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A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



edged white, remainder mostly white ; primaries and their coverts 

 black-brown shading to hair-brown on inner webs ; secondaries 

 hair-brown, outer webs tinged sepia which shades to warm sepia on 

 inner secondaries, innermost black-brown with outer webs warm 

 sepia ; greater coverts and bastard-wing black-brown or sepia ; 

 median and lesser coverts black or brown-black, some lower median 

 with faint warm sepia edges, some lesser, edged light sepia. This 

 plumage is acquired by complete body-moult Aug. to Nov. 



Adult male. Summer. — Feathers of head, neck, mantle, scapu- 

 lars (sometimes some on back and rump), upper -breast and flanks 

 are moulted Feb. to June but not rest of body -feathers (not brown 

 area of breast), tail or wings. Sometimes many winter feathers 

 are retained on head, neck, mantle, etc. Lores and cheeks as 

 winter ; narrow line at base of upper mandible, fore-head, rest of 



The Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis). Adult male, winter. 



head and neck all round, and upper-breast black-brown or sepia f ; 

 feathers of upper-mantle and upper scapulars with triangular black 

 centres and broad russet edges, long scapulars black-brown similarly 

 edged (sometimes some edged white) ; rest of upper- and under- 

 pays as winter, new flank-feathers suffused russet towards tip. 



Adult male. Eclipse. — This plumage is acquired by a partial 

 moult of head, neck, upper-mantle, scapulars, sides of body and 

 flanks followed by wings and tail July and Aug. Some new black- 

 brown feathers are acquired on crown and nape, also on upper- 

 mantle, which with abrasion of russet edges of summer feathers 

 causes upper -mantle to appear darker than in summer ; new 

 scapulars brownish or sooty-brown, some uniform, others, especi- 

 ally longer ones, more or less shaded and broadly edged buff-brown ; 

 sides of body and flanks with new drab feathers, drab -grey towards 

 base ; rest of plumage that of worn summer. N.B. — Above descrip- 

 tion is of a male (E. L. Schioler coll.) in a flightless condition with 



