American Wigeon

“Mareca americana. American Wigeon. Bald-pate. Bill grayish-blue, with black tip and extreme base; feet similar, duller, with dusky webs and claws; iris brown. Top of head white, or nearly so; sides the same, or more buffy, speckled with dusky-green, purer green forming a broad patch from and below eye to hind head; chin dusky. Fore neck and breast light brownish-red, or very pale purplish-cinnamon, each feather with paler grayish edge; along the sides of the body the same, finely waved with dusky; the breast and belly pure white, the crissum abruptly black. Lower hind neck and fore back and scapulars finely waved with the same reddish color and with dusky; lower back and rump similarly waved with dusky and whitish. Lesser wing-coverts plain gray; middle and greater coverts pure white, forming a large area, the greater black-tipped, forming the fore border of the speculum, which is glossy green, bordered behind by velvety black, internally by the black and white stripes on the inner secondaries. Tail brownish-gray, the lateral upper coverts black; axillary feathers white. Only old drakes have the crown immaculate white, the chin dusky, the auricular definitely green; generally the whole head and upper neck are pale brownish-yellow or reddish-white, speckled with greenish-Dusky.” Elliot Coues, 1884

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