FEMALE RUDDY DUCK. 61 
blackish brown, the latter crossing the head in lines; cheeks, 
white, mixed with dusky, and some touches of bronze ; lores, 
drab and dusky, mixed with a small portion of white; neck, 
short and thick, its lower half above, extending between the 
shoulders, drab, mixed with dusky ; throat, and whole lower 
parts, dusky ash, the plumage tipt with dull white, having a 
silver grey appearance ; the upper parts are dusky, marked or 
pencilled with pale ferruginous and dull white ; breast, slightly 
tinged with reddish brown; the wings are small, greatly con- 
cave, and, when closed, are short of the extremities of the tail- 
coverts about three-quarters of an inch ; they are dusky, their 
coverts finely dotted or powdered with white; tail, dusky, 
marked at its extremity with a few very fine dots of reddish 
white ; it extends beyond its upper coverts two inches and a 
half; under tail-coverts, white; legs and feet, dusky slate; 
weight, sixteen ounces and a half. The gizzard of the above 
contained sand and some small seeds. Her eges were nume- 
_rous, and tolerably large ; hence, as she was shot in the month 
of October, it was conjectured that she was a bird of the pre- 
ceding year. 
“The young male, shot in April last, measured fifteen 
inches in length; its irides were dark brown; bill, elevated 
at the base, slightly gibbous, and blue ash, from the nostrils 
to the tip, mixed with dusky ; lower mandible, yellowish flesh 
colour, marbled with dusky ; crown, brown black; throat and 
cheeks, as far as the upper angle of the bill, white, stained 
with bright yellow ochre ; auriculars, almost pure white ; the 
black from the crown surrounded the eyes, and passed round 
the white of the auriculars; hind head, black, mixed with 
ferruginous ; breast and shoulders, bright ferruginous; belly, 
ash and silver white ; back and scapulars, liver brown, finely 
pencilled with grey and reddish white ; rump and upper tail- 
coverts, the same ground colour, but the markings not so 
distinct ; wings, light liver brown, the lesser coverts finely 
powdered with grey; on the back and scapulars, the flanks, 
and around the base of the neck, the brownish red, or bright 
