. The water birds of North America . species, being in every waymore slender, the greatest breadth of themaxilla anteriorly being but .75 of an inch,while the transverse diameter through thebase, which is but slightly swollen, is inch; the length from the culmen isabout , to the loral feathers, ; theculmen is much less elevated above thenostrils, and the tip of the bill less de-pressed. The prevailing color of the billis black, the nail lighter, but across the cul-men, just behind the nail, and continuedback in a narrow stripe, between the nos-trils and the tornium. almost to
. The water birds of North America . species, being in every waymore slender, the greatest breadth of themaxilla anteriorly being but .75 of an inch,while the transverse diameter through thebase, which is but slightly swollen, is inch; the length from the culmen isabout , to the loral feathers, ; theculmen is much less elevated above thenostrils, and the tip of the bill less de-pressed. The prevailing color of the billis black, the nail lighter, but across the cul-men, just behind the nail, and continuedback in a narrow stripe, between the nos-trils and the tornium. almost to the base,is a mark (having somewhat this form, W)of salmon-color or orange, becoming yellowposteriorly. The head and neck are deepblack, with a longitudinal, cuneate, nuchalpatch of white, as in P. perspicillata, andthe frontal spot is also distinctly indicated,though somewhat, broken by the admixtureof black feathers ; but in addition to thesesubquadrate white patch extending from the lateralan inch, almost touching the eye above ;. Fnunl . markings, the lores are covered by a larfbase of the bill, for its entire length, back about ,there is also a white ovate spot immediately above and behind the eye, and another of crescenticform on the lower eyelid. The differences in the markings of the head would not alone be suffi-cient to indicate more than a variation of plumage of the common species ; but the form andcoloration of the bill is so different as to suggest the possibility of the specimen being a hybridbetween /. perspicillata and Melanetta fusca or velvetina. The wing, however, is said to lack thewhite speculum of Mdaru tta. The three examples (from San Diego, Cal.) upon which the P. TrovJbridgii was based, differ butlittle from some eastern specimens oiP. perspicillata, while other Pacific coast specimens, includingexamples from as far south as the coast of Lower California, are unquestionably identical with theeastern bird. The Surf Duck is a peculiarly North American s
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1884
