THE LONG-TAILED DTJCK. 341 



tail-feathers worn but it is impossible to say whether the bird is 

 fully adult or in its second year. 



Adult female. Winter. — Fore-head dusky-brown, feathers with 

 white bases (sometimes fore -head white) ; crown black-brown, 

 feathers with ill-concealed white bases ; nape white, sometimes 

 some feathers tipped blackish ; mantle and scapulars black-brown 

 or sepia, feathers with russet, some with cinnamon-buff, edges ; 

 lower scapulars black- brown narrowly edged light buff ; back, 

 rump and upper tail-coverts black, feathers broadly tipped cinna- 

 mon-buff (back sometimes uniform) ; sides of rump white ; upper 

 tail-coverts black-brown (in some shaded cinnamon-buff and tipped 

 greyish -white), outer webs of lateral ones white ; lores and patch 

 round eye white ; whitish streak behind eye ; on side of neck a 

 patch of black-brown feathers with ill-concealed white bases and 

 sometimes some tipped russet ; chin, throat and rest of neck white, 

 feathers of inter-crural space (and in some chin) dusky, those of 

 throat sometimes tipped dusky ; upper and sides of breast ash-brown, 

 feathers suffused light cinnamon -buff towards tip ; lower -breast 

 ash-brown, feathers broadly fringed white ; flanks white, some- 

 times suffused palest grey ; rest of under -parts white ; axillaries 

 and under wing- coverts as male ; central pair of tail-feathers black- 

 brown faintly edged white, remainder more or less dusky-brown 

 edged white, outer ones mostly white ; wing as male but outer webs 

 of secondaries (including innermost) usually not so richly coloured ; 

 greater coverts sepia or black-brown narrowly edged light or 

 cinnamon- buff ; median coverts black- brown or sepia tinged and 

 with deep edges of cinnamon-buff and russet ; coverts at bend of 

 wing and lesser coverts brown-black. This plumage is acquired by 

 complete moult July to Nov. 



Adult female. Summer. — Some feathers of head, neck, mantle, 

 scapulars, sometimes some of back and rump, some upper tail- 

 coverts, upper- breast, some feathers of sides of body and flanks 

 are moulted April and May but not rest of body -feathers, tail or 

 wings. Fore -head and crown as winter ; lores, and patch in front 

 of eye continuous with patch on side of neck sepia or black-brown ; 

 chin and throat dusky-brown, feathers with ill-concealed white 

 bases ; patch round eye, streak behind eye and patch on sides of 

 lower-neck whitish, feathers mostly tipped dusky ; centre of nape 

 sooty-brown ; upper-mantle and scapulars brown-black, feathers 

 of mantle with narrower edges of cinnamon-buff or russet (scapulars 

 edged cinnamon-buff), whole tone of upper-parts darker and duller 

 than in winter ; upper and sides of breast hair-brown, feathers 

 fringed yellowish-white or light greyish-olive ; rest of body, tail 

 and wings as winter. Upper-parts and wing-coverts become abraded 

 and faded in late summer. 



Adult female. Eclipse. — Examination of scanty material avail- 

 able reveals existence of traces of an eclipse plumage as in male but 

 more material is required before anything more definite can be 

 said. 



