HOODED MEKGANSEK 161 



tail, dark brown ; wing-coverts, chiefly black, barred 

 with white; elongated and decurved scapulars, and inner 

 secondaries, white, edged with black ; lower neck and upper 

 breast, white, interrupted by two black crescents ; abdomen 

 and under tail-coverts, white ; flanks, tinged with light brown. 



Adult male, post nuptial or eclipse. 1 It would appear 

 that the adult male of this species (like other Mergansers) 

 assumes a plumage in late summer which approaches that 

 of the female. 



Adult female nuptial. The head-crest, which is longer 

 and more drooping than that of the male, is of a reddish- 

 brown colour ; head, back of neck, back, and wings, brown ; 

 chin, white ; front of neck, light brown ; breast and ab- 

 domen, white. 



Adult winter, male and female. Similar to the respec- 

 tive nuptial plumages. 



Immature, male and female. Resembles the female 

 plumage, but the crest is very rudimentary or wanting. 



BEAK. Black 



FEET. Dull red. 



IRIDES. Bright yellow. 



EGG. Ivory white : clutch, five to eight. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 19 in. 



WING 7-75 



BEAK 1'5 ,, 



TARSO-METATARSUS ... ... 1*5 ,, 



EGG ... 2-1 x 1-75 in. 



1 Note. It seems highly probable that the adult males of all the 

 Palaearctic and Nearctic Ducks which differ in plumage from the females, 

 assume in late summer, and usually for a short period, an eclipse dress. 

 It would appear that in this garb several species are overlooked. The 

 reader is referred to an interesting article in the * Avicultural Magazine,' 

 1906, pp. 259 et seq., where Mr. Finn maintains that the Ferruginous 

 Duck assumes no eclipse plumage ; on the other hand, in the Bulletin of 

 the Brit. Ornith. Club, vol. xvi, p. 80, a reference is made to Naumann's 

 Naturgesch. Vog. Mitteleuropas, pi. x, fig. 4, and pi. xiv, fig. 1, where the 

 eclipse plumage of Ferruginous Duck is figured. 



Mr. J. Lewis Bonhote has recently described an intermediate plumage 

 of the Shoveler (Bull. B.O.C., vol. xvi, p. 64), and, in detail, the eclipse 

 plumage of the Smew (Avicult. Mag., 1905, p. 122). 



In Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., xxvii, p. 408, the eclipse plumage of the 

 Velvet Scoter is described, but of the Common Scoter it is stated "males 

 in moulting dress are unknown." p. 403 (Salvadori). 

 11 



