AMERICAN GOLDEN-YE 



261 



FIG. 48. - Wind- 



ochre or yellow ochre, dusky along cutting edge, with some 

 dusky blotches on basal part); eye, paler yellow than in male. 

 Body. Chest, foreback, scapulars and sides, ashy or brownish 

 grey, feathers edged with whitish; back, sooty black, feathers 

 tipped with ashy; rump, sooty black; breast, white; belly, greyish; 

 feet, same as those of male but paler. Tail and upper coverts, 

 greyish to greyish brown, the latter tipped with ashy; under 

 coverts, whitish, marked with dusky. Wings. Coverts, pattern 

 variable but in full plumage, forward lesser coverts, grey, 

 tipped with whitish, rear ones, white; middle coverts, grey, 

 tipped with white; outer greater coverts, blackish, central ones, 

 white, blackish basally and usually at tips, inner ones blackish; 

 primaries, brownish black, darker on outer webs and at tips; 

 secondaries, outer one greyish black, middle ones white, inner 

 ones and tertials, blackish; lining and axillars, dark greyish 

 black. 



JUVENILE. In early autumn the sexes are similar and 

 closely resembles the adult female; young male is much larger 

 pipes of male than youn g f ema i e s, the head is darker and more mottled with 

 n - eyes, dusky; ft has less grey on breast and a suggestion of the white 

 (* e I*) face-patch is evident. Very slow progress towards maturity 

 enlargement in is made) an( j even by S p r i n g young male still resembles adult 

 it of the Amer- f ema j e gy se cond autumn, after the summer moult, the sexes 

 icon species, lack- dosely approach adult plumage but this is not fully achieved 

 in ^t hat of until during second winter. Wing of Male. As in adult fe- 

 Barroiu's (right) malCj bu( . [esser coverts dusky, edged with light grey; some 

 middle coverts, white, with grey shafts, others dusky, 

 with white tips; greater coverts, black, the central ones 

 broadly tipped with white; three outer secondaries, 

 dusky, next one tipped with white, others white; 

 primaries, dusky; tertials, black. Wing of Female. 

 As in adult female, but middle coverts, greyish, dusky 

 basally; greater coverts, generally lack black tips usually 

 present on adult female. 



SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION 



MALE. WINTER PLUMAGE: General effect: A medium- 

 sized duck, with black head and back, and white body. 

 Chief distinguishing features (a) hind toe with lobe, 

 (b) greenish-black head, with round, white spot be- 

 tween eye and base of bill. 



The round, white face-patch will separate the 

 male from any other species. This Golden-eye close- 

 ly resembles Barrow's Golden-eye but is easily dis- 

 tinguished from that species by the fact that the 

 similarly-located white spot is crescent-shaped in Bar- 

 row's instead of round. In the present species the 



FIR. 49. - (A) Skull of 



head is glossed with green and" in Barrow's with Barrow's. (B) Skull of 

 purple. The bill is larger and less pointed than that the American. (C) Bill of 

 of Barrow's. In the American species both the adult Barrow's. (D) Bill of the 



American. 



