THE AMERICAN WIGEON. 297 



of black, green confined to narrow proximal band, outer secondaries 

 with outer webs almost entirely black, secondary next innermost 

 with outer web often clouded grey ; greater coverts with broader 

 black tips. Moult presumably as in A. penelope, but very little 

 material examined. 



Eclipse. Male and female. — (Not examined.) 



Adult female. Winter and summer. — Similar to A. penelope 

 but crown and nape cream or light buff instead of pink-buff or pink- 

 cinnamon ; cheeks, sides of neck, chin, throat and fore-neck cream 

 or light buff, instead of pink-buff or pink-cinnamon heavily spotted 

 dusky-brown ; axillaries and under wing-coverts as in male ; green 

 when present on speculum less extensive, rest of speculum black, 

 secondary next innermost with outer web clouded palest grey ; 

 greater coverts with outer webs white, inner webs ash-brown and 

 with broad velvet-black tips (in A. penelope ash-brown or sepia, 

 outer webs edged greyish-white and with narrow black-brown 

 tips) ; rest of wing-coverts including innermost greater as in A. 

 penelope. Moult apparently as in A. penelope. 



Nestling. — Apparently not distinguishable from that of A. 

 penelope. 



Juvenile. Male. — Similar to that of A. penelope but fore-head 

 and fore -part of crown cream or light buff heavily streaked sepia ; 

 hinder -crown sepia, feathers with white edges and V-shaped bars 

 (in A. penelope pink-buff or pink-cinnamon, feathers irregularly 

 barred and marked black) ; cheeks, sides of neck, chin, throat and 

 fore-neck light buff or cream (in A. penelope pink-buff or pink- 

 cinnamon) and similarly spotted black-brown ; axillaries, under wing- 

 coverts and speculum as in adult male A. americana but in some 

 green of speculum as extensive as in juv. A. penelope; secondary 

 next innermost with outer web clouded palest grey but not so ex- 

 tensively as in adult male A . americana ; greater coverts as adult 

 male. Female. — Similar to female A. penelope but head, neck, axil- 

 laries, under wing-coverts and greater coverts as juvenile male, 

 and distinguished from juv. female A. penelope by same characters 

 as given under juvenile male. 



First winter and summer. Male.- — As adult winter, but dis- 

 tinguished by juvenile wing-coverts. Moult as in A. penelope. 

 Female. — As adult female but distinguished by juvenile median 

 and lesser coverts having narrow grey-buff, not broad white, edges. 

 Moult apparently as in A. penelope. 



Measurements and structure. — As in A. penelope. 



Soft parts. — Bill (ad. $) light grey-blue, tip black; legs and 

 feet light bluish ; iris brown. 



Field -characters. — Drake easily distinguished from A. penelope 

 by paler appearance of head and neck. Duck more difficult, but 

 head and neck look paler and in flight under-parts show rather 

 more white than in female A. penelope. In all other respects both 

 sexes strongly resemble European Wigeon. Drake utters same 

 " whee-ew." Found during winter in marshes and tidal flats near 



