THE AMERICAN EIDER 385 
During the first fall the young birds resemble 
the females though the markings are less clearly 
defined. In the next spring the young males 
put on a motley dress of brown, gray and black 
irregularly splashed over the whole body, but 
foreshadowing faintly the plumage of the adult 
bird. It is probable that they do not get their 
showy suit of black and white, clean cut and 
delicately shaded, until the third year of their 
life. 
For a time after the breeding season the male 
Hider is said to put on a dress such as his wife 
wears. I have never seen one in this plumage, 
the latest killed male which I have seen in New 
England waters was in the perfection of his 
wedding clothes on May 30. 
During the latter part of their stay with us 
there are comparatively few males in full plum- 
age among the shotgun’s victims, the most be- 
ing what the islanders call ‘‘mongrels’’ from 
their curiously mixed plumage,—the young 
males just mentioned. It would seem that the 
elders of the flock go on to the north ahead of 
the main body, since the flocks found in our 
waters seem to be all young males or all fe- 
males. Certainly during the last month of 
