Genus MARMARONETTA.
Marmaronetta Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. Vogel, ix (1852-3).
Type by mom, Anas angustirostris Menetries.
The genus Marmaronetta differs from all other ducks in its curiously-marked grey plumage without any speculum. Its hind toe with its narrow lobe retains it in the true Anatinae and structurally it is very close to Nettion. As in that genus, the labyrinth of the trachea is lateral; the bill is about equal to the head in length, narrow and parallel-sided with the nostril near the base; the tail has fourteen feathers; the wing is unusually short and rounded ; the head is furnished with a thick but rather short crest.
The sexes are alike in plumage.
The genus contains one species occurring in the Mediterranean countries to Mesopotamia, Persia and Mekran.
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