[Ciru' Vlll, 

 PAHA. 20.] 30 



Moulting:]! i>0. Moulting ami change of colouration in the Ducks 



of ^ Colour- ''^'■^' '""^^^^ remarkable, and the two things require to be 

 tion. (listinguislied from one another. 



Colouration tlepends both on sex and age. Females are 

 generally much duller tlian males. Young males, after pass- 

 ing from the downy stage, assume the plumage of the adult 

 female. They then, subject to what is said about moult 

 below, "commence to assume the plumage of the drake, 

 and resemble him closely by the end of the first winter ; 

 but they do not acquire the mature, brilliant plumage of the 

 perfectly adult drake till about the end of the third year." 



In the matter of the moulting of the Ducks, the fact 

 is to be grasped that, whereas the females of att Ducks 

 and the males of the resident species here dealt with have 

 a single moult only, viz., the usual autumn change, the 

 males of all the migratory species undergo a double moult, 

 i.e., the usual autumn change piws a special post nuptial 

 one. "The males" in fact ''pass through a lengthened 

 operation lasting probably four months As soon as the 

 female has commenced incubation, the drakes retire and 

 flock together in the quietest spots they can find. They 

 there commence a moult of the feathers of the head, neck 

 and body and emerge from this operation in a plumage 

 which very closely resembles that of the female. As soon 

 as this has been accomplished, the drakes moult their 

 quills. They then cast the plumages of the head, neck 

 and body again, and resume their ordinar}' brilliant male 

 plumage." To the above account, which is that of Oates 

 in his Game Birds of India, it is only necessary to add 

 that the resumption is very grarlual, for while he states 

 that "drakes in the plumage of the female, or in post- 

 nuptial plumage are very seldom seen or shot," 



drakes in partial undress are of course to be met with for 

 the greater portion of the early shooting season. " The 

 feathers of the wing," writes Pycraft, " are the first to be 

 renewed, next those of the flanks and under-parts, then 

 those of the lower part of the neck and back, and finally 

 of the head and neck, the new feathers appearing one or 

 two at a time among those of the plumage which is being 

 replaced, not in uniformly affected patches." 



The accompanying photos show the upper and lower 

 sides of a specimen of a male Mallard and a male Wigeon, 

 both shot early in November. The following points should 

 be noted, viz. : — 



Jn the Mallard — the dark green of the head is a 

 mask only and does not cover the whole head and neck 

 as far as the white collar, as in the mature bird. The 

 white collar is indistinct and does not run right round the 

 back of the neck. The back and -under-parts are darker 

 than in the mature specimens. There were no curled 

 feathers in the tail. 



