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The Teal 87 
white, spotted with black ; breast and belly white and buff when living on 
tidal waters ; behind the legs the white feathers are again vermiculated with 
black to near the vent. 
In the new winter plumage, which is complete in the adult male about 
the beginning of November, the black spots on the front of the neck are more 
or less hidden beneath the broad buff or white edges ; these feathers grow out 
gradually as the winter proceeds, and the edges probably wear off to a large 
extent, for, by April, the black spots are clearly defined. Sometimes, also, 
there are to be seen brown feathers in the centre of the backs of adult males 
in new winter plumage; these are in most cases either old eclipse feathers 
that have not fallen, or have partially changed colour, or new feathers of the 
winter which have come in, in sympathy with the eclipse, and have not yet 
changed colour to the vermiculated pattern. These are sometimes retained till 
the end of December. The old male Teal commences to change to the eclipse 
plumage about the beginning of July, and remains for the usual time in this 
dress. In October, when in full change, the actual moult of the head feathers 
generally takes place from the bill to the back of the head, whereas with the 
young male the reverse is usually the case. 
The Plumage of the Young Male Teal 
The young male Teal in first plumage can be distinguished from the 
young female by its having the shoulder of the wing a bluer grey, and the 
green patch on the secondaries a brighter colour. At first both are generally 
spotted all over the breast and vent, but I have seen examples in which the 
whole of the breast became white at once. In the case of young males, the 
breast in any case soon commences to moult ; and in the beginning of 
September most of the young males have white breasts. From this date on- 
ward the young male Teal passes through the same changes of moult and 
colour-change as the young Mallard, and often gets his complete winter dress 
by the middle of November. Young males, however, always retain a certain 
