132 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



obtain any fresh material or information regarding this form, 

 and I should be very glad to receive specimens from any 

 gentleman residing in the southern and western counties, and 

 in fact from any part of Ireland. 



The different types of male bear a much closer resem- 

 blance to one another in their new autumn plumage than 

 they do in their winter dress ; but even in autumn plumage 

 one can generally tell at a glance to which of the three types 

 any individual belongs, provided he is a fairly typical ex- 

 ample of any one form. 



In the same way all the females, no matter to what type 

 they belong, assume the black and buff-barred breeding 

 plumage, and are then much more alike than they are in 

 their autumn garb. 



It is extremely seldom that we come across a male in 

 complete autumn or complete winter plumage, that is to say, 

 with the whole of the back and upper parts alike ; generally 

 speaking, only part of the old feathers are replaced by a new 

 autumn plumage, and before this is complete the new winter 

 feathers begin to appear. Still, examples are to be found 

 here and there ; for one shot in the beginning of September 

 at Otley, Yorkshire, is in absolutely complete autumn garb, 

 while another individual killed in Perthshire in the month of 

 December has the upper parts entirely clad with new winter 

 plumage only, the whole of the comparatively fresh autumn 

 feathers having been cast and replaced. Presumably such 

 individuals are abnormally strong and vigorous birds. 



In no two individuals of the same sex are the changes 

 of plumage quite alike at the same date. The moults are 

 greatly affected by the mildness or severity of the weather, 

 and the abundance or scarcity of the food supply, as well as 

 by the constitution of the individual. In mild winters, for 

 example, we find birds of both sexes still moulting a few 

 feathers in the middle of December, and in such seasons the 

 changes are the most complete ; on the other hand, in sudden 

 severe winters, the food supply being diminished or nearly 

 cut off, the moult is arrested and apparently goes no further. 



Bearing in mind the above remarks, the changes in the 

 ordinary male may be described as follows : 



Adult Male (Autumn Plumage}. After the breeding 



