﻿MALLARD, OR WILD DUCK. 93 



by a white ring ; the breast deep chestnut ; the belly and 

 vent greyish-white, tinged with ochre-yellow, and transversely 

 barred with zigzag lines of dusky grey ; the upper part 

 of the back chestnut with paler edges to the feathers ; the 

 scapulars pearl coloured, and pencilled with zigzag lines 

 of brown ; those next to the wing rich brown, pencilled 

 with black. The lower part of the back, rump, and upper 

 and under tail-coverts black, but reflected with green ; four 

 middle tail-feathers black and curled up, the others dusky 

 with white edges ; lesser wing-coverts dusky brown, tinged 

 with yellow ; the greater coverts have a bar of white, and 

 are tipped with black ; the speculum metallic prussian- 

 blue, shaded into black and tipped with white ; quill- feathers 

 dusky-brown ; the beak wax-yellow, tinged with sap-green ; 

 legs and toes orange ; the eyes dusky brown. 



The female differs very materially from the male, and is 

 as follows: — The ground colour of the plumage, with a 

 few exceptions, is cream -yellow, the head streaked with dusky 

 brown, darkest on the crown ; the chin without spots ; the 

 feathers of the upper parts all dusky-brown in their centres, 

 the cream-yellow forming their borders ; the lesser wing- 

 coverts dusky-brown, tinged with grey ; speculum as in the 

 male, but not so deep in colour, their tips also white ; the 

 under parts streaked and spotted with dusky-brown ; quills 

 and legs as in the male ; the beak greenish ash. 



The young males resemble the female, till after the first 

 moult. 



The egg figured 247 is that of the Wild Duck. 



