BUFFLE-HEAD 273 



Baffle-Head 



Charitonetta albeola 



(Bucephala albeola, of Peters) 



(ka-ri-to-net-a, al-be-o-la; bew-sef-a-la) 



Colour Plates Nos. 18 and 21. Downy Young No. 34. 



SCIENTIFIC NAME 



Charitonetta from Greek, charitos, meaning grace, and netta, meaning a duck; 

 albeola, Latin, diminutive of albus meaning white. Hence a graceful white duck; 

 Bucephala, from Greek, meaning having a broad forehead. 



COLLOQUIAL NAMES 



IN GENERAL USE: Buttcrball. IN LOCAL USE: Bumblebee dipper; butterbowl; butter 

 duck; cock-dipper; dapper; didapper; dipper; dipper duck; diver; dopper; hell- 

 diver; king butterball (the male); marionette (puppet); robin dipper; Scotch dipper; 

 Scotch duck; Scotchman; Scotch teal; shotbag; spirit; spirit dipper; spirit duck; 

 widgeon; woolhead. 



DESCRIPTION 



ADULT MALE. WINTER PLUMAGE: Head and upper neck, black, glossed with 

 purple, violet and green, except for large white patch starting below eye and 

 extending over hind crown; head, markedly crested and puffy; lower neck; white; 

 bill, blue grey, much shorter than head, edge of upper mandible, sometimes pinkish 

 or yellowish, nail, tip and base, sometimes dusky; eye, dark brown. Body. Chest 

 and sides, pure white, with upper feathers of sides narrowly edged with black; 

 back, black, occasionally with a few narrow white feather tips; rump, black 

 centrally, grey on sides; scapulars, inner, black, black, outer, white, edged with 

 black on outer margins; breast and belly, white, usually washed with pale ashy 

 grey; feet, flesh colour, with black claws. Tail, dark grey, usually tipped with 

 whitish, outer feathers usually margined with white; upper and under coverts, 

 pale grey. Wings. All coverts, mainly white, with some dark feathers mostly along 

 forward edge of wing; primaries, black on outer webs, paler on inner; secondaries, 

 white, the outermost blackish; tertials, glossy black; lining and axillars, mottled 

 with dusky and white. 



ECLIPSE PLUMAGE: The male in late summer goes into a partial eclipse plumage, 

 said to resemble that of the American Golden-eye. The full-plumaged wing is 

 renewed. The bright colours of the head are largely lost and the white head- 

 patch becomes somewhat obscured. 



AUTUMH PLUMAGE: From the partial eclipse plumage, the male in autumn com- 

 mences a moult into the full winter plumage. The wing is as in winter plumage. 

 New, iridescent purple or bronze feathers will be found on the head, and black 

 ones on the back; throughout the autumn the amount of new feathers increases 

 as the duller ones of the eclipse are moulted and the white head-patch becomes 

 more distinct. Full winter plumage is completed in the late autumn. Full details 

 of eclipse and autumn plumages in the male Buffle-head are not well known due 

 to lack of specimens. 



ADULT FEMALE. Head and neck, dark greyish brown, darkest on crown; 

 cheek, with white patch behind and below eye; bill, bluish grey to dusky; eye, 



