The Mergansers. 421 



of the feathers tipped with dusky. The 

 back and the upper part of the rump are 

 deep black. A narrow, crescentic black 

 band springs from the upper back, and 

 passes along the side of the breast. Many 

 of the feathers at the shoulders are white 

 with l)road black tips, and some of these 

 are concealed by the folded wings. The 

 lower part of the rump and the upper 

 tail-coverts are deep ashy with darker 

 shafts. The tail is greyish brown. The 

 inner scapulars are chiefly white, the 

 outer, ashy brown. The lesser upper 

 wing-coverts, near the edge of the wing 

 and next the scapulars, are black, edged 

 with whitish. The middle series of 

 coverts is pure white. The large coverts, 

 or third series, are black with narrow 

 white tips. The inner webs of the 

 primaries are drab, the tips and all the 

 outer webs black. All the short second- 

 aries are black, tipped with white. The 

 first long secondary has the outer web 

 white margined with black ; the remaining 

 secondaries are ashy grey. 



The drake in post-nuptial plumage 

 closely resembles the female, but may 

 be recognised by the black-tipped feathers 

 on the shoulders and sides of the breast. 



The adult female has a large blackish 



