THE GOOSANDER. 383 



their appearance at sides of root of tail ; sometimes an irregular 

 blackish streak through eye ; chin and throat sometimes more or 

 less spotted blackish ; feathers bordering reddish-brown lower- 

 throat tipped black or black- brown forming an irregular semi- 

 circular ring (often incomplete) ; rest of fore -neck white ; feathers 

 of sides of body and flanks as adult female but plentifully inter- 

 mixed with white feathers vermiculated grey ; rest of plumage, 

 tail and wings as adult female, but sometimes new innermost 

 secondaries are acquired with outer webs (or both webs) greyish- 

 white narrowly bordered blackish-grey, and inner webs grey. 

 Most of the juvenile body -feathers (usually breast, belly and vent), 

 tail and occasionally some innermost secondaries are moulted from 

 Sept. onwards ; sometimes many juvenile feathers are retained. 

 First summer. — By March, sometimes even January, black feathers 

 tipped ash-grey appear on mantle ; some white and some black 

 scapulars and some white flank feathers, with outer webs and tips 

 more or less vermiculated ash-grey, are also acquired. 



First eclipse. Male. — As adult eclipse but easily . distin- 

 guished by ash-grey wing-coverts ; feathers of sides of body and 

 flanks apparently with fewer vermiculated ash-grey and white 

 feathers. 



First winter and summer. Female. — As adult female but crest 

 shorter and less abundant, under-parts whiter and innermost 

 secondaries when not moulted worn and faded. Moult as in male, 

 subsequent plumages like adult. 



Measurements and structure. — $ wing 283-295 mm., tail 104- 

 115, tarsus 46-50, bill from point of frontal feathering 55-61 (12 

 measured). ? wing 250-267, bill 45-51. Primaries : 1st narrow, 

 pointed and about f longest primary- covert, 3rd longest, 2nd as 

 long or 2-7 mm. shorter, 4th 11-17 shorter, 5th 26-33 shorter, 6th 

 43-54 shorter ; 2nd slightly emarginated inner web, 3rd outer web. 

 Innermost secondaries long and tapering, longest shorter than 4th 

 to 6th primary ; in eclipse shorter ; scapulars long and tapering 

 to a point ; in eclipse short with square tips. Tail slightly rounded, 

 18 stiff feathers slightly rounded at tip. Bill about length of head, 

 nearly straight or slightly re -arcuate, of greater height than breadth 

 at base, tapering to middle beyond which slender and cylindrical, 

 upper mandible with dorsal line somewhat concave to middle then 

 straight and slightly ascending to nail ; a faint groove along side 

 of upper mandible from nasal opening to nail ; nail abruptly de- 

 curved ; serrations acute and directed backwards, frontal feathering 

 usually extends beyond loral feathering but often equal. Nostrils 

 situated about middle of bill. Feathers of occiput in £ elongated, 

 in $ and eclipse $ considerably elongated forming a well -developed 

 crest, in juv. $ and $ crest short, in first winter $ and $ crest 

 shorter than in adult female. 



Soft parts. — Bill (ad. $) bright vermilion, nail black, ridge of 

 upper mandible dusky ; (ad. $) as <$ but duller ; (juv. <$) dark 

 reddish-brown shading to yellow on tomia ; lower mandible pale 



