. The water birds of North America . ght-greenplumage, are sometimes used for adorning the skin dresses worn by the natives. The flight of this Duck is rapid — more so than that of most other Ducks —being generally low, and very near the surface of the water. In all the specimensseen the iris was of a dark hazel. Eggs of this species from the Canal of St. Michaels Island are of a pale olive-graycolor (Smithsonian Institution, No. 14596). Five specimens measure as by inches ; by ; by ; by ; and by Genus SOMATERIA, Leach. Somateria, Leach
. The water birds of North America . ght-greenplumage, are sometimes used for adorning the skin dresses worn by the natives. The flight of this Duck is rapid — more so than that of most other Ducks —being generally low, and very near the surface of the water. In all the specimensseen the iris was of a dark hazel. Eggs of this species from the Canal of St. Michaels Island are of a pale olive-graycolor (Smithsonian Institution, No. 14596). Five specimens measure as by inches ; by ; by ; by ; and by Genus SOMATERIA, Leach. Somateria, Leach, Boie, Isis, 564 (type, Anas mollissimu, Linn.). Char. Bill about as long as the head, narrower than deep, the tip formed by the very broad,large nail ; feathers of the forehead advancing forward in a long, narrow pointed strip, betweentwo backward extensions of the maxilla, which, intervening between the frontal feathers and thoseof the cheeks, form a distinct basal angle or lobe ; maxillary tomium regular and nearly straight,. S. molh the lamella? completely concealed. Head with some portions bristly-feathered (in males) ; tertialsfalcate ; tail small, short, and pointed, composed of fourteen pointed feathers. Plumage of themales varied and handsome. The four species which compose this genus differ very considerably from one another in form,but they all possess the characters defined above. Like the more or less nearly related generaArctonetta, Eniconctta, Histrionicus, and Camptolamus, they are birds of high northern latitudes,barely entering the warm-temperate zone in winter. They may be defined as follows : — A. Frontal feathers reaching about half way from the base of the maxillary angle to the nostril; feathering of the lores extending forward to beneath the middle of the nostril. Males with white scapulars and tertials, the top of the head chiefly black. 1. S. mollissima. Male, with the throat entirely white. Basal angle of the maxilla narrow (. of an inch
Size: 1947px × 1283px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1884
