( 1=^7 ) 



FURTHER NOTES ON THE MOULTS AND 



SEQUENCE OF PLUMAGES IN SOME 



BRITISH DUCKS. 



BY 



F. W. SMALLEY. 



I HAVE read Miss Jackson's article on the above subject 

 {antea, pp. 34-42) with much interest, mingled Avith a 

 certain amount of disappointment in that the authoress 

 has not been able to enter more fully into this interesting 

 matter. I hunger for more detail, and I hope at no very 

 distant date to read a very full and accurate discourse 

 on the moults of the several species of our British Dvicks, 

 for a more fascinating subject of research is difficult to 

 find. Perhaps I may be allowed to enlarge upon the 

 present paper and to give my own views on the matter, 

 so far as they go. 



Firstly, then, as Miss Jackson says, lack of material 

 must be her present excuse for giving so general a paper. 

 This " lack of material " is ever a source of trouble to 

 anyone trying to work out the sequence of moults in 

 any given species, and so perhaps the additional notes 

 which I append, taken from material in my own collection, 

 may tend to help. 



Before proceeding I should like to state that I agree, 

 on the whole, with everything Miss Jackson has written. 

 We may differ, as will be seen further on, in certain 

 details, but I agree on the whole. For example, I entirely 

 agree with Miss Jackson over *' colour-change not being 

 due to re-pigmentation." I consider Mr. Millais wrong 

 in supposing any change can take place in the feather 

 due to ■' re -colouring," although I have, in my collection, 

 certain birds which would at once be gladly seized upon 

 by " colour-change " advocates as clear proof of their 

 theory, but when examined carefully the apparent 

 " colour-change " can only be attributed to direct moult. 



With regard to a " spring moult " in female ducks, 

 this, though perhaps previously unrecorded, has been 



