542 BRITISH BIRDS. 



shoulder, where they are brown vermiculated with white ; the alar speculum 

 is glossy green, broadly emphasized on each side with black. The upper 

 breast is chestnut-grey, the under tail-coverts are black, and the rest of the 

 underparts are pure white, vermiculated with dark grey on the flanks. Bill 

 slate-grey, black at the tip ; legs and feet greyish blue, darker on the webs ; 

 irides hazel. The adult female Wigeon is much greyer in colour than the 

 female of most of the Ducks, and the pale margins to the feathers are very 

 obscure except on the upper tail- and wing-coverts, where they are narrow 

 but clearly denned and pure white. On the head, neck, upper breast, and 

 scapulars the pale margins are much broader and huffish brown, the lower 

 breast and belly are pure white, the flanks brownish buff, and the under 

 tail-coverts white barred with dark brown ; the speculum is greyish brown 

 without any gloss. Young in first plumage do not conspicuously differ 

 from the adult female ; but the males may always be recognized by the 

 metallic-green alar speculum, and the females by the grey and white of the 

 upper parts being replaced by brown and buff. Males in first nuptial dress 

 have very little black on the chin and throat, but the forehead and sides of 

 the head are spotted with black, and many of the feathers on the upper 

 breast are barred with brownish black. Adult males in moulting-plumage 

 are more brilliantly coloured than usual, the principal difference being that 

 the black and white vermiculated upper parts are changed to dark brown 

 barred with chestnut and huffish white, which is also the colour of the 

 upper breast, whilst the flanks are nearly uniform chestnut. Young in 

 down are almost uniform brown on the upper parts, with less distinct 

 pale spots than are usually found in this genus; on the underparts they 

 are very buff, approaching chestnut on the throat, but the dark stripe 

 through the eye, so conspicuous in the young in down of the Mallard, is 

 absent. 



