THE WIDGEON 299 



coverts, the last becoming pure white. The 

 speculum is bright metallic green set in a frame 

 of black. Bill narrow, pale slatey blue, with a 

 dusky tip and black nail; feet and legs of the 

 same dull blue color but somewhat darker than 

 bill, the webs and claws blackish. Iris brown. 



The female is not so brilliantly dressed, for, 

 as usual among the feathered tribes, the male 

 bird wears the good clothes and "puts on the 

 style " for the family. Still, the female Wid- 

 geon is rather better dressed than the average 

 of her lady acquaintances. She lacks the white 

 area on the crown, the dusky streaks being car- 

 ried all over her head, and the reddish brown of 

 her neck and breast is broken up with heavier 

 black bars. The back is mottled with reddish 

 and dark brown, the red mainly on the tips and 

 edges of the feathers. The wing is much as in 

 the male though the coverts are darker and 

 grayer in tone. The speculum as in the male 

 bird. At different seasons and ages this bird 

 varies in its plumage but will probably be known 

 at once in any stage of its development by its 

 wing characters or the slightly lengthened tail 

 feathers. 



