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376. 12. Ardea candidissima, Gmel. Snowy Heron

Plate CCXLII. Male.

Feathers of the upper and hind part of the head very long, loose, decurved; of the middle of the back very long, loose, decurved, with their extremities recurved; bill and legs black; toes yellow. Plumage pure white. Young white, with the legs and toes dull green.

Male, 221/2, 38.

Resident from Texas to Florida. Migrates in spring as far as Massachusetts. Breeds in all intermediate districts; up the Mississippi to Memphis. Abundant.

Snowy Heron, Ardea candidissima. Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vii. p. 120.

Ardea candidissima, Bonap. Syn. p. 305.

Snowy Heron, Ardea candidissima, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 49.

Snowy Heron, Ardea candidissima, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 317; v. v. p. 606.

FAMILY XXXIX. ANATINÆ. DUCKS

Bill of moderate length, stout, straight, depressed toward the end, obtuse, covered with soft skin; upper mandible transversely convex, with the margins internally lamellate, the tip furnished with a decurved horny broad unguis; lower mandible with the angle long and narrow, the crura slender, flattened, the edges internally lamellate, the tip a flattened unguis. Nostrils elliptical, open, subbasal. Head of moderate size; neck long or of moderate length, slender; body full; legs generally short, stout, with little of the tibia bare; tarsus scutellate; toes four, first small; anterior three palmate. Claws moderate, arched, compressed, obtuse. Plumage very full, dense, soft. Wings of moderate length, curved, acute, outer two quills longest. Tail short, of twelve or more feathers. Tongue fleshy, with a median groove, lateral reversed papillæ, laminæ, or bristles, and a semicircular thin horny tip; œsophagus narrow, slightly enlarged at the lower part of the neck; stomach a transversely elliptical gizzard, of which the lateral muscles are excessively developed, the epithelium dense, with two concave grinding surfaces; intestine long and wide; cœca long, cylindrical, contracted at the base. Trachea various, generally much enlarged at the bifurcation, without inferior laryngeal muscles, or only with the slips of the lateral muscles prolonged. Nest generally on the ground; eggs numerous. Young clothed with stiffish down, and able to walk and swim from birth.

GENUS I. PHŒNICOPTERUS, Linn. FLAMINGO

Bill more than double the length of the head, straight and higher than broad for half its length, then deflected, and tapering to an obtuse point; upper mandible with its dorsal line at first straight, then convex, and again straight nearly to the end, when it becomes convex at the tip, the ridge broad and concave, on the deflected part expanded into a lanceolate plate, having a shallow groove in the middle, and separated from the edges by a narrow groove, its extremity narrow and thin edged, but obtuse, this part being analogous to the unguis of ducks; lower mandible narrower than the upper at its base, but much broader in the rest of its extent; its angle rather long, wide, and filled with bare skin; its dorsal line concave, but at the tip convex, the ridge deeply depressed, there being a wide channel in its place, the sides nearly erect and a little convex, with six ridges on each side toward the tip. Both mandibles internally lamellate, the edge of the lower much incurved. Nostrils linear, direct, and subbasal, operculate. Head small, ovate; neck extremely elongated, and very slender; body slender; legs extremely long; tibia bare for more than half its length, and with the long tarsus anteriorly scutellate; hind toe very small and elevated; anterior toes connected by emarginate webs, scutellate above, tesselate beneath. Claws oblong, obtuse, depressed. Space between the bill and the eye bare; plumage compact; wings long, very broad, pointed; second quill longest; some of the secondaries extremely elongated, so as to extend far beyond the primaries when the wing is closed. Tail very short. Tongue confined by the lower mandible, fleshy, compressed, decurved, with recurved conical papillæ; œsophagus extremely narrow, but at the lower part of the neck enlarged into a crop; proventriculus elliptical; stomach a very muscular, transversely elliptical gizzard, exactly resembling that of a goose or duck, with the epithelium dense, and longitudinally sulcate; intestine very long, and of considerable width; cœca rather long; cloaca globular.

377. 1. Phœnicopterus ruber, Linn. American Flamingo

Plate CCCCXXXI. Male.

Bill yellow tinged with bright orange, at the end black; feet lake; plumage scarlet, excepting the ten primaries, and twenty of the secondaries, which are black.

Male, 451/2, 66.

Rather rare, and only during summer in the Florida Keys, and the western coast of Florida. Accidental as far as South Carolina. Constantly resident in Cuba.

Red Flamingo, Phœnicopterus ruber, Wils. Amer. Orn, v. viii. p. 145.

Phœnicopterus ruber, Bonap. Syn. p. 348.

American or Red Flamingo, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 71.

American Flamingo, Phœnicopterus ruber, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 255.

