238 J. L. Bonhote: 



Cross (1), of which I have had a couple of Drakes kindly 

 given me by Mr. Gurney, of Norwich, much resembles, in its 

 full plumage^ a pure Mallard, excepting that the upperparts 

 show rather less vermiculation, and the lower parts on the 

 breast and vent have no vermiculatioiis, and are pure white. 

 The white ring of the Mallard on the neck is clear and 

 distinct. The whole of the top of the head and nape is very 

 dark brown, and shows only the slightest traces of a greenish 

 gloss. The sides of the head and throat are buff, grizzled 

 with dark brown. There is a pale superciliary streak. 

 The bill is black, with a yellow spot at the tip, but the amount 

 of black is not constant in the same individual. * 



I have seen skins of a dark form of this cross which 

 resembled the Mallard still more closely and had no white on 

 the underparts. Particulars of the mating were not forth- 

 coming so that one cannot say whether it was produced by the 

 male parent being a Spotbill or not. It is interesting, how- 

 ever, to note this fact as showing that two types may occur 

 in this cross, as we shall also hud occurring commonly in some 

 of the other crosses. 



Adult Drake. Eclipse Plumage. 



The feathers of the mantle and scapulars are brown slightly 

 vermiculated with greyish, while on the longer feathers the 

 vermiculation tends to disappear and their edges become paler, 

 a feature commonto both the Spotbill and Mallard in eclipse. 

 The head very closely resembles that of the pure Spotbill, 

 but the crown has a slight greenish gloss as in the Mallard. 

 The chin is white. The underparts as a whole resemble those 

 of the pure Spotbill, but the ground-colour of the chest 

 feathers is slightly rufescent and the markings rather more 

 arrow-shaped than in that species. The breast and vent are 

 much whiter and less spotted. 



Crosses (2) and (3) do not appreciably differ from each other. 

 The Drakes in full plumage very closely resemble the pure 

 Mallard except that the general tone of the underparts is 

 much lighter with a tendency to become white over the fore 



1 Bonli., Zool., 1903, p. 107. 



