11 June 2008, Adobe Creek, Mountain View Santa Clara County, California. These striking males appear to be molting into a more drab "eclipse" plumage which they acquire in summer after nesting. The term "eclipse" is no longer considered useful because it is not acquired by a separate molt from the usual prealternate and prebasic molts of other birds, nor does it represent a separate third plumage which would require a special name. However, because male ducks have a bright plumage in winter and a drab plumage in summer/fall, there has been confusion about whether the so-called "eclipse" plumage is actually the basic or the alternate plumage. Ducks lose their flight feathers simultaneously and become flightless during the summer "eclipse" plumage. Since wing/tail molt signifies a complete prebasic molt, and because of the "eclipse" plumage's drab coloration similar to basic plumage in most other birds, it seems reasonable to conclude that the "eclipse" plumage is actually just basic plumage. However, based on homologies with geese, Pyle (Waterbirds 28:208-219, 2005) showed that the drab "eclipse" plumage is apparently equivalent to the "alternate" plumage and the bright winter plumage is the basic plumage. In Pyle's scheme the complete wing/tail molt, which occurs in late summer and renders the ducks flightless, is part of the ensuing complete body molt which brings the males into a bright plumage in fall and winter. In my view, Pyle's argument is not particularly intuitive. Also it is contrary to the detailed plumage descriptions and molt names used by Palmer and by the widely used accounts in "Birds of North America." We are thus left with confusion in terminology. I could say these Cinnamon Teal are acquiring alternate plumage and the reader would not know if I am using terminology advocated by Pyle or the traditional terminology of Palmer. Is the bright cinnamon breeding color being lost or being acquired? The confusion in terminology fails to make clear what is going on. For this reason I have decided to continue using the word "eclipse" for the drab summer plumage of ducks. At least for now, there is a need for it to avoid the inevitable confusion inherent in using the traditional system or the new Pyle system. This is the North American subspecies A. c. septentrionalium, which has a less ruddy plumage and stronger sexual dimorphism than other races which are found in South America. It is an uncommon breeder in Santa Clara County, mostly in freshwater habitats, but it does occasionally resort to brackish water as well. Panasonic DMC-LZ5 / Nikon FS 3 / 30XWA / hand-held, no adapter.