The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 09 (of 10)Evans, A. H. (Arthur Humble)
Science
The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 09 (of 10)
Evans, A. H. (Arthur Humble)
Animals; Birds
_Metopiana peposaca_, of South America, northward to Chili and South
Brazil, is black with grey vermiculations above and on the belly, the
cheeks and upper neck are purplish, the speculum and inner primaries
chiefly white, the bill and its swollen base carmine, the feet yellow. The
female is brown, with whitish under parts and grey on the wing. It
frequents marshes on the Pampas, has a rapid heavy flight, utters a long
hoarse note, and lays a dozen creamy eggs.
_Netta rufina_, the Red-crested Duck, found from the Mediterranean to the
Caspian and Turkestan, or to India in winter, rarely occurs in Britain or
North Europe, and is recorded once from America; it is chiefly
greyish-brown above and blacker below, with a large crest on the chestnut
head, white speculum and sides, red beak and feet. The crestless female is
duller, with whitish cheeks and throat.
Sub-fam. 5. _Anatinae_ or typical Ducks.–_Heteronetta atricapilla_, of
South Brazil, Uruguay, Chili, and Argentina, is dark brown above with black
head and rufous vermiculations, and white below with dusky markings; the
tips of most of the wing-feathers are white, the bill is blackish with
basi-lateral flesh-coloured spots, the feet are brownish. The female's head
is brown. _Stictonetta naevosa_, of West and South Australia and Tasmania,
is brown with freckles and spots of white in either sex. _Marmaronetta
angustirostris_, ranging from South Europe and North Africa to India, and
{124}occurring in the Canaries, is greyish above, with brown and buff
marblings, and whitish below with brown bars. It flies low, utters a
croaking whistle, and lays ten or eleven buff eggs in isolated tussocks.
Both sexes of _Malacorhynchus membranaceus_, the Pink-eyed Duck of
Australia and Tasmania (p. 111), are grey-brown with lighter dots, and some
white on the face, wing, and tail; the under parts are whiter with brown
bands, while behind each blackish eye-patch is a pink mark, situated below
a dark line running to the occiput and down the nape. The bill is greenish,
and the feet are emerald-coloured or yellowish. This species is a fearless
denizen of still waters, with a habit of laying its six rich buff eggs in
old Herons' nests, in holes in trees, or on flat branches.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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