GOLDEN EYE. 271 



the feathers on the occiput a little elongated ; chin and throat 

 black ; lower part of neck all round white ; middle line of 

 the back and the rump bluish-black ; tail-feathers greyish- 

 black ; point of wing black ; both sets of wing-coverts black 

 at the base, white at the end ; primaries and tertials black ; 

 secondaries and 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. The whole length nineteen inches ; from 

 the carpal joint to the end of the wing nine inches ; the first 

 quill-feather the longest in the wing. 



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 ; secondaries 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 six 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 conspicuous ; the scapulars 

 exhibit some white lines ; the back is darker, almost black ; 

 and the bird 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 examina- 

 tions of the internal parts, particularly the organ of voice, 

 has proved it to be the young of the bird first described. I 

 have seen young males putting forth a few small white fea- 

 thers, the commencement of the white patch at the base of 



