Part 8

FAMILY ANATIDÆ (DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS, ETC.)

Bill thick, broad, high at the base, covered with a thin membranous skin and ending in a nail-like horny tip; edges of the mandibles cut into thin parallel ridges, or toothed; wings moderate; legs placed not very far behind; feet, four-toed, palmated; hind toe free, placed high on the tarsus. Food, grass and aquatic weeds, worms, insects, molluscs, and small fish.

SUB-FAMILY ANSERINÆ

77. ANSER (Geese). Bill nearly long as head, elevated and covered with cere or skin at base; conspicuous nail at tip; under mandible smaller than upper; nostrils lateral, near middle of bill; tail of sixteen feathers; legs under centre of body; hind toe free, articulated upon tarsus. Page 176

78. BERNICLA (Brent and Bernicle Geese). Bill shorter than head, higher than broad at base; culmen slightly convex, outline of lower mandible decidedly so, leaving elliptical space displaying lamellæ; nostrils sub-basal; neck feathers less furrowed than in Anser; tail short, rounded; tibia feathered to joint; hind toe short and elevated. Page 180_

79. CYGNUS (Swans). Bill of equal length throughout, furnished with knob at base; nostrils medial; legs short; neck exceedingly long. Page 181

SUB-FAMILY ANATIDÆ

Bill of equal width throughout, or broader at the top than at the base, of about the same width as the head; legs short, placed rather behind the middle of the body; hind toe without a pendent membrane; tarsi somewhat round.

80. TADORNA (Sheldrake). Bill with an elevated tubercle at the base, depressed in the middle; nostrils large, pervious; lower portion of tarsus in front with a row of transverse scutellæ. Page 184

81. ANAS (Mallard, Gadwall). Bill long as head, broad, depressed, sides parallel, sometimes partially dilated, both mandibles with transverse lamellæ on inner edges; nostrils small, oval, lateral, anterior to base of bill; wings rather long, pointed; tail wedge-shaped; legs rather short; hind toe without lobe. Sexes differ in plumage. Page 185

82. SPATULA (Shoveller). Bill much longer than head, widening towards end, lamellæ projecting conspicuously; no soft membrane on sides of bill towards tip; wing pointed, first and second quills longest; tail short, graduated; legs very short. Page 189

83. DAFILA (Pintail). Bill long as head, edges nearly parallel, widening a little to end, lamellæ not strongly defined; neck long, slender; tail sharply pointed, central rectrices considerably elongated in male; margin of web to anterior toes slightly emarginate. Page 190

84. QUERQUÉDULA (Teal). Bill long as head, lamellæ exposed along projecting edge of upper mandible; tail of sixteen feathers, short and rounded; hind toe very small, outer shorter than third, centre rather long; interdigital membrane emarginate. Page 191

85. MARÉCA (Wigeon). Bill shorter than head, higher than broad at base, depressed and narrowed towards point; tail short, pointed; tibia bare for short distance; hind toe with very narrow lobe. Page 192

SUB-FAMILY FULIGULINÆ

Hind toe with lobated membrane; tarsi compressed.

86. FULÍGULA (Pochard, Tufted Duck, Scaup). Bill not longer than head, slightly elevated at base, broader towards tip; edges of upper mandible enclosing edges of lower; nostrils near base. Page 193

87. CLANGÚLA (Goldeneye). Bill much shorter than head, depressed towards nail, which is elliptical and decurved at tip; lamellæ hidden; nostrils near middle of bill. Page 195

88. HARELDA (Long-tailed Duck). Bill much shorter than head, tapering rapidly to broad, decurved nail at tip. Lamellæ slightly exposed; nostrils sub-basal. Feathering at base of bill forming oblique line, advancing furthest forward on forehead. Wings rather short, pointed; scapulars elongate and lanceolate in adult male; tail short, graduated except for two central feathers, which are long and tapering in adult male. Page 196

89. SOMATERIA (Eider Duck). Bill swollen and elevated at base, extending up the forehead, there divided by angular projection of feathers; nostrils medial. Page 197

90. OEDEMIA (Scoters). Bill short, broad, with an elevated knob at the base, the tip much flattened; nail large, flat, obtuse, slightly deflected; lamellæ coarse, widely set; nostrils oval, medial; tail short, graduated, acute. Page 199

SUB-FAMILY MERGANINÆ

91. MERGUS (Smew, Merganser, Goosander). Bill straight, slender, narrow, approaching to cylindrical; upper mandible hooked; edges of both mandibles armed with sharp teeth directed backwards; legs short, placed far backward. Page 201

ORDER COLUMBÆ (PIGEONS AND DOVES)

Bill swollen at tip, convex; the upper mandible covered at the base with a soft membrane in which lie the nostrils, with a valve over them; tarsi covered fore and rear with hexagonal scales.

The birds of this order have considerable powers of flight, and perch freely on trees or rocks. Their food consists principally of grain, seeds, and the leaves of herbaceous plants. The young are fed on a milky fluid secreted in the crop of the old birds.

FAMILY COLUMBIDÆ

Tail with twelve feathers; hind toe with the skin prominently expanded on the sides.