Lay a black thread base and leave the thread at about the one-third point; the upright Wing goes on first.
Wing: pull a fair-sized chunk of Bronze mallard perpendicular to the stem, sized so it will stand about as tall as the hackle, and catch it in with a couple of wraps. Lift the butts to 45 degrees, cut them with the scissors parallel to the shank for a taper, bind them down, then lift the wing and build a thread dam behind it.
Split the wing as close to half and half as you can and set it with two X-wraps.
Take the thread to the bend. Tail: about four barbs of Bronze mallard, rolled between thumb and finger so they lie together, one hook gap long. Wrap them in, snip the butts, and level the underbody with a few extra wraps.
Body: pull the guard hairs from a slip of Gray muskrat fur, wax the thread and spin on a thin noodle, leaving a couple of bare thread wraps so the dubbing starts right at the bend. Wrap it smooth forward to the back of the wing without much taper, so the down wing will lie flat rather than kick up.
Down wing: a slightly larger bunch of Bronze mallard, spun in the fingers if it splays, reaching nearly to the end of the tail. A pinch wrap, two wraps, check position, then a couple more to secure; build a little base behind the upright wings. Snip the butts without cutting the upright wing.
Hackle: a grizzly and a brown dry fly hackle, the brown one size smaller. Secure both behind the wing and in front, trim the stems, then wrap them together: two or three turns behind the wing, four in front. Two wraps to secure.
Pull the hackle back and start the head, snip any wayward fibers, whip finish twice (no cement), then trim the excess hackle tips last, spreading the fibers with the scissor point so you do not cut the ones you want.