The True Ducks. 179 



lower plumage is creamy or fulvous white ; 

 the breast thickly spotted with black ; the 

 sides of the body beautifully vermiculated 

 with black ; the under tail-coverts black 

 with a creamy buff patch on each side. 

 The under wing-coverts are brown, mar- 

 gined with white, and with a white patch 

 in the middle ; the axillaries are white 

 with brownish shafts and tips. The 

 upper wing-coverts are brown, the larger 

 series broadly tipped with white, which is 

 tinged with buff as the band approaches 

 the body. The primaries are drab on the 

 shafts and the inner webs ; brown on the 

 outer webs and the tips of the inner. 

 The first secondary is brown, tipped with 

 white. The following shorter secondaries 

 are black on the outer web, the base more 

 or less metallic green. The succeeding 

 three or four secondaries are metallic 

 green on the outer web. The quill imme- 

 diately next the green speculum has the 

 inner half of the outer web brown, the 

 outer half black narrowly edged with buff. 

 The inner and longer secondaries are 

 brown with black shafts. The metallic 

 portion of the speculum is greer- in some 

 lights, purplish-blue in others. 



The adult female has the crown and 

 the forehead dull rufous streaked with 