GENUS II. ANSER, Briss. GOOSE

Bill shorter than the head, rather higher than broad at the base, somewhat conical, depressed toward the end, rounded at the tip; upper mandible with the dorsal line sloping, the ridge broad and flattened, the sides sloping, the edges soft and obtuse, internally with numerous oblique marginal lamellæ, the unguis obovate, convex; nasal groove oblong, filled by the soft membrane of the bill; nostrils medial, lateral, longitudinal, narrow-elliptical, open, pervious, lower mandible straight, with the angle very long, narrow, and rounded, the edges soft and obtuse, with numerous oblique lamellæ, the tip broadly convex. Head small, oblong, compressed; neck long and slender; body very full, slightly depressed. Feet short, stout; tibia bare for a short space below; tarsus short, a little compressed, covered all round with angular scales; hind toe very small and elevated, third toe longest, fourth longer than second; all reticulated at the base, scutellate toward the end, the anterior webbed. Claws small, arched, rather compressed. Plumage close, compact above, blended beneath. Wings long, convex, the second quill longest, the first and third nearly equal. Tail very short, of sixteen or more feathers.

378. 1. Anser Canadensis, Linn. Canada Goose

Plate CCI. Male and Female.

Tail of eighteen feathers; bill, feet, and claws black, head and two upper thirds of neck glossy black; forehead, cheeks, and chin, tinged with brown; lower eyelid white; a broad band of white across the throat to behind the eye; rump and tail-feathers black; general colour of the rest of upper parts greyish-brown, wing-coverts shaded into ash-grey, all the feathers terminally edged with very pale brown; lower part of neck passing to greyish-white, which is the general colour of the lower parts, unless in old birds where it is buff, with the exception of the abdomen, which is pure white, the sides, which are pale brownish-grey, the feathers tipped with white, and the lower wing-coverts, which are also pale brownish-grey; margins of rump and upper tail-coverts pure white. Female with the tints somewhat duller.

Male, 43, 65. Female, 41.

Breeds sparingly from the Mississippi to Nova Scotia; abundantly in Labrador, and farther north. In the interior, on the Missouri, and across to the Columbia River. Abundant. Migrates far south in winter.

Canada Goose, Anas canadensis, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 52.

Anser canadensis, Bonap. Syn. p. 377.

Anser canadensis, Canada Goose, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 468.

Canada Goose, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 349.

Canada Goose. Anser canadensis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 1; v. v. p. 607.

379. 2. Anser Hutchinsii, Richardson. Hutchins's Goose

Plate CCLXXVII. Adult.

Tail of sixteen feathers; bill, feet, and claws black; head and two upper thirds of neck glossy black; a large subtriangular patch of white on each side of the head and neck; general colour of the upper parts brownish-grey, the feathers margined with paler, of the lower parts pale greyish-brown, margined with yellowish-grey; abdomen and lower tail-coverts white; hind part of back brownish-black; primary quills and tail-feathers deep brown.

Adult, 25, 50.

From New Jersey to Maine, during winter. Breeds in the Arctic Regions. Columbia River. Abundant.

Anser Hutchinsii, Hutchins's Bernacle Goose, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 470.

Hutchins's Goose, Anser Hutchinsii, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 526.

380. 3. Anser leucopsis, Bechst. Bernacle Goose

Plate CCXCVI. Male and Female.

Tail very short, rounded, of sixteen feathers; bill, feet, and claws black; anterior parts of head, including a broad space above the eye, the sides of the head and the throat, white; feathers margining the bill, and a line from the bill to the eye, curving beneath the lower eyelid, and running along the upper, brownish-black; neck all round glossy bluish-black, of which colour are the anterior feathers; the scapulars, and the wing-coverts, towards their extremities, while the bases are ash-grey, and their terminal margins white; rump and tail-feathers deep black; quills greyish-black, darker towards the tips, the outer webs more or less tinged with ash-grey; upper and lower tail-coverts, and sides of rump, pure white.

Male, 27, 56. Female, 231/2, 52.

Accidental in North America.

Anser leucopsis, Bonap. Syn. p. 377.

Bernacle Goose, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 355.

Bernacle Goose, Anser leucopsis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 609.

381. 4. Anser Bernicla, Linn. Brent Goose

Plate CCCXCI. Male and Female.

Tail of sixteen feathers, rounded; bill and feet black; head and neck all round black, glossed with blue; a small streak under the eye, a spot on the chin, and patch on each side of the neck, white; general colour of upper parts brownish-grey, the feathers margined with light greyish-brown; quills and primary coverts greyish-black; upper tail-coverts white; tail greyish-black; fore part of breast light brownish-grey, the feathers terminally margined with greyish-white; abdomen and lower tail-coverts white; sides grey, the feathers broadly tipped with white; axillar feathers and lower wing-coverts grey.

