THE SHOVELER; 307 



times with narrower white tips especially on inner webs and generally 

 with oval dusky spot at tip of inner web, innermost as innermost 

 secondaries but tipped buff ; median and lesser as adult but in 

 some duller blue, median sometimes shaded buff -brown at tip. 

 Female. — As male but back and rump browner, some with feathers 

 edged buff ; patch of barred brown and white feathers at root of 

 tail absent ; wing as adult female but in some green speculum 

 absent, outer webs of secondaries being plain sepia as inner webs 

 or at most glossed dull blackish-green, innermost sepia, in some 

 tinged olive, mostly tipped white on outer web ; greater coverts 

 sometimes with much narrower white tips and mostly with oval 

 dusky spot at tip of inner web, innermost sepia faintly shaded buff 

 at edge ; median and lesser coverts usually duller and browner, in 

 some with buff edges as in adult. 



First winter. Male. — Apt to be confused with adult male 

 eclipse but may be distinguished by lighter head, less brilliant 

 green back and more uniform lower -breast, belly and vent varying 

 from russet to bay, by worn juvenile tail-feathers when not all 

 shed, juvenile innermost secondaries and often duller blue median 

 and lesser coverts though sometimes these are as brilliant. Crown, 

 nape, mantle and scapulars as juvenile ; back and rump inter- 

 mixed with new dark green feathers, some new dark green upper 

 tail-coverts edged buff ; rest of head and neck as juvenile, in some 

 sides of face and neck more heavily streaked and spotted (with ash- 

 grey in some rather than black-brown) ; feathers of lower-neck and 

 upper-breast dark ashy or sepia with broad U-shaped marks of pink- 

 cinnamon or white and wide fringes of pink- cinnamon (sometimes 

 some feathers of upper -breast with white centres and subterminal 

 dusky-black crescentic marks or bars) ; sides of body and flanks as 

 male eclipse ; rest of breast, belly and vent varying from russet to bay, 

 sometimes feathers with dusky-black markings or frecklings more 

 or less concealed and when fresh faintly tipped whitish ; under tail- 

 coverts pink-buff more or less vermiculated, barred or marked 

 blackish, some tipped whitish and usually intermixed with juvenile 

 feathers ; new tail-feathers as adult ; wing as juvenile. The 

 juvenile body -feat hers not usually all those of back, not all upper 

 or under tail-coverts, some tail-feathers, but not wings, are moulted 

 Aug. to Oct. First summer. — The body-feathers, apparently not 

 lower-breast, belly or vent, rest of tail-feathers, innermost second- 

 aries and coverts are moulted Nov. to March or even later, back- 

 ward examples continuing to acquire feathers of breeding plumage 

 up to commencement of moult into eclipse. Difficult to distinguish 

 from adult except by more worn appearance of flight -feathers and 

 by usually duller wing -coverts and narrower white tips to greater 

 coverts. Sometimes, some dark horse-shoe shaped markings are 

 retained on white shield of fore -neck. 



First winter. Female. — As adult female eclipse but feathers of 

 mantle and scapulars edged paler buff ; wing as juvenile and dis- 

 tinguished from adult usually by duller speculum but sometimes as 



