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Show 1871.] MR. R. SWINHOE ON THE BIRDS OF CHINA. 417 feathers at the base of the bill, of a pale colour with blotches of black on the underparts, and with very little grey on the wing-coverts and rump. The size of the bill varies greatly in English specimens; but the pale colour, comparative absence of grey, and white frontal edging to the bill seem characteristic of the Eastern race, and I think it as well to distinguish it as a variety. 627. ANSER SEGETUM, var. SERRIROSTRIS. Anser segetum, Ibis, 1860, p. 67, 1861, p. 344, 1862, p. 253, 1867, p. 392 ; P. Z. S. 1863, p. 323. Anser serrirostris, Gould, M S . A Bean-Goose comes down in immense swarms every cold weather to the marshes, at the river's mouth, near Amoy. They are of large size, and peculiar in having huge bills approximating that of A. grandis. I have handled several, and they were all so distinguishable. I have brought home a male and compared it with a home-shot bird kindly lent me by Mr. Tristram. The Chinese bird has a paler cheek and throat, a much lighter and yellowish-brown neck, narrower white edges and tips to the tail-feathers, and longer tarsi; but in other respects it is similar. The British Museum has two specimens of this Goose from Trans-Baikal, and Mr. Gould a specimen from Shanghai. Mr. Gould's specimen is labelled A. ser-rirosti'is, a name he intended to publish in 1862. On the Wanchow river all the Geese shot by our party on the 10th of February were of this race. 628. ANAS BOSCHAS, L.; Ibis, 1861, p. 344, 1862, p. 254. A winter Duck in South China. 629. ANAS ZONORHYNCHA, Swinh. Ibis, 1866, p. 394 ; P.Z.S. 1870, p. 427. Anas pcecilorhyncha, Temm. & Schl. Faun. Jap. pl. lxxxii. Throughout China. I believe it breeds in many parts, north and south. It is absurd, with our present experience, to imagine this bird a cross between A. boschas and A. pcecilorhyncha of India. It is a very common Duck at Shanghai, and I have seen many specimens. A. pcecilorhyncha does not occur with us ; and can we suppose that India would originate a bird to disperse throughout more Eastern Asia, and not reserve any of the hybrids for herself ? Our bird (male) has a narrower yellow nib to the bill, and no basal yellow. It has a distinct white supercilium ; throat unspeckled white; alar speculum deep blue, slightly tinged with green; lesser coverts, overlapping the speculum, brown, tipped with black with no white ; tertials only slightly margined with white ; rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail deep blackish brown, without any bronze reflections ; crown, streak through the eye, and short moustache-streak deep brown ; cheeks and neck brownish white, with brown specks ; breast light yellowish brown, with deep-brown spots; rest of underparts deep brown, becoming nearly black on the under tail-coverts; PROC. ZOOL. Soc-1871, No." XXVII. |