File:The genera of birds (19332033091).jpg

ANSERLVE.
12. B. canadensis (Linn.) PI. enl. 346., Wils. Amer. Om. pi. 67-
f. 4.
13. B. leucopareia Brandt, Desc. et Icones Faun. Ross. 1. t. —
Anser canadensis Pall.
14. B. Hutchinsii (Richards. & Swains.) Faun. Bor. Amer. 70.
15. B. indica (Gmel.) Gould Cent, of Birds, pi. 80. — Anser
undulatus Bonn.
16. B. ? grandis (Gmel.).
Nettapi'S Brandt.*
Bill small, more elevated at the base than broad, the culmen gradually sloping to the tip, which is
armed with a large nail ; the lamellae not exposed, but short and widely set ; the nostrils somewhat
basal, placed near the culmen, with the opening rounded. Wings moderate, pointed, and the first two
quills the longest. Tail short and rounded. Tarsi shorter than the middle toe. Toes long and
united by a full web, the lateral ones unequal, and the hind toe very short and more or less lobed ; the
claws short and curved.
The species of this genus are found in the continental part of India, in Australia, and Africa, where they inhabit the
lakes, estuaries, and rivers. " It is remarkable," Mr. Blyth observes, " that the Indian species seems totally incapable
of standing or walking upon the ground, but invariably flutters along it in a strange scuffling manner, like a wounded
bird. They always descend into the water, never alighting on the ground of their own accord." Col. Sykes remarks:
" These birds when wounded dive, and, on returning to the surface, show only the bill above water, keeping the body
below at pleasure." He further says that vegetable matter and gravel were found in the stomach. The nest of the
Australian species is described by Mr. Gould as being " built up in the grass, about a foot above the surface of the
water, the bottom of the nest resting on its surface ; it was composed of long dried grasses, slightly hollowed for the
reception of the eggs," which are six in number.
1. N. coromandelianus (Gmel.) Gould, PI. enl. 949, 950. — 2. N. pulchellus Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1841. 89., B. of Austr. pi.
Bernicla Girra Gray, 111. Ind. Zool. pi. 68. ; N. affinis Jerd. ; N. 3. N. auritus (Bodd.) PI. enl. 770. — Anas madagascariensis
albipennis Gould, B. of Austr. pi. Gmel.

• Established by M. Brandt (Desc. et Icon, qc.) in 1836. In 1838, Mr. Eyton adopted the manuscript name of Cheniscus from
  

Brookes. Mr. Swainson's name of Anserella (1837) is supposed to be founded on a species of this genus, for which I had in 1840 proposed
the name of Microcygna.