White. — On the Plumage of Anas boschas. 39 



Fig. 7. Bony ring from sucker of clavate portion of tentacular arm. 



Fig. 8. Section of 1st (dorsal) sessile arm. 



Fig. 9. Section of 2nd (sub-dorsal) sessile arm. 



Fig. 10. Section of 3rd (sub-ventral) sessile arm. 



Fig. 11. Section of 4th (ventral) sessile arm. 



Plate IX. 

 Fig. 1. Upper mandible, natural size : a, rostrum ; b, notch ; c, inner 



end of ala ; d, frontal lamina ; e, palatine lamina ; ab, cutting 



edge of rostrum ; be, cutting edge of ala. 

 Fig. 2. Lower mandible, natural size : a, rostrum ; b, notch ; ab, cutting 



edge of rostrum ; c, inner end of ala; d, mentum, or chin ; e, 



gular lamina. 

 Fig. 3. Both jaws in position (closed) and surrounded by the inner buccal 



membrane. Natural size. 

 Fig. 4. One line of teeth from the odontophore, enlarged : a, median ; 



b, sub-median ; c, sub-lateral ; d, lateral. 



Art. VII. — Note on the Female of Anas boschas assuming the 



Plumage of the Male. 



By Taylor White. 



[Read bejore the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute, 14th November, 1887.] 



Some eight years ago I made a present of a drake and two 

 ducks, bred by myself from tame English Wild Duck, or Coloured 

 Call Duck, which I obtained from the Dunedin Acclimatisation 

 Society, to a Mr. Baker. A pair ot the original birds are now 

 in the possession of Mr. Kichard Harding, Waipukurau. Dur- 

 ing January last I noticed the peculiar plumage of the duck. 

 The beak was, as usual, yellow mottled with black, head and 

 neck grey brown, as customary. The rest of the bird was 

 coloured as a mallard in winter plumage, although the colouring 

 might be a trifle more pronounced ; curled tail-feathers absent ; 

 voice normal. Her mate, the mallard, was in the usual dull 

 plumage which they assume in the summer, without the green 

 head or curled tail-feathers, and to a casual observer would have 

 been picked for the female of the pair. Mr. Harding writes me, 

 August 23rd : " The English duck has still the plumage and all 

 the appearance of the drake, but I fancy I have noticed a slight 

 change this last day or two, a few grey feathers showing about 

 the head. She has not nested for the two previous years." 

 This would make it appear she had the head green during 

 the winter months. 



