o2 WIGEON. 
with rufous, and freckled with grey; under tail coverts, black, 
glossed with green, and edged with white. Legs and toes, 
dusky bluish, or greenish grey—the hind toe has a rudimental 
web; claws and webs, dusky bluish grey, the middle of the 
web darker. 
The mottled plumage of summer, which is begun to be 
assumed by the male bird as soon as the female begins to lay. 
and is retained till the end of November or the beginning of 
December, is as follows:—Head, crown, and neck, spotted all 
over with black; breast, reddish brown, with darker bars and 
lines; back, mottled and varied with large bars of reddish brown 
and dusky, and finer waved lines of black and white. Under 
tail coverts, white, with reddish brown bars. 
Female; length, one foot five or six inches. The bill is less 
blue than in the male, and darker bluish grey. Head, crown, 
and neck, speckled with dark dusky brown and pale ferruginous, 
each feather being minutely barred. Breast above, vinous 
brown, below white, or nearly white, and the sides yellowish 
brown, which is often more or less extended over the remainder 
of the under parts. Back on the upper part, dusky greyish 
brown, with narrow bars of ferruginous brown, the centres of 
the feathers being darker than the margins. Lesser wing 
coverts, brown, margined with white. The speculum is black, 
tipped with white. The tertiaries are partially margined with 
white and partly with rufous, the latter next the body. The 
tail is of fourteen feathers; under tail coverts, white, spotted 
with blackish brown. Legs and toes, deep bluish grey. 
The young male of the first year resembles the female. 
