THE SURF-SCOTER. 377 



brown-black, inner webs drab -brown, brown-black at tip, innermost 

 secondaries black, inner webs black-brown ; rest of primary- coverts 

 and bastard-wing black-brown ; rest of wing-coverts black. This 

 plumage is acquired by complete moult Aug. to Dec. Summer. — 

 There appears to be a partial spring moult involving feathers of 

 head, neck, some body -feathers, occasionally tail-feathers but not 

 wings. Coloration as in winter. Eclipse. — I have examined only 

 one male with wings short and in quill and am unable to dis- 

 tinguish an eclipse plumage ; at one time during the moult, the white 

 nuchal patch is absent owing to shedding of white feathers and 

 consequent exposure of the short black feathers beneath. 



Adult female. Winter and summer. — Fore-head, crown down to 

 eye and upper part of nape black- brown ; sometimes a distinct 

 white nuchal patch (often ill-defined or absent), intermixed with 

 short dark brown feathers completely concealed by long white 

 feathers as in male ; rest of nape and upper-mantle sepia ; remain- 

 ing upper-parts sepia or black-brown, some of upper tail-coverts 

 and feathers of rump tipped black ; irregular whitish patch on 

 lores, another in auricular region, feathers of both with dusky- 

 brown tips, which are subsequently lost by abrasion ; chin dusky- 

 brown, feathers with ill- concealed white bases ; remaining under- 

 parts warm sepia or dusky-brown, feathers of breast, belly and 

 flanks sometimes tipped white, in others flank-feathers more or 

 less black-brown towards tip ; axillaries and under wing-coverts 

 sepia, some of latter edged white ; under primary-coverts as in 

 male ; tail-feathers black-brown or sepia ; primaries, secondaries 

 and their coverts and bastard-wing black-brown or warm sepia, 

 inner webs drab-brown shading to black-brown or warm sepia at 

 tips of primaries ; innermost secondaries brown-black or warm 

 sepia, inner webs sepia or drab-brown, rest of wing-coverts sepia. 

 Moult as in male. One April female examined was in full body 

 and tail moult. Coloration in summer apparently as in winter but 

 more material required for examination. In late summer feathers 

 of upper-parts have edges worn and faded giving upper-parts a 

 barred appearance. 



Nestling. — (Not examined.) 



Juvenile. Male and female. — Like adult female, but never 

 with a white nuchal patch, white patch on lores and auricular 

 region often ill-defined ; feathers of breast and belly lighter than 

 in adult female, being pale dusky-brown broadly tipped white, 

 sometimes breast and belly more or less white ; feathers of upper- 

 breast, sides of body and flanks more or less edged buff-brown 

 which fades to buff -white ; tail and wings as in adult female, but 

 tips of tail-feathers square with bare shaft projecting. 



First winter and summer. Male. — A varying amount of black 

 plumage of adult is acquired ; sometimes head, neck, upper- 

 mantle, scapular region, rump, upper and under tail-coverts, fore- 

 part of body and sides of body and flanks are black ; crown black 

 with no white patch ; nape with white triangular patch. A vary- 



