. A general history of birds . Duck, Cat. Car. i. pl. 94. Edw. pl. Merganser, Gen. Syn. vi. 426. 4. pl. CI. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 467. LENGTH eighteen inches, breadth twenty-four; weight twenty-three ounces. Bill one inch and a half long, black, irides golden ;head dark brown ; forehead paler ; the head furnished with a largerounded crest, flat on the sides, of a very soft and silky texture ;round the eyes, and the middle of the crest black; the rest white,tipped all round with black ; forehead, cheeks, neck, back, and tail,black, the last inclined to dusky ; under p
. A general history of birds . Duck, Cat. Car. i. pl. 94. Edw. pl. Merganser, Gen. Syn. vi. 426. 4. pl. CI. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 467. LENGTH eighteen inches, breadth twenty-four; weight twenty-three ounces. Bill one inch and a half long, black, irides golden ;head dark brown ; forehead paler ; the head furnished with a largerounded crest, flat on the sides, of a very soft and silky texture ;round the eyes, and the middle of the crest black; the rest white,tipped all round with black ; forehead, cheeks, neck, back, and tail,black, the last inclined to dusky ; under parts from the breast white ;sides of the latter and lower part of the neck undulated with black ;wing coverts deep brown ; across the lower a bar of white; and onthe scapulars a mixture of white; sides of the breast fine tawny,crossed with black lines; of the vent the same, elegantly barred;legs black. This is the description of the male. The female differsso very little as not to merit a separate description. I I. /Yf>r: </,,/, //f t<7 MERGANSER. 207 The young birds of the first winter are generally brown ; thehead with a crest, of a rufous colour, but neither white, nor edgedwith black, as in the adult male. The one figured in the PI. enlum. supposed to be the female, isonly a bird more advanced in plumage, probably in the second year;it has the head and neck dark ash-colour, mottled with dusky black;the crest short, and rust-coloured ; chin and throat whitish; back,wings, and tail, dusky, with a white line across the wings; breastand belly white. The male of this bird, as in all others of theGenus with which we are acquainted, is furnished with a bonyenlargement at the bottom of the trachea before the two branchesdivaricate to pass into the lungs, but in shape it is not exactly likeany yet described ; it is oval, at its greatest length one inch and aquarter, wholly bony, without any opening, and stands trachea itself is about seven
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Keywords: ., bookauthorlatham, bookcentury1800, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1821
