On the Hybridising of Ducks. 245 



brownish, with irregular broad arrow-shaped bars. The upper 

 tail-coverts are glossy metallic green, a few of them showing 

 buff edgings, and the recurved feathers are as in the first 

 generation birds. 



Shortly summed up we have here a bird, in full plumage, 

 the only traces of whose parentage are to be found in the 

 recurved tail-coverts and chestnut chest. The back represents 

 characters unlike those of any known species, and showing 

 both the S arL d ? characters of a former generation ; the 

 flank feathers are essentially ? in character, and the whole 

 animal most nearly approaches the eclipse plumage of the 

 same cross two generations back. 



Eclipse Plumage. I have been hitherto unable to describe 

 the eclipse plumage of this form, but shall hope to do so next 

 year. I have noted, however, that there is an eclipse moult, 

 and that, besides the loss of chestnut breast and recurved tail- 

 coverts, the flanks become spotted. 



Altogether three birds, similar to the above, have been bred. 

 Duck. The Duck of this cross is very similar to the 

 Duck (light variety) of the first generation, and has the 

 same peculiar coloration on the back, only slightly lighter. 

 The supraorbital stripe and the outer webs of some of the 

 primaries are, however, white. It also shows ■ very plainly 

 the white ring round the neck, a purely male character in 

 the pure species. 



Among these Pintail trigens it may, therefore, be 

 interesting to note :— 



(a) That among the Drakes, the bill in the first genera- 

 tions is a combination of Pintail and Mallard, and 

 in all succeeding generations Spotbill. 

 (ß) That whereas in full plumage the Drakes chiefly 

 resemble a mixture of the Pintail and Mallard,, in 

 the eclipse plumage the Spotbill is predominant. 

 (y) That the light form tends to be more unlike its 



parental wild species than the dark. 

 (S) That in each successive generation (and interbreeding 

 has only been possible with the light form) the 

 tendency is for the brighter colours to be lost until 

 the full-plumaged birds of the third generation 



