-green; chin and throat more or less black; mantle, back, and scapulars gray, crossed with irregular zigzag lines of black; central tail-feathers paler, almost whitish; lateral tail-feathers like the under tail-coverts, black; lower fore neck and sides of breast vinaceous; middle of breast and abdomen white; sides, flanks, and under wing-coverts gray, with zigzag lines like the back; wing-coverts white, the largest tipped with black; primaries uniform dark brown; outer webs of secondaries green, forming a speculum, edged with black; black outer webs of secondaries broadly edged with white; tail-feathers elongated, pointed, and nearly black. Iris dark brown; bill bluish lead-color, tipped with black; legs, toes, and their membranes dark brown. Length, 457; wing, 267; tail, 117; culmen, 39; tarsus, 39.

"Female.--Head and neck pale reddish brown, speckled with blackish; upper parts brown, each feather with pale whitish edges; edges of scapulars reddish brown; breast and sides reddish brown; under surface white; under tail-coverts white, with irregular brown bars or spots; primaries dark brown, secondaries dull black, slightly tipped with white; wing-coverts like back, but the larger ones tipped with white; tail dull grayish brown. Iris brown; bill bluish black.

"Young male.--Resembles more or less the female." (Salvadori.)

A male taken in Calayan in November measures: Length, 840; wing, 260; tail, 104; exposed culmen, 37. A specimen from Basilan is in very poor plumage.

Genus NETTION Kaup, 1829.

The members of this genus differ from Anas chiefly in being of smaller size and in having the bill narrower and shorter.

160. NETTION CRECCA (Linnæus).

EUROPEAN TEAL.