440 anatidj:. 



elongated ; cliiu and throat black ; lower part of the neck 

 all round white ; middle line of the back and the rump 

 bluish-black ; tail-feathers greyish-black ; point of ^Yiug 

 black ; both sets of wing-coverts black at the base, white at 

 the end ; primaries and inner secondaries black ; the rest of 

 the secondaries and the scapulars white, the latter edged 

 with black ; breast, belly, and under tail-coverts white ; 

 flanks and thighs dull greyish-black ; legs and toes yellow, 

 the connecting membranes black. In summer, after the 

 female has begun to sit, the male assumes a plumage very 

 similar to hers, but there is generally a little white showing 

 at the base of the bill, and the wing-coverts remain white. 

 The whole length nineteen inches ; from the carpal joint to 

 the end of the wing nine inches. 



The female is smaller than the male, and has the bill 

 brownish-black at the base, orange-brown towards the point : 

 the head, and upper part of the neck all round, hair-brown, 

 below this a broad collar of white ; lower part of neck, 

 back, rump, and tail-feathers greyish-black, edged with 

 bluish-grey ; smaller wing-coverts edged with white ; secon- 

 daries and greater coverts white ; primaries dusky ; breast 

 and belly greyish-white ; sides, flanks, and under tail-coverts 

 mottled with greyish-black ; legs, toes, and their membranes 

 as in the males. 



Young birds, for the first few months, resemble the 

 female, but young males beginning to assume their proper 

 colours, have the brown of the head darker ; the occipital 

 feathers slightly elongated, causing the head to appear 

 bushy and large ; the white colour on the wings occupies 

 more surface, and being purer in its tint, is more conspicu- 

 ous ; the scapulars exhibit some white lines ; the back is 

 darker, almost black ; and the male is altogether larger in 

 size. In this state it has been called the Morillon, and was 

 considered, for a time, a species distinct from the Golden- 

 eye, but repeated examinations of the internal parts, par- 

 ticularly the organ of voice, have proved it to be the young. 

 Young males show the commencement of the white patch 

 at the base of the upper mandible by the end of December, 



