Kurt R. Schwarz wrote:

> The color plate by Fuertes in Phillips' NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DUCKS,
> 1922 (Dover reprint, 1986) shows what appears to be pale nail 
> protruding from
> the rear toe.  All nails, front and back, appear pale.  This a large 
> illustration, much
> larger than in Belrose, etc.
>
There is a good picture of a Black-bellied Whistling Duck standing on a 
wire fence at
<http://www.sfondideldesktop.com/Images-Animals/Bird/Duck/Black-Bellied-Whistling-Duck-Perching-On-Fence-Wire/Black-Bellied-Whistling-Duck-Perching-On-Fence-Wire.Jpg>
[watch out for line wrapping].  It shows black nails, and displays the 
back toe and nail very nicely.

-- 
Maurice Barnhill 
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Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716