Male, 241/2, 48. Female, 23, 441/2.

Abundant along the coast of the Atlantic, from Maine to Maryland, during winter. Never seen far inland. Breeds from Labrador northward. Columbia River.

Brant, Anas Bernicla, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 131.

Anser Bernicla, Bonap. Syn. p. 378.

Anser Bernicla, Brent Goose, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 469.

Brant or Brent Goose, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 358.

Brent Goose, Anser Bernicla, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. pp. 24, 610.

382. 5. Anser albifrons, Bechst. White-fronted Goose

Plate CCLXXXVI. Male and Female.

Tail of sixteen feathers, rounded; bill carmine-red, with the unguis white; feet orange, claws white; head and neck greyish-brown; a white band, margined behind with blackish-brown on the anterior part of the forehead along the bill; general colour of back deep grey, the feathers of its fore part broadly tipped with greyish-brown, the rest with greyish-white; hind part of back deep grey; wings greyish-brown, toward the edge ash-grey, as are the primary coverts, and outer webs of the primaries; the rest of the primaries and secondaries greyish-black, the latter with a narrow edge of greyish-white, the former edged and tipped with white; breast, abdomen, lower tail-coverts, sides of rump, and upper tail-coverts, white; the breast and sides patched with brownish-black, on the latter intermixed with greyish-brown feathers.

Male, 271/4, 60.

Through the interior of the Western and Southern States during winter, as well as along the coast, from Massachusetts to Texas. Columbia River. Breeds in the far north.

Anser albifrons, Bonap. Syn. p. 376.

Anser albifrons, Laughing Goose, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 456.

White-fronted Goose, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 346.

White-fronted Goose, Anser albifrons, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 568.

383. 6. Anser hyperboreus, Gmel. Snow-Goose

Plate CCCLXXXI. Adult Male and Young Female.

Bill and feet carmine, unguis white, claws dusky; plumage pure white, fore part of head tinged with yellowish-red; primaries brownish-grey, toward the end blackish-brown, their shafts white, unless toward the end. Young in its second plumage, with the bill yellow, or flesh-coloured, the feet lake; head and upper part of neck, with the wing-coverts, greyish-white; lower part of neck all round, fore part of back, scapulars, fore part of breast and sides blackish-grey; hind part of back and upper tail-coverts, ash-grey; quills greyish-black, secondaries margined with greyish-white; tail-feathers dusky grey, margined with greyish-white; breast and abdomen greyish-white.

Male, 313/4, 62. Female, 26, 55.

Western and Southern States, in autumn and winter. Breeds in the Arctic Regions. Abundant.

Snow Goose, Anas hyperborea, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 76.

Anser hyperboreus, Bonap. Syn. p. 376.

Snow Goose, Nutt. Man. p. 344.

Anser hyperboreus, Snow Goose, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 467.

Snow Goose, Anser hyperboreus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 562.

GENUS III. CYGNUS, Meyer. SWAN

Bill longer than the head, higher than broad at the base, depressed, and a little widened toward the end, rounded; upper mandible with the dorsal line sloping, the ridge very broad at the base, with a large depression; narrowed between the nostrils, convex toward the end, the sides nearly erect at the base, gradually becoming more horizontal and convex toward the end, the sides soft and thin, with numerous transverse little elevated internal lamellæ, the unguis obovate; nasal groove elliptical, subbasal, covered by the soft membrane of the bill; lower mandible flattened, with the angle very long, and rather narrow, the sides convex, the edges with numerous transverse lamellæ. Nostrils submedial, longitudinal, placed near the ridge, elliptical. Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed; neck extremely long and slender; body very large, compact, depressed. Feet short, stout, placed a little behind the centre of the body; tibia bare for a very small space; tarsus short, a little compressed, covered all round with angular scales; hind toe extremely small, with a very narrow membrane; third longest, fourth very little shorter; anterior toes covered with angular scales for nearly half their length, then scutellate, and connected by broad reticulated entire membranes. Claws rather small, strong, arched, compressed, rather obtuse. Space between the bill and eye bare; plumage dense and soft. Wings long, broad; primaries curved, stiff, the second longest. Tail very short, graduated, of twenty or more feathers. Œsophagus very slender, at the lower part of the neck a little dilated; stomach transversely elliptical, with the lateral muscles extremely large, the epithelium dense, with two concave grinding surfaces; intestine long, and of moderate width; cœca rather large, narrow; cloaca globular. Trachea generally enters a cavity in the sternum, whence it is reflected, before it passes into the thorax; no inferior laryngeal muscles.

