On the Hybridising of Ducks. 239 



end of the sternum. The feathers of the breast also show a 

 continuation of the chestnut with a trace of a dark subter- 

 minal spot. The tail feathers are much darker than in the 

 Mallard, being dark brown with merely light or white edgings. 

 The beak is blackish, with a yellow spot on the tip and a trace 

 of yellow at the base of the culmen. 



Cross (4) is somewhat inbred, having had the same 

 individual for father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. 

 Only one brood of 9 (6 $ , 3 ? ) has been reared. 



The Drakes are of two types, the one, of which there are 

 four individuals, resembles the males of crosses (2) and (3) 

 very closely, except that the chestnut feathers on the breast 

 which show a small subterminal black spot are more 

 numerous. 



The other type differs in being much lighter in coloration. 

 The whole of the top of the head, including the post orbital 

 patch, is of a dull metallic green. The neck is huffish white, 

 grizzled with dark brown. Cheeks rufous. The white ring 

 round the neck very distinct. Beak black, with yellow tip 

 and traces of yellow at the base of the culmen. Feathers of 

 the mantle vermiculated, and the long scapulars show a 

 certain amount of white on their outer vanes. The flank 

 feathers are vermiculated with brown, some of them showing 

 a subterminal black spot surrounded by a rufous area. 1 The 

 chestnut of the chest is pure and deep-coloured, but on the 

 sides and round the base of the neck, it tends to become 

 spotted, the spots in some cases forming bars. The underparts 

 are pure white, slightly greyish on the vent. 



The Ducks of Crosses (1), (2) and (3) are hardly to be dis- 

 tinguished from a pure Wild Duck, except that they invariably 

 show some white on the breast, and the bill is black with the 

 characteristic yellow spot of the Spotbill. The long inner 

 secondaries show more white than is usual with the Wild 

 Duck, but it is not nearly so intense as in the same feathers 

 of the Spotbill. The markings on the chest are also paler 

 and less distinct than in the Wild Duck. The ? ? of 

 Cross (4) resemble the above, but are somewhat lighter. 



1 Cf. Flank feather of P.M.S. trigen, second generation (PI. xii., fig. 11)* 



