BUFFLE HEAD DUCK. 187 



Adult Female. — Head and neck, dusky brown; top of head, 

 darkest. A white patch or stripe on cheeks and ear coverts. 

 Upper parts, blackish brown, grading into black on the rump. 

 Wings, dusky brown. Apical half of outer webs of secondaries, 

 white, forming a speculum. Upper part of breast, sides, anal 

 region, and lower tail coverts, dull gray. Rest of under parts, 

 white. Tail, grayish brown. Bill, dusky, slightly plumbeous on 

 edge and tip. Legs and feet, bluish gray; webs, dusky. Total 

 length, about 13^ inches; wing, jy'^; culmen, i; tarsus, \-^. 



The females vary slightly from each other, some having more 

 white on the wings; the secondaries, and the tips of the greater 

 wing coverts, also, being of that hue. 



