Auk. XII, July, 1895, 
An Apparently Undescribed Plumage of Oidemia perspicillata. — An 
adult female Surf Scoter, which I collected at Guilford, Conn., in the fall 
of 1893, seems to merit description as differing noticeably from the char- 
acteristics of the adult female as given by standard authors. 
No. 956, Coll. L. B. Bishop, Oct. 13, 1893. Upper parts generally dark 
brownish black, becoming almost pure black on the top of head, nape, 
tertiaries, tip and part of outer web of primaries, outer web of seconda- 
ries, upper tail-coverts and tail. Below sooty brown, becoming somewhat 
lighter on the neck; most of the chest-feathers tipped with grayish white. 
Chin and upper part of thorax dirty white pipped with brown ; well- 
defined white spots in both loral and auricular regions, with marry of 
the feathers tipped with brown ; many white feathers mixed with the 
brownish black of the nape; side of head between loral and auricular 
white spots almost as dark as back. Bill black with black elevation of 
knob at base well indicated, tip of nails of both mandibles pale flesh ; tarsi 
and toes dull orange rufous, nails and palmations black; irides dark 
brown. 
I have arranged in parallel columns, the description of the different 
parts of the adult female as given by Dr. Coues in his ‘ Key to North 
American Birds,’ in 1884, and Mr. Ridgway in his ‘Manual of North 
American Birds,’ in 1887, with the corresponding parts of my specimen. 
It will be noticed that my bird differs chiefly in having a rather darker 
plumage, white feathers on the nape, and a loral and mental white patch. 
The white on the chin I believe to be simply an individual peculiarity, 
but the other differences are possibly characteristic of the fully adult 
female. 
# 
Coues. 
Ridgway. 
My Specimen. 
Pileum and nape. 
Sooty brown. 
Dusky. 
Almost black. 
Lores. 
Patch of whitish. 
Indistinct whitish patch. 
Patch of whitish. 
Auriculars. 
Patch of whitish. 
No patch of whitish ex- 
cept in young. 
Patch of whitish. 
Nape. 
No white. 
No white. 
Many white feathers. 
Side of head. 
Much whitish. 
Grayish brown. 
Almost as dark as back. 
Upper parts. 
Sooty brown. 
Dusky, feathers some- 
times with paler tips. 
Dark brownish black ; tertiaries, 
tip and part of outer web of 
primaries, outer web of second- 
aries, upper tail-coverts and tail 
almost as black as in adult male. 
Lower parts. 
Silvery gray. 
Grayish brown, paler on 
belly. 
Sooty brown. 
Chest. 
Tipped with dull whitish. 
Tipped with dull whitish. 
Chin. 
? 
Grayish-brown. 
Patch of white tipped with brown. 
Another adult female in my collection (No. 1338) taken at Stony 
Creek, Conn., Dec. 18, 1894, differs from this bird only in the following 
respects. Many feathers approaching hair brown and tipped with whit- 
ish on back, rump, upper tail-coverts and tail ; lower parts a mixture of 
sooty brown and broccoli brown, the latter predominating, the feathers 
tipped with whitish especially on the chest. Nuchal white feathering 
much more extended and distinct; white of chin replaced by hair brown; 
space between loral and auricular white patches only slightly darker than 
rest of neck. The brown feathers, particularly on the tail and upper parts, 
are much worn, while the blackish feathers are fresh and unabraded, 
leading me to think that the black feathers were replacing the brown. 
While in Cambridge in the fall of 1893, Mr. William Brewster kindly 
showed me his series of this species, among which were several females 
with the white feathering on the nape quite distinct, and Mr. George H. 
Mackay informed me that he had frequently seen this nuchal white 
patch well developed in the female. I trust that Mr. Gurdon Trumbull 
will soon conclude his scholarly article on ‘ Our Scoters,’ with a descrip- 
tion of this species in all stages of plumage. — Louis B. Bishop, M. D., 
New Haven , Conn. 