384. 1. Cygnus Buccinator, Richardson. Trumpeter Swan

Plate CCCCVI. Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXVI. Young after first moult.

Tail-feathers twenty-four; bill and feet black; plumage pure white, excepting the upper part of the head, which is often brownish-red. Young after first moult with the bill flesh-coloured in the middle, the feet dull yellowish-brown; upper part of head and cheeks bright reddish-brown, each feather tipped with whitish; throat nearly white; general colour of the other parts greyish-white, slightly tinged with yellow.

Adult, 68; wing, 27. Young, 521/2, 91.

Breeds from North California northward. Fur Countries. Abundant during winter on the Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, and in Texas. Never seen eastward of South Carolina.

Cygnus Buccinator, Richardson's Trumpeter Swan, F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 464.

Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus Buccinator, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 370.

Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus Buccinator, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 536; v. v. p. 114.

385. 2. Cygnus Americanus, Sharpless. American Swan

Plate CCCCXI. Male.

Tail feathers twenty; bill and feet black, the former with a small orange spot on each side at the base; plumage pure white. Young grey.

Male, 53, 84.

Common during winter in the Middle Atlantic Districts, especially on Chesapeake Bay. Not seen south of Carolina. Columbia River. Breeds in the Fur Countries.

American Wild Swan, Cygnus americanus, Sharpless, Amer. Journ. of Sc. and Arts, v. xxii.

American Swan, Cygnus americanus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 133.

GENUS IV. ANAS, Linn. DUCK

Bill about the length of the head, somewhat higher than broad at the base, depressed and widened towards the end, rounded at the tip; upper mandible with the dorsal line sloping, and a little concave, the ridge at the base broad and flat, towards the end broadly convex, as are the sides, the edges soft and rather obtuse, the marginal lamellæ numerous, oblique; unguis decurved, obovate; nasal groove elliptical, subbasal, filled by the soft membrane of the bill; lower mandible flattened, slightly recurvate, with the angle very long and narrow, the unguis roundish, the lamellæ numerous. Nostrils subbasal, elliptical, near the ridge. Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed; neck rather long and slender; body full, depressed. Feet short, stout, placed a little behind the centre of the body; tibia bare a little above the joint; tarsus short, somewhat compressed, anteriorly with small scutella, laterally and behind with angular scales; hind toe extremely small, with a very narrow membrane; third toe longest, fourth a little shorter, but longer than second; all covered with numerous oblique scutella; anterior connected by reticulated membranes. Claws small, arched, compressed, rather acute. Plumage dense, soft. Wings of moderate length, acute; second quill longest, first very little shorter; inner secondaries elongated and tapering; tail short, much rounded, of sixteen feathers. Œsophagus rather narrow, dilated on the lower part of the neck; stomach an extremely muscular, transversely elliptical gizzard; intestine long and rather wide; cœca long. Trachea of the males, with a transverse bony unsymmetrical dilatation at the inferior larynx.

386. 1. Anas Borchas, Linn. Mallard

Plate CCXXI. Male and Female.

Male with the feathers of the head and neck short, blended, and splendent; tail much rounded, of sixteen acute feathers, of which the four central are recurved; bill greenish-yellow, feet orange-red; head and upper part of neck deep green; about the middle of the neck a white ring; its lower part anteriorly, and the fore part of the breast, dark brownish-chestnut; fore part of back light yellowish-brown, rest of the back brownish-black, the rump black, splendent with green and purplish-blue, as are the recurved tail-feathers; upper surface of wings greyish-brown, scapulars lighter, except their inner webs, and with the anterior dorsal feathers, minutely undulated with brown, speculum on about ten of the secondaries purple and green, edged with velvet-black and white, the anterior bands of these colours being on the secondary coverts; breast, sides, and abdomen very pale grey, minutely undulated with darker; lower tail-coverts black. Female with the bill black in the middle, dull orange at the extremities and along the edges; upper parts pale yellowish, streaked and spotted with dusky; feathers of the head narrowly streaked, of the back with the margins and a central streak yellowish-brown, the rest dark, the scapulars similar, but with the light streak on the outer web; speculum as in the male, but with less green; lower parts dull ochre, deeper on the lower neck, faintly streaked and spotted with brown.

Male, 24, 36. Female, 22.

Breeds from Texas sparingly throughout the United States. Columbia River, and Fur Countries. Abundant during winter in all the Southern Districts. Not found in Maine, or farther eastward.

Mallard, Anas Borchas, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 112.

Anas Borchas, Bonap. Syn. p. 383.

Anas (Borchas) domestica, Mallard, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 442.

Mallard Duck, Anas domestica, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 378.

Mallard, Anas Borchas, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 164.