8 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXIV. 1917. 



to raise the question, Do the adult birds renew their flight-feathers in some 

 cases in the vernal moult ? The fact that these feathers may be abraided of 

 the buff edgings in varying degrees does not necessarily negative the idea, as 

 such a process of abrasion may proceed later on in the spring. 



Before leaving this part of the subject I may state that from a minute 

 anatomical examination of the reproductive organs I would say that the Tuskar 

 bird had reached the sexually active stage of its life, but it does not necessarily 

 follow that there must be a strict correlation between the first arrival at puberty 

 and the assumption of the full nuptial garb. Many external sexual characters 

 do not appear tUl some time after semination has first manifested itself ; for 

 example, the growth of the hair on the face of man, especially the beard, does 

 not as a rule show to any extent until a considerable period after puberty, and 

 many other examples might be cited. To sum up, then, I would say that the 

 Black-eared Wheatear from Tuskar was in adolescent or pre-nuptial plumage, 

 had just reached the age in which it was capable of breeding, but whether it 

 would have done so this season had it survived and had it met a mate, remains 

 an open question. Lastly, in submitting the bird to Mr. Eagle Clarke for com- 

 parison with specimens in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, I find that 

 his testimony regaiding the probable age agrees substantially with that of mine, 

 for he informs me that he is of the opinion " that though mature it is not an 

 old bird." * 



Condition. — The condition of the plumage on the whole is good ; the full 

 complement of feathers is j)resent, and none of the long feathers of the wings 

 or tail are bent or broken. The only feathers which had not been renewed by 

 the spring moult are the flight-feathers, with the primary-coverts and a few 

 of the outer greater wing-coverts already indicated, and ten of the twelve taU- 

 feathers. Of these, the taU-feathers are in quite a good condition and the 

 dark band is but little faded ; the wing-coverts are also in good condition, but 

 these and the flight-feathers have faded to some extent. The tips of the latter, 

 especially the middle series of primaries, are roughened by abrasion, and are 

 the only group of feathers which detract slightly from the beauty of the birds' 

 dress. The rest of the plumage, recently acquked, is clean and bright and the 

 individual feathers are in perfect condition. 



Peet. 



In colour the feet are black, but the tarso-metatarsus (the part commonly 

 called the leg) as distinct from the phalanges or toes, is shorter than in the foot 

 of the Common Wheatear by about 6 mm. {vide measurements). This part of 

 the foot is almost as strongly buUt as in the Common Wheatear, but the toes 

 are more slender, and the naOs smaller and shorter. The outer and inner toes 

 are practically of the same length in the two species, and the difference in the 

 ratio of length of toe to nail is almost negligible, the nail of these toes being 

 but a mere shade longer and sharper in the Common Wheatear ; but in the 

 mid and hind-toes the naUs of the latter are defuiitely longer, the difference 

 being more marked in the hind-toe ; yet these toes, minus their nails, are almost 

 the same length in the two species (vide measurements). 



* VV. Eagle Clarke in lilt. 



