EUROPEAN WIDGEON 181 



chest and sides, buffy brown, with faint reddish tinge, faintly marked with dusky; 

 breast and belly, white; feet, same as those of male. Tail, brownish grey, feathers 

 edged with whitish or buffy; upper coverts, like tail; under coverts, white barred 

 with dusky brown. Wings. All coverts, dusky grey or brown, with whitish tips, 

 the greater, margined with white and tipped with black and then white; pri- 

 maries, dusky brown; secondaries, with dull, dark speculum, usually with small 

 green patch; bordered inwardly with whitish and behind narrowly with white; 

 tertials, brown, margined with whitish; lining and axillars, pale greyish, mottled with 

 dusky. 



JUVENILE. Some as that of Baldpate, but general tone of head and neck pinkish 

 buff or cinnamon instead of creamy white. Wing of Male. As in adult male but lesser 

 and middle coverts, ash brown, cluoded with grey (white in adult) and with 

 dark shafts (very distinct from white-edged coverts of adult female which young 

 male otherwise closely resembles in autumn); tertials, duller and shorter. Wing of 

 Female. As in adult female but speculum usually duller, often being dusky, clouded 



and mottled with grey; inner secondary, bordering on 

 speculum, darker grey; lesser and middle coverts, less 

 broadly edged with white; greater coverts, greyer. Wing 

 of Both Sexes. Lining and axillars, speckled as in 

 adults (a good feature to distinguish from adult female 

 and juvenile of Baldpate). 



SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION 



MALE. WINTER PLUMAGE: General effect: A medium-sized, white-breasted grey 

 duck, with red head and neck, and creamy crown. Chief distinguishing features 

 (a) hind toe without lobe, (b) creamy crown, on red head, (c) underwing sur- 

 face, ashy, mottled with grey. 



The Baldpate is somewhat similar but its underwing lining is not mottled 

 (fig. 41), and it has a white crown and green face-patch. The Gadwall has a 

 white speculum, yellow feet and chestnut wing-patch. 



AUTUMN AND JUVENILE PLUMAGE: See "Descriptions." 



FEMALE. General effect: A medium-sized, brownish duck, with a white breast. 

 Chief features (a) hind toe without lobe, (b) dull, dark speculum, usually with 

 green gloss, bordered inwardly with whitish, (c) blue-grey feet, (d) underwing sur- 

 face, mottled with grey, and axillars speckled. 



The other white-breasted, brown ducks of this subfamily are the female Baldpate, 

 in which the underwing surface is not mottled (fig. 41), and the female Gadwall,' 

 which has a white speculum and yellow feet. The resemblance to the female 

 Pintail is superficial; the specula of the two species are quite distinct. 



FIELD MARKS 



ON THE WATER OR IN FLIGHT. 



The field marks of this species are simi- 

 lar to those of the Baldpate. The male 

 can be separated in the field from the 

 male Baldpate, by its much darker head 

 and creamy instead of shiny, white 

 crown; the body colour is decidedly paler 

 throughout. Females of the two species 

 are difficult to separate, but in flight the 

 female Baldpate shows more white be- 

 low, due to whiter wing-linings. See Bald- 

 pate. 



