VOl i{K)? IV ] Bigelow, Hybrids between Mallard and other Ducks. 387 



on the sides as the eyes, is chocolate brown, the feathers having 

 dark centers which gives a peculiar spotted appearance. This 

 color is somewhat like the crowns of immature Mallard drakes, 

 but does not occur in the Baldpate. The postocular regions on 

 either side are Mallard green; and these stripes join at the back 

 of the head, and extend down the sides of neck for about .5 inch. 

 There is a stripe of Mallard green, mixed with brown and buffy 

 feathers, about .3 in. broad running from the eye down to the 

 throat. The sides of the head, posterior to this stripe and below 

 the postocular patch, are cream-colored with a few black and 

 green feathers, as in the adult male Baldpate. The remainder of 

 the head, throat, and fore neck are pale yellowish brown or buffy, 

 thickly spotted with green feathers. There is no white collar; 

 but the breast is of the characteristic Mallard chestnut, a color 

 totally distinct from the salmon tint of the corresponding region 

 of the Baldpate. 



The band is about 3 inches broad and passes posteriorly into 

 Avhite. The belly is white, washed with pale reddish, a character 

 appearing at times in various of the river ducks, and probably due 

 to external causes. 



From the anus posteriorly, glossy black, as are the lower tail 

 coverts. The sides are gray, washed with pale reddish, and with 

 darker vermiculations. The flanks are white. Thus the color 

 pattern of the sides and belly agrees with that of the Baldpate 

 parent, while the color of the sides is intermediate between the two 

 species. 



The median region of the back is gray as in the Mallard. But 

 the shoulders and scapulars are distinctly tinged with salmon 

 color, a Baldpate character. The rump is very dark, with greenish 

 gloss. The upper tail coverts are light gray, much lighter than 

 in the Mallard, many of the feathers being edged with dirty white. 

 Unfortunately this region is so badly shot that it is impossible to 

 tell whether any of the coverts were curly. The two middle tail 

 feathers are pointed, and longer than the others, as in the Baldpate. 



The scapulars are strongly vermiculated ; the inner tertials are 

 plain, as in the Mallard, but the outer ones have the outer half 

 black, with a narrow white margin, as in the Baldpate. The 

 speculum is of the purple tint characteristic of the Mallard; with 



