mi JOURNAL, BOMBAY SATURAL H/STORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIX. 



No. XIV.— CHANGE OF PLUMAGE OF THE CINNAMON 

 TREE-SPARROW (PASSER CI NN AMOMEL'S). 

 I met this bird first in Chitral (1902-OH), but only took skins in winter. 

 Captain Fulton's were also winter skins. All mine were normal. In June 

 1906, 1 met this bird again in Kajiar, a little up in the hUls in Chamba, one 

 March, beyond Dalhousie. I put it down as cinnamomeus without considering 

 the matter much. 



In June 19u7, 1 was trapping in Kajiar with a view to collecting birds to 

 take home alive with me the following March. There were Cinnamon Tree- 

 Sparrows in abundance, but to my disappointment I could see none with any 

 signs of yellow on them, though there were numerous colonies nesting. I 

 took away three nestlings, which turned out one cock and two hens, and an 

 adult cock. They showed no trace of yellow. The adult cock had a fully 

 developed bib and the back and head were a fine cinnamon : so it could not 

 have been a bird of the year. The young take some time to reach this stage ; 

 my young cock had not attained this plumage fully when he died in IVIarch 

 1908. I certainly should have reported the occurrence of P. rutilans (or 

 assimilis) but that I could get no skins. Since then I have learnt to mistrust 

 my skin-procuring propensity. 



Careful record was not kept of change of plumage, but by December 1907 

 all four birds " showed yellow" and bright at that. They weie undoubted 

 Cinnamons. Had the Kajiar birds showed even a far duller yellow I could 

 not have helped noticing it, as I watched them pretty carefully. The yellow 

 was duller by March 1908 and it was duller still when they went to Mr. 

 Teschemaker in England in May. 



The above is a summary of a paper by me in the Avicultural Magazine, 

 Vol. VII, May number, 1909. In the same number, Mr. Teschemaker wrote 

 a paper on the successful breeding in captivity of this species. I give extracts, 

 taking only those which concern change of colour, about which I made 

 mention to him before sending him the birds. 



'' Now, of course, I was anxious to put this matter to the test, and, as 

 yellow is a colour not easily impaired by cage-life, I did not anticipate any 

 difficulty in the matter, and only retained the young male for the puipo^e of 

 observation." 



" The adult male began to show his yellow breast about the middle of 

 December, apparently through an actual change of colour and not by casting 

 any feathers, and as an exhibitor offered to purchase a pair, and naturally 

 wanted the best birds, I sent him this bird. As bad luck would have it it died 

 shortly after arrival, and with considerable reluctance, I therefore gave him 

 the remaining young male. lam unforLunately therefore only able to confirm 

 Captain Perreau's observation to this extent : namely, that the adult male 

 certainly had a b i^ht yellow breast wbtn I leceived it on the 4th May 

 (though it had faded somewhat according to Captain Perreau, by that date) ; 

 bhat by the commencement of July it's breast had become entirely grey, only 



