Of those which I examined, the stomachs contained coarse siliceous sand, and small black seeds; the œsophagus of one contained several small fishes.
PLAIN BLUEWING.[126]
Cyanopterus inornatus.—Mihi.
[126] Length 15¾ inches, expanse 24¼, flexure 7, tail 2⁹⁄₁₀, breadth of beak ⁶⁄₁₀, height ¹³⁄₂₀, rictus 1⁹⁄₁₀, tarsus 1⁶⁄₁₀, middle toe 1¾.
Irides hazel; beak black; feet dusky clay colour; (in summer, yellow.) Crown and hind-head dark brown, speckled with pale dashes; sides of head paler brown, with black specks; throat and chin drab-white. Lower neck, back, and tail-coverts bistre, with horse-shoe lines of pale brown. Scapulars dark brown, with green gloss, a narrow border of pale brown. Wing-coverts pale blue; winglet, primaries, and primary coverts blackish, with pale inner webs; secondary greater-coverts white, with large spots of metallic green, which sometimes become disks. Secondaries, outer webs rich golden-green, edge of tips pale; tertials long, pointed, brown with pale shafts, slightly glossed. Tail feathers dark brown, with pale edges, and transverse spots on the outmost. Breast, belly, vent, and under tail-coverts silky drab, irregularly mottled and spotted with blackish; sides marked with horse-shoes of dark brown and pale. Inner surface of wings white.
The Teal which from the absence of the white crescent in both sexes, I have thus named, is well known in Jamaica, and has probably been mistaken for the female of discors, with which it associates. Its manners are said to be identical with those of its congener. It much resembles C. Fretensis of Eyton, but has not the broad yellow spot on the beak, nor the barred flanks.
The stomachs of such as I have dissected, contained small seeds, and coarse sand. One was brought me alive in March; its voice, when alarmed, was a very subdued hissing, like that of a goose, but very softly. I have met with this species only in Spanish Town.
The eastern point of Old Harbour is occupied by a salt-morass, immediately opposite Goat Island, which affords the principal supply of Ducks to the Spanish Town market; and more particularly since the construction of the railway has driven the birds from Passage Fort. The morass borders the little cove called Galleon Harbour, and extends over a small projecting peninsula, where it is cut into natural channels, intersecting each other at right angles, through which the sea flows, which are almost as regular as if cut by art. The surf, driven through them by the sea-breeze, and the frequent passage of boats, keep these singular canals open, and prevent the growth in them of the mangroves, which are perpetually throwing out their bow-like roots, and encroaching on every unoccupied space. It is at the open pans formed by the intersection of the canals, that the Ducks of various species congregate: when the gunners approaching in boats up the canals, come suddenly upon the flocks, and taking them in enfilade, bring down numbers at a shot.