280 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



flanks with fewer buff barrings ; breast, belly, vent and short 

 upper tail-coverts white, feathers mostly with small dusky 

 spots ; tail as in eclipse female but feathers with square tips and 

 shafts projecting ; wing as adult male but innermost secondaries 

 as in adult female, one next speculum usually with deeper border 

 of black on outer web but sometimes hardly distinguishable ; white 

 tips to greater coverts sometimes narrower. Female. — As male, 

 but green speculum not so well developed ; innermost secondaries 

 next speculum usually with blackish olive -brown border on outer 

 web, instead of velvety- black, but in some indistinguishable ; 

 greater coverts usually with whiter tips than in male, depth of 

 white tip varies individually. 



First winter and summer. Male* — Not to be distinguished 

 with certainty from adult male unless some juvenile feathers are 

 retained. The juvenile body-feathers, tail and innermost second- 

 aries and coverts are moulted Aug. to Dec, but not rest of wings ; 

 some juvenile body-feathers sometimes retained. 



First winter. Female. — Not to be distinguished with certainty 

 from eclipse female when all juvenile tail-feathers and innermost 

 secondaries are shed; moult as in juvenile male, but innermost 

 secondaries not always moulted. First summer. — Like adult 

 female, but moult usually not so complete, some first winter body- 

 f eat hers being retained. 



Measurements and structure. — $ wing 175-192 mm., tail 62-72, 

 tarsus 27-30, bill from feathers 34-38 (12 measured). 9 wing 170- 

 180, bill 31-36. Primaries : 1st narrow, pointed and about half 

 longest primary- covert, 2nd longest, 3rd about equal, 4th 6-9 mm. 

 shorter, 5th 14-17 shorter, 6th 25-29 shorter ; 2nd emarginated 

 inner and 3rd outer web. Liner secondaries long, pointed and a 

 little curved outwards and about equal 5th primary, in eclipse 

 shorter and with rounded tips. Scapulars elongated, tapering and 

 pointed, in eclipse shorter and broader with square tips. Tail 

 slightly rounded central pair projecting beyond rest, 16 feathers, 

 central pair tapering to point, rest varying individually, in some 

 tapering to point, in others broader and less pointed. Bill slightly 

 shorter than head, higher than broad at base, slightly broader at 

 tip than at base, culmen sloping, concave, direct and then decurved 

 at tip ; nail oblong and very small ; maxillary tomium straight 

 anteriorly and convex posteriorly, lamellae being thus completely 

 hidden. Nape with a mane -like tuft. 



Soft parts. — Bill (ad.) dark slate -grey, (juv.) upper mandible 

 pink-horn, under pink-yellow or flesh ; legs and feet green -grey ; 

 iris dark hazel. 



* In moult from juvenile to first winter and summer some birds acquire 

 some white feathers coarsely vermiculated black-brown on sides of body and 

 flanks, these feathers as in other ducks are subsequently shed ; one bird 

 examined had acquired some olive-brown feathers with irregular and in- 

 definite frecklings and vermiculations of whitish reminding one of feathers. 

 of the vermiculated type of eclipse plumage. 



