FALCATED TEAL. 153 



with tlie outer webs black, beautifully fringed with 

 white, and the inner web black, going off into lighter 

 grey; lower part of the back, rump, and upper tail 

 coverts brown, with the tail velvety black, flanked on 

 each side by a broad fan-like expanded cream-coloured 

 tuft of feathers with black bases ; the secondaries are 

 rich dark green on their outer webs, forming the spec- 

 ulum, light brown on their inner webs; primaries light 

 brown; abdomen mottled grey; the flanks, down to 

 the tail, richly and beautifully marked by waves, 

 zigzags, and circular lines of grey and white; under 

 wing coverts white. Legs and feet black brown; beak 

 pitch black. 



The female, according to Middendorfii''s figure, 

 ("Sibirische Keise," vol. ii, pi. 23,) has the head, back, 

 and breast dark brown, with the edges of each feather 

 russet; lesser wing coverts whitish; speculum dark 

 green; wings and tail dark brown; beak and feet 

 black. 



Of the young Dr. Schrenck (opus cit) says: — "Of 

 my five young specimens, four are from the Amur 

 and one Kamtschatka. There are four males and one 

 female, in youthful plumage, the males fully fledged, 

 the female with down on its wings. Both sexes are 

 at first sight very similar^ but they are easily dis- 

 tinguished on examination. The young female has a 

 great resemblance to the old one, but differs in being 

 darker and unicolorous above, while the under jDarts, 

 from the chin to the under tail coverts, have the same 

 colour and markings, the under tail feathers being grey 

 brown, bordered only with rust yellow, while in the 

 adult female they are marked with this colour in the 

 middle concentrically. On the upper parts next to the 

 dark colouringr of the head there is a broad band. 



