LONG-TAILED DUCK 135 



American Continents, extending to Japan in the East, and 

 the United States in the West. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Top of head and neck, 

 pure white ; cheeks, delicate light grey, below each of which 

 is a dusky brown patch extending to the side of the neck ; 

 entire back, blackish ; scapulars white, most of them 

 elongated, pointed, and drooping ; inner secondaries, white ; 

 breast, wing-coverts, and primaries, brownish-black ; ab- 

 domen and flanks, pure white ; long central tail-feathers, 

 black ; outer and shorter ones, white. 



Adult male, post-nuptial or eclipse. This plumage is 

 assumed about the end of May. The beautiful white of the 

 head and neck is replaced to a great extent by dark brown, 

 but the cheeks retain a light buff and a very impure shading 

 of white ; the back is brownish and the scapulars and inner 

 secondaries are black with reddish-brown edges. 



Adult female nuptial. Top of head, back, and wings, 

 brown ; neck and stripe at the back of the eye, white ; 

 cheeks, throat, and upper breast, light brown ; abdomen, 

 white ; central tail-feathers short. 



Adult winter, male and female. Similar to the respective 

 nuptial plumages, though the male usually exhibits more 

 white about the head. 



Immature, male and female. Closely resembles the 

 female plumage. 



BEAK. Base and tip, black, middle portion of upper 

 segment, rose-colour. 



FEET. Dull slate-colour ; webs, dusky. 



IRIDES. Keddish. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH ... 22 to 26 in., including the 



long central tail-feathers. 1 



WING 8-8 in. 



BEAK 1 ,, 



TARSO-METATARSUS ... 1*25 ,, 



EGG 2-1 x 1-45 in. 



1 I have found that the long central tail-feathers, in a fully-matured 

 male, average 8'5 inches in length. 



