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point of the wing ; the small wing-coverts and scapulars 

 white, the latter edged with black ; great coverts and se- 

 condaries black, tipped with white, forming two narrow 

 white bands ; the primaries nearly black ; tertials ash-grey 

 passing to lead-grey, the inner feathers being the darkest 

 in colour ; all the under surface of the body pure white ; 

 the sides under the wing and the flanks barred with nar- 

 row ash-grey lines ; legs, toes, and their membranes bluish 

 and lead-grey. The whole length seventeen inches and a 

 half; the wing from the carpal joint to the end of the 

 longest quill-feather, seven inches and three-quarters. 



An adult male, belonging to the Ornithological Society 

 of London, which has lived more than two years on the 

 canal in St. James's Park, assumes the colours of the 

 plumage of the adult female before the middle of June, 

 remaining in that state during the summer, re-assuming 

 his white plumage at the regular autumn moult. This 

 bird associates constantly with a female Golden Eye, but 

 not with any other species. 



Adult females have the bill and the irides of the same 

 colours as those of the males, with a black patch at the 

 base of the upper mandible ; all the top of the head reddish- 

 brown ; down the back of the neck a streak of ash-grey, 

 which extends to form a collar at the bottom, and spreads 

 thence over the space before the wings and on the upper 

 part of the back ; centre of the back, the rump, upper 

 tail-coverts, and tail-feathers greyish-black ; point of the 

 wing ash-grey ; smaller wing-coverts pure white ; greater 

 coverts and secondaries black, tipped with white as in the 

 male, but the two white bands are narrower than those 

 of the male ; primaries nearly black ; tertials lead-grey ; 

 chin, throat, and all the under surface of the body pure 

 white ; legs, toes, and their membranes lead-grey. 



