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head and neck becoming the same colour, brown, 

 slightly speckled with black; the feathers on the 

 back and scapulars are black, with pale margins, 

 those on the flanks spotted black and pale grey, the 

 black spots being in the centres of the feathers ; the 

 beak does not change its colour.* The bird in rny 

 pond is now (the end of September) just beginning 

 to recover its ordinary plumage. The female has 

 the head reddish brown; the neck paler brown, 

 both speckled with very dark brown; the upper 

 surface dark brown, nearly black, each feather 

 margined with pale brown ; there are no elongated 

 tail-feathers, as in the male; the tail-feathers are 

 dark brown, varied with pale brown. 



The egg, as figured by Meyer, is a pale bluish 

 green, something like that of the Wild Duck, but 

 paler, and about the same size. 



WILD DUCK, Anas Boschas. The Wild Duck is 

 common throughout the greater part of the county 

 during the winter, in such situations as suit its 

 habits, and in certain localities a few may remain to 

 breed probably if undisturbed more would do so : 

 as it is, the greater number depart in the spring. 

 Mr. Darwin f seems to think, and probably rightly, 

 that all our various breeds of tame Ducks are 



* Mr. Bidgood has now a Pintail in his collection, just in 

 this state of plumage, shot in the marsh this autumn (1RC8). 

 j 'Animals and Plants under Domestication,' vol. i. 



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