256 PODICEPS CniSTATUS. 



white, but generally soiled to a yelloAvish-'wliite, and covered 

 "vvith dirt in the form of brown streaks and spots. 



Young. — In their first winter the young have no appear- 

 ance of a ruff, and very little of the occipital tufts. The bill 

 is yellowish-green, with the ridge dusky, and the tips paler. 

 The feet are dusky greenish-brown, the inner part of the tar- 

 sus, and the upper surface of the toes lighter. The upper 

 part of the head is greyish-black, tinged with brown, the 

 hind neck more grey. From the bill to the eye is a band of 

 yellowish-grey, which does not extend over the eye ; the 

 cheeks and sides of the neck are pale brownish-grey; the 

 lower parts silvery-white, the sides dusky ; the upper parts 

 blackish-grey, and the wings marked Avith white, as in the 

 adult. 



Progress toward Maturity. — M. Temminck informs 

 us that " the young, up to the age of two years, have no in- 

 dication of crest or ruff; the forehead and face are white ; on 

 these parts, as well as on the upper part of the neck, are 

 bands of a blackish-brown, disposed in all directions, and 

 forming zig-zags ; the iris of a pale yellow ; the bill of a livid 

 reddish tint. At the age of two years and after the moult, 

 both sexes have a very short occipital crest, bordered with 

 white feathers ; the face, which is white, is not shaded into 

 reddish ; a blackish band of irregular form extends from the 

 bill under the eyes, and ends at the occiput." I have never 

 seen individuals agi-eeing with these descriptions, and am in- 

 clined to think that the young acquire their full plumage 

 when two years old. In the state presently to be described, 

 and in which I have frequently found them, I imagine they 

 must be in their second winter, when the crest and ruff are 

 formed, though short, and the latter already tinged with red. 



A male, killed near Stirling, in the middle of December, 

 1838, and examined when fresh, had the occipital crest and 

 the ruff both distinct, the longest feathers in each an inch 

 and two-twelfths long. The upper mandible Avith the ridge 

 dusky, the point and edges horn-colour, and a carmine streak 

 from the base to beyond the nostrils ; the lower mandible 



