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The Natural History of British Ducks 
assume the complete dress. The old males, too, often retain much of their 
eclipse dress through the winter, like the Garganey, and although the head 
feathers become complete in October, the rest of the plumage evolves slowly, 
and some are not complete till March. 
Adult Female. — The general colour is dusky brown marked with buff; 
cheeks white, marked with small black spots except in the throat ; breast similar 
to the male's but paler ; wing coverts blue, but not so brilliant as the male, the 
white wing bar narrower, and the green on the secondaries not so bright. 
The white strip, too, from the bill to the eye is very indistinct. 
