90



Mr. Frank Finn,



ness of colouration, however, makes great amends, and is well

rendered in Mr. Goodchild’s beautiful drawing.


The females of the two species are very much alike at first

sight, but there are two unfailing methods of distinguishing

them ; in that of our present subject the wing lining is pencilled

black-and-white, and the bill invades the face-feathering at the

sides in a point, while in the Mandarin Duck the wing-lining is

plain drab, and the face-feathering meets the base of the bill

almost in a straight line. Moreover, the Carolina is a heavier

bird and more level in its carriage and lower on its legs than the

Mandarin as a rule, although one of the latter species I had this

spring distinctly resembled the former species in this respect.

She also usually shows a strong gloss of green and purple on the

upper surface, which is lacking in the Mandarin Duck, and has a

wider white eye-ring. Both the white on the face and the gloss

on the plumage increase with age, and the former may so extend

as to meet above the bill.


The Carolina Drake in undress does not resemble his Duck

by any means as closely as the Mandarin, which, except for

retaining his orange feet and usually more or less of the pink on

his bill, is almost indistinguishable from her. He loses his

crest, it is true, but still retains his white throat-marking, and

shows a clear grey tint on the sides of the face, so that he is

always readily distinguishable. Young Drakes wear this undress

plumage as soon as they fledge, and so can be distinguished at

once. The fact is a remarkable one, and together with what I

have observed in other species, leads me to believe that the

“undress” plumage of modern Drakes represents what was

probably the full-dress of their less highly-evolved ancestors.


This plumage of the Carolina Drake appears to be very

little known ; Miss Hubbard mentions it in her valuable book on

Ornamental Waterfowl, but does not mention it as appertaining

to the young Drake, and I only observed it recently in three

young birds bred in the L,ondou Zoological Gardens. Neither

the old Drake in undress nor the young one in first plumage is

described in the volume of the British Museum Catalogue deal¬

ing with the Ducks, and in the Bird Gallery at South Kensington



