306 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



usually narrowty edged white at tip of outer web, innermost 

 secondaries sepia glossed olive and edged pink-buff and usually 

 with light shaft -streak towards tip ; greater coverts with narrower 

 white tips, inner ones olive -brown, some tinged dull blue and edged 

 light buff or white ; median and lesser coverts duller blue than in 

 male with narrow buff edges (sometimes absent). This plumage is 

 acquired by a complete moult July to Sept. 



Adult female. Winter and summer. — The body-feathers, some 

 tail-feathers, innermost secondaries but not wings are moulted Dec. 

 to April. Feathers of head and neck with broader pink-buff edges 

 than in eclipse ; feathers of mantle and scapulars and upper tail- 

 coverts sepia (sometimes black-brown) with broad crescent or trans- 

 verse light or pink- buff markings and broad edges of same, some 

 scapulars tinged olive ; feathers of back and rump sepia or black- 

 brown with broad pink-buff edges and bars, those of rump with 

 crescent-shaped marks ; under-parts and tail as winter ; wing as 

 winter but innermost secondaries with broader edges and more or 

 less irregularly shaded light buff. N.B. — In late summer under- 

 parts appear more or less spotted owing to abrasion of edges and 

 exposure of dusky-brown bases. 



Nestling. — Similar to that of Mallard but upper -parts usually 

 darker, down- filaments tipped cinnamon-buff rather than yellowish, 

 yellow patches on upper-parts paler and in some ill-defined, no 

 light bar on wing ; cheeks and eye -stripe cinnamon- buff not 

 yellow-buff, a black-brown line through eye and an incomplete line 

 below it as in Mallard ; chin and throat cinnamon-buff ; fore-neck 

 same or greyish-buff ; remaining under-parts greyish-white occa- 

 sionally suffused cream-yellow. Older nestlings are easily identified 

 by shape of bill. 



Juvenile. Male. — Like adult eclipse female but under-parts 

 narrowly streaked light sepia, median and lesser coverts as adult 

 male but duller ; upper -parts as eclipse female, mantle feathers 

 without bars, in some edged greyish-white instead of buff ; one or two 

 short scapulars barred buff (sometimes barred and partially edged 

 whitish) ; back and rump black-brown or olive-brown glossed dull 

 green ; patch at side of root of tail buff, feathers barred, tipped or 

 spotted light brown ; cheeks, sides of neck, chin, throat and fore- 

 neck as eclipse female but paler buff and rather more finely streaked ;. 

 feathers of upper-breast, sides of body and flanks and under tail- 

 coverts light sepia edged and sometimes barred or spotted cinnamon- 

 buff, longer under tail-coverts as eclipse female ; feathers of centre 

 of breast, belly and vent narrowly streaked or spotted light sepia or 

 dusky-brown and tipped and sometimes barred pink-buff ; tail- 

 feathers sepia or ash-brown narrowly edged cream-buff (outer 

 feathers often paler) ; wing as adult male but secondaries usually 

 with very distinct white tips to outer webs ; innermost secondaries 

 with outer webs dull olive -green narrowly tipped white or buff, 

 inner webs olive -brown lighter towards shafts, tips of innermost 

 secondaries rounded not pointed as in adult ; greater coverts some- 



