184 RIVER AND POND DUCKS 



completed, and the dark chest-feathers of the eclipse plumage give place to the 

 plain purplish-pink of the full winter dress; the vermiculated feathers appear on the 

 sides, and by early December most birds have completed the moult. Considerable 

 variation may be expected in the sequence of the plumage changes. 



ADULT FEMALE. Head, whitish to creamy, streaked with dusky, darker be- 

 hind eye and on back of head; neck, spotted or barred with dusky; bill and eye, 

 same as in male. Body. Back, rump and scapulars, greyish brown, feathers edged 

 with yellowish brown and greyish, scapulars, edged and barred with yellowish 

 brown, longest one tipped with white; chest, yellowish to reddish brown, suffused 

 with greyish brown; sides, yellowish to reddish brown, tipped with paler; breast 

 and belly, white; feet, same as those of male; Tail, pointed, greyish brown, edged 

 narrowly with whitish; upper coverts, brown, tipped with whitish, outer ones 

 barred with whitish; under coverts, white, barred with brownish. Wings. Lesser 

 and middle coverts, brownish grey, tipped with whitish; greater coverts, tipped 

 with blackish then sometimes narrowly with white; primaries, dusky brown, lighter 

 on inner webs; secondaries, with black speculum, sometimes with glossy green spot 

 on upper and inner corner, occasionally extending half-way across speculum, outer 

 feathers greyish, all slightly tipped with white, sometimes margined and slightly 

 speckled with whitish, speculum bordered inwardly with greyish white; tertials, 

 dusky brown, slightly glossed with bronzy, outer webs, dusky brown to blackish, 

 and margined with white; lining, pale ashy grey; axillars, white. 



JUVENILE. By August both sexes are similar to adult female except feath- 

 ers of scapulars are less margined with yellowish brown; in young males the ver- 

 miculated side-feathers appear in September and at once distinguish the sex. From 

 September the feathers of back of young male begin to be replaced by the vermi- 

 culated pinkish-brown feathers, and the brownish colour of chest gives place to 

 the purplish-pink colour of that of the adult. By December or January the plu- 

 mage of young male closely resembles that of adult. Full adult plumage by second 

 autumn. Wing of Male. As in adult male but lesser and middle coverts, buffy, 

 clouded with dusky and with dark shafts; tertials are browner, and have very 

 narrow whitish edgings, and lack gloss of those of the adult female (In most cases, 

 but not all, the immature wing-coverts are retained until after the first post- 

 nuptial moult.) Wing of Female. As in adult female but greater coverts are dusky, 

 with only a thin bar of whitish near tips; lesser and middle coverts, darker! 



browner, with narrow edgings; secondaries, on inner 

 border of speculum, darker grey than in adult female. 



SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION 



MALE. WINTER PLUMAGE: General effect: A 

 medium-sized duck, with purplish-pink body, white 

 breast and black hindquarters. Chief distinguishing 

 features (a) hind toe without lobe, (b) head, with 

 white crown and green patch on face and hind- 

 41. Above, mottled head, (c) underwing-lining, pale grey, not mottled, 

 axillars of the European and axillars white or only sparsely flecked with grey 

 Widgeon. Below, axillars (fig. 41), (d) bill, much shorter than head, greyish 

 of the Baldpate, without blue, with tip, extreme base and lower mandible, 

 mottling. black. 



