duck. 263 



nape, on each side of the neck, the colour is pea green ; the rest of 

 the head, neck, breast, back, wing coverts, and scapulars, white; 

 the last curved at the ends, and hang over the quills, which are 

 black ; the under parts from the breast, and the tail, are also black ; 

 legs dull green. 



In the female the general colour of the plumage is reddish 

 brown, barred across with black ; hind part of the neck marked 

 with longitudinal dusky streaks; on the wings two bars of white ; 

 belly deep brown, indistinctly marked with black ; tail dusky ; 

 legs black. 



These birds do not arrive at complete plumage till the fourth 

 year ; the young of both sexes, for the first week, are covered with a 

 brown down, throat and breast whitish, with a cinereous line from 

 the bill, through the eyes, to the nape, and each downy feather 

 ending in a bristly point, so as to give the appearance of the bird 

 being covered with hairs. The male, for the first year, has the back 

 white ; lower part of the breast, belly, quills, and tail, black ; the 

 rest black, varied with white. The second year's male has a black 

 crown ; neck and breast marked with black and white in spots. A 

 full grown male, in the third year, much resembles the completely 

 plumaged bird, but the colour less vivid, and a few spots of black 

 still remaining on the neck ; the crown is black, dividing into two 

 parts behind. In the male some variety has been observed ; in 

 having the base of the wings and middle of the back black.* 



The female has been found also to vary ; in some the general 

 colour is black ; the neck and belly ash colour ; and the white line 

 across the wings very little conspicuous ; in others the line entirely 

 wanting : and in one specimen a mixture of many white feathers 

 throughout the plumage, giving a spotted appearance. All the 

 above M. Brunnich gives from his own observations. 



This species frequents the northern regions, even to the highest 

 latitudes yet discovered. In the southern part of this Island we only 



* Such an one was formerly in my possession. 



