ANATIDA. A485 
head and neck becoming the same colour, brown, 
slightly speckled with black; the feathers on the 
back and scapulars are black, with pale margins, 
those on the flanks spotted black and pale grey, the 
black spots being in the centres of the feathers; the 
beak does not change its colour.* The bird in my 
pond is now (the end of September) just beginning 
to recover its ordinary plumage. ‘The female has 
the head reddish brown; the neck paler brown, 
both speckled with very dark brown; the upper 
surface dark brown, nearly black, each feather 
margined with pale brown; there are no elongated 
tail-feathers, as in the male; the tail-feathers are 
dark brown, varied with pale brown. 
The egg, as figured by Meyer, is a pale bluish 
green, something like that of the Wild Duck, but 
paler, and about the same size. 
Witp Duck, Anas Boschas. The Wild Duck is 
common throughout the greater part of the county 
during the winter, in such situations as suit its 
habits, and in certain localities a few may remain to 
breed—probably if undisturbed more would do so: 
as it is, the greater number depart in the spring. 
Mr. Darwint seems to think, and probably rightly, 
that all our various breeds of tame Ducks are 
* Mr. Bidgood has now a Pintail in his collection, just in 
this state of plumage, shot in the marsh this autumn (1868). 
+ ‘Animals and Plants under Domestication,’ vol. i. 
2T 3 
