122 NYROCA VALISINERIA 



Iris bright carmine, brighter in breeding season. Bill black or "greenish-black." Legs and feet 

 gray-blue to dirty gray or yellowish gray. 



Wing 225-242 mm.; tarsus 43-45; bill 55-63. 



Weight 2 pounds, 8 ounces to 3 pounds, 12 ounces (1.13-1.70 kilograms); average of good birds 

 about 3 pounds. There are numerous reports of couples, male and female, which weighed from 7 to 

 nearly 8 pounds. Quite ridiculous are weights of 5 to 6 pounds each given by one writer. 



Adult Female: Like the female of the European Pochard in coloring but not so dark on the occiput. 

 Bill much longer and of a different shape. 



Iris brown. Bill black as in the male. Legs and feet nearly as in the male. 



Wing 220-230 mm.; tarsus 42-44; bill 54-60. 



Weight 2 pounds, 12 ounces to probably over 3 pounds (1.36+ kilograms). 



Female in First Plumage: Very similar to the adult, but may be distinguished by the browner and 

 more mottled appearance of the whole abdomen as well as by the worn and blunted tail-feathers. 

 The vermiculated feathers which give a silvery cast to the interscapular region in the adult plumage 

 are not so well developed. 



Male in First Plumage: The young male is easily distinguished from the young female by the much 

 darker occiput and throat and by a black-streaked appearance of the face and neck which is apparent 

 before the red of the adult plumage comes in. Sometimes nearly the whole head and neck are black. 

 The rest of the plumage is very much like that of the young female, but vermiculated scapulars ap- 

 pear earlier and are lighter in color. The abdomen is brownish, or mottled brown and gray like that of 

 the female, and the tail-feathers have the blunted appearance of youth. 



Immature Male: Black feathers begin to appear around the lower neck and upper breast by October 

 or November, and by that time the head has become red, although not so rich in tone as it will be 

 later on. The scapulars and flanks have also become much lighter, but the abdomen still remains 

 brownish and mottled. Complete plumage is certainly not attained the first spring, and signs of im- 

 maturity may be found in the black of the mantle and the breast, particularly at the junction of the 

 latter with the white abdomen. 



Male in Eclipse: Captive specimens show a very imperfect change, as these birds are seldom vigor- 

 ous enough to moult normally. But this is not a criterion of what happens in the wild. The first 

 change, which I have noted myself, is a browner tinge coming in on the fore part of the head, which 

 loses its red color. At the same time dark gray feathers come in on the scapular and back regions. 

 The eclipse is not so striking as it is in most northern ducks and does not commence until late in 

 the season. 



Young in Down: Very much like the young of the Red-head (Nyroca americana) and perhaps not to 

 be distinguished except by the heavier, longer and darker-colored bill. The bill is bluish colored, or 

 grayish olive, fleshy on the lower mandible and with the gular sac pale brownish yellow. The feet are 

 olive or greenish olive, dusky on the digital joints and webs. The body-coloring appears to be the 

 same as in the Red-head and European Pochard but may not have quite such a pronounced yellowish 

 tinge. The yellow, however, fades out after the first few days and is a deceptive character. 



Remarks: Deeply stained under parts are common in many adult specimens. Especially is this true 

 in those from the Mississippi Delta. 



