150 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1896. 



The tail is generally shed at the first spriug molt and a new black 

 one assumed,^^ though sometimes only a few of the feathers are 

 changed, frequently only the middle pair. In these latter cases 

 the complete black tail is assumed at the next annual molt. 



As regards the spring molt of the body plumage there is a great 

 deal of individual variation. In some specimens, especially in birds 

 in their first spring plumage, this molt is practically complete, as 

 far as the body feathers are concerned, while in others, a good 

 many of the old feathers, showing much abrasion, are retained. 

 This often gives a mottled appearance to the interscapular region, 

 while in the pink breast patch the old feathers may be recognized 

 by their worn whitish tips. One curious specimen (No. 31,922, A. 

 N.S. Coll., E. Hartford, Conn., May 11, 1891), has the pink of 

 the breast thickly spotted with black. Careful examination shows 

 that but little molt has taken place on the breast ; the buflf margins, 

 however, which bordered the feathers in the winter plumage, have 

 been completely worn away, while the black portions being appar- 

 ently less brittle have withstood the abrasion and remain as promi- 

 nent as in the winter bird (see PI. V, fig. 6). Furthermore, the 

 feathers of the interscapular region, which are acquired at the spring 

 molt, seem to vary in character, some are jet black throughout, 

 while others are bordered with very light buff on the sides. These 

 might be considered to be remnants of the winter plumage, but in 

 many spriug specimens (notably in 1,029, Coll. W. Stone, May 8, 

 1892) the feathers are fresh and perfect while if they had been 

 acquired at the previous annual molt they would certainly have 

 shown more or less abrasion. These bufl^-edged feathers in spring 

 birds do not necessarily denote younger birds than those having the 

 the pure black feathers, since in the specimen (28,499, Coll. A. N. S., 

 June, 1881) which shows the least amount of spring molt of any 

 in the series, such new feathers as have been acquired on the back 

 are entirely black. 



Female. — Molts and plumages quite different from male. So far 

 as my material goes, there seems to be a partial molt in spring in 

 addition to the annual molt at the end of the breeding season, but 

 in many individuals the nuptial plumage is much abraded and 

 shows but little renewal of the feathers. There is a curious plum- 



'^ I have not seen any specimen which shows this molt of the tail in progress, 

 but I have seen such a specimen illustrating an exactly similar molt in Pir- 



anga erythromelas. 



