88 The Natural History of British Ducks 
number of brown feathers in the back, which are not completely changed until 
the general rise of colour and general finishing up which takes place in March. 
Even then young males are not so brilliant as old birds, and it takes another 
year before their plumage is quite perfect. Yet they both pair and breed in 
this their first spring. 
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The Plumage of the Adult Female Teal 
The adult female is mottled with black and brown on the upper parts 
and flanks, and during the winter the breast is white, concealing the spots 
which work down and appear in the spring. Old females in August appear 
very heavily spotted. The young females in first plumage resemble these last, 
but all the markings are less strongly defined and the colours less brilliant, 
especially is this the case of the green wing spot on the secondaries. 
