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(Anas Glocitans, Pallas.)
THIS species is about twenty inches in length, and in the contour of its figure, and in being slightly pin-tailed, bears some resemblance to the Long-tailed Duck; its plumage, though prettily variegated, does not look so shewy as that of some others of the tribe. The bill, from the tip to the brow, is about an inch and seven-eighths in length, of a deep lead colour, and the nail black; irides brown; the upper part of the head, to below the nape, is deep reddish brown, slightly crested and spotted, and joins a stripe of dark purple, which falls down behind to the middle, or small part of the neck, the fore part of which is glossy black tinged with green; the bill is bordered with black, and the space between that and the eye is occupied by a longish patch of a mixture of pale dull yeltow, and spotted reddish brown, which extends over the under jaw, where it is nearly joined to a similar lengthened patch below the auriculars, which falls down the sides of the neck; and this, together with the sides of the head, are of a glossy deep green; the lower part of the neck and breast is deep reddish chesnut, palest in the middle, and spotted with black; the upper plumage is darker than the under, and both are penciled with wavy brown lines, on a cinereous and light ash ground; the lesser wing coverts are dark cinereous, the greater the same, but crossed at the tips with a very narrow double bar or stripe of dull black and cinnamon brown; the speculum, or beauty spot, is glossy dark green, crossed with a black bar or stripe, and white tips; the secondaries, primaries, and tertials, are like the coverts, more or less of a deep dingy, or dusky cinereous brown; the scapulars are bordered by two stripes of pale cinnamon and glossy dark purple; the lower part of the back is dark brown; the upper and und& tail coverts, and two middle tail feathers are black, glossed with green; those on each side are nearly the same colour as the quills, they are somewhat freckled and pointed, bordered and tipped with dingy white. The legs and feet are rather short, and are yellow; legs behind and the middle of the webs dusky.
The general colour of the plumage of the female, is darkish brown, the feathers edged and tipped with pale cinnamon; the head and neck are of the latter colour, but lighter, and pretty closely furnished with dark narrow streaks. On the breast the feathers near their tips, are dark brown, and form roundish shaped spots; the coverts and speculum are similar to those of the male; the belly is white nearly to the thighs, whence to the vent, and under tall coverts it is spotted with brown; the tail consists of sixteen pointed feathers, of a dark cinereous brown, tipped and edged with dull white; her legs and feet are like those of the male.
According to Pallas, this species is a native of Siberia, frequenting Lake Baikal and the River Lena. They have rarely been met with in the British isles;* a pair of them, which had been taken in a decoy near Mahdon, in Essex, in the winter of 1812-13, were obligingly lent to this work by N. A. Vigors, Esq. F.L.S., and transmitted to the author with sedulous care by G. T. Fox, Esq. of Westoe.
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