page [9] (seq. 10)

9
1900
Feb. 21
to Mar. 10
(4)

The most remarkable exhibit of Ducks
is the Mandarin (Aix galericulata) of
China and Japan, and they certainly
look as if they had been taken out of
a Chinese or Japanese print. The males
are very gaudy in character and colora-
tion of plumage. One sees at a glance
that they are a very exagerated Wood
Duck, and indeed, the Mandarin and
the Wood Duck are the only two repre-
sentatives of the genus Aix. The male
has a very copious crest of head
feathers, flat on top with sharp right
angles at the sides, which are snowy
white, and below that, feathers the color
of old gold flow over the sides of the
neck. The most remarkable feature of
all consists of the inner feather of the
inner primary of each wing. The outer
web of this primary is narrow and green
but the inner web is about two inches
wide, and of a rich rufous hue. Owing
to the bending of the shaft of this feather
these two webs meet over the back along
their inner edge, forming a roof as it
were over a portion of the back. The effect
is very strange and I was at first
much puzzled to know where these re-
markable feathers belonged. The whole
bird is a mixture of brilliant colors
from its head to its feet of which the
toes are yellow, and the webs black. This