LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN WILD FOWL 113 



The plumage changes are parallel, and yet the two species can be 

 easily recognied at any age in both sexes. In the brown stage, 

 during the first fall and early winter, the young male king eider is 

 much darker above and the shape of the bill and its feathered bor- 

 ders are distinctive. During the late winter and early spring the 

 back, scapulars, and flanks become nearly black; the crown and neck 

 become darker brown; a variable amount of white appears in the 

 chest, each feather tipped with dusky; and some Avhite, dusky- 

 bordered feathers appear in the rump patches. Some forward- birds 

 show considerable white on the neck and throat, with a suggestion 

 of the black V during the first spring. The under parts remain 

 dull mottled brown and the immature wings, with dusky, light- 

 edged coverts, are retained until the complete summer molt. 



This molt involves the first eclipse plumage, which does not en- 

 tirely disappear until November. The young bird is then in its 

 second winter plumage, which is similar to the adult winter plumage, 

 l)ut duller and less complete. This plumage can be easily recognized, 

 however, by the wing; in the adult male the lesser wnng-coverts, 

 except for a dusky border around the bend of the W'ing, and the 

 median wing-coverts are pure white; but in the second-wunter male 

 these w liite feathers are more or less margined or shaded with duslrv\ 

 At the next summer molt these wings are shed and the young male 

 becomes adult as soon as the second eclipse plumage disappears in 

 the fall, when about 28' months old. 



The eclipse plumage of the adult male king eider is very similar 

 in appearance, extent, and duration to that of the common eider; 

 it begins to appear early in July or even in June, with the growth of 

 dull-brown feathers in the head and neck; dark-brown or blackish 

 feathers in the white area of the back, and buffy brown feathers 

 barred wath dusky on the breast. The brilliant colors of the head, 

 including the black V, disappear entirely; the white rump spots are 

 nearly or quite obliterated; there is very little white left in the 

 back; and the butf breast shield is nearly concealed by the barred 

 feathers. In this plumage, which is complete in August, the wings 

 and the rest of the plumage are molted. The adult winter plumage 

 is completely renewed again by the end of November. 



The plumage changes of the female king eider are similar to those 

 of the common eider. This species can always be easily recognized 

 by its smaller size, smaller head and bill, and by the pattern of the 

 feathering at the base of the bill, the central feathered point ex- 

 tending down to the nostrils. The colors of young females are 

 always duller, particularly on the under parts. Adults are richer 

 brown in winter and paler in summer or spring, owing to the wear 



