RING-NECKED DUCK 



237 



FIG. 44. 

 Bill of Ring-necked Duck 



edges often narrowly white; two narrow bluish- 

 white rings on bill, one at base and one near tip; 

 bill, up-curved, shorter than head, about twice as 

 long as wide; eye, orange yellow. Body. Chest, back 

 and rump, black; scapulars, black, glossed with 

 green; breast, white, merging into brownish black 

 on belly; sides, greyish in effect due to fine, dusky 

 and white vermiculations; with folded wing, white 

 of breast appears to form a white crescent in front 

 of wing; feet, greyish blue to light buffy grey, 

 webs blackish. Tail, slaty brown, upper and under 

 coverts, black. Wings. All coverts, greyish brown, 

 glossed with green; primaries, dusky brown, darker 

 at tips; secondaries, with pearl-grey speculum some- 

 times narrowly bordered behind with dusky and 

 white; tertials, outer webs, greenish black, inner 

 webs, greyish; lining, white and grey; axillars, 

 white. 



ECLIPSE PLUMAGE: The moult into eclipse starts in July or August and is 

 at its height in September. The eclipse plumage, in general, resembles that of 

 the female, but is darker. The full-plumaged wing is renewed. 



AUTUMN PLUMAGE: From the eclipse plumage, in which it resembles the 

 female, the adult male in early autumn commences a moult into the winter 

 plumage. The wing is as in winter plumage. In early stages the male is recog- 

 nizable by the considerable amount of black on the head, though this is still 

 mixed with brown on cheeks, throat and neck; black feathers are becoming more 

 numerous on back and scapulars; the chest is taking on the black plumage of 

 winter but the feathers are tipped with white, producing a mottled appearance; 

 some vermiculated winter-feathers may be seen on the sides. By early Novem- 

 ber almost full winter plumage has been attained, with only a few white feather- 

 tips remaining in the chest and some brown feathers on the flanks. 



ADULT FEMALE. Head, greyish brown, darker on crown; cheeks, lighter 

 brown; chin, throat, and area around base of bill, mottled whitish, throat some- 

 times clear creamy white (whitish area around base of bill less clearly defined 

 than in female Scaups); hindneck, reddish brown; foreneck, mottled greyish brown; 

 whitish ring around eye, and pale line behind eye (which may be indistinct); 

 bill, same as that of male; eye, brown to yellowish brown. Body. Back, reddish 

 brown, to dusky brown on lower back and rump; scapulars, reddish or dusky 

 brown, longer ones dusky with greenish gloss; chest and sides, brown, feathers 

 edged with buffy and white, giving mottled effect; breast, white, mottled with 

 brownish grey and shading into dusky brown on belly; feet, same as those of 

 male. Tail, dark sooty brown; upper coverts, blackish brown; under coverts, brown, 

 with longer feathers whitish, freckled with brown. Wings. All coverts, brownish 

 grey; primaries, dusky, darker at tips; secondaries, with pearl-grey speculum, bor- 

 dered behind with dusky and white; tertails, brown; lining and axillars as in male. 



JUVENILE. In early autumn sexes are alike and similar to adult female 

 but darker on upper parts; white tips to breast-feathers narrower, breast more 

 mottled in appearance. Young male has chest-feathers, dusky black, edged with 

 buffy, while in adult and young females these are brown, edged with buffy. Dur- 

 ing September and October sexes differentiate rapidly; new black feathers pro- 

 gressively replace the brown feathers on head, neck f back and scapulars of young 



