636 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



white or not, tipped with whitish; the inner webs whitish for the 

 greater part of their length (except for the tip), the white area taking 

 the form of a series (15 or so) of incomplete white bars, confluent at 

 the edge of the web, but not reaching the shaft; secondaries plain dark 

 sepia in uniform-backed birds, marginally crossed by transverse spots 

 of pale avellaneous to buffy white in the case of spotted-backed birds; 

 rectrices as in gray-phase adults, but more brownish sepia to chaetura 

 to dark olive-brown with the pale bars almost hair brown on the 

 median pair and progressively lighter on the inner webs of the more 

 lateral feathers; in the case of uniform-backed birds the median pair 

 of rectrices may be almost unbarred, the lighter bars being so famtly 

 paler than the dark ones as to be quite hard to see; sides of head and 

 neck whitish to pale buff heavily streaked with dark sepia, the streaks 

 narrower, merely pronounced shaft streaks, on the cheeks and auric- 

 ulars, which are sometimes much washed with drab or hau' brown; 

 a more or less distinct malar stripe of dark sepia usually present; chin 

 and upper throat whitish with a cream or buff tinge and with fine 

 dusky shaft streaks which become broader on the throat; rest of 

 underparts whitish like the chin and upper throat, but very broadly 

 and abundantly streaked with dark sepia to fuscous, the markings 

 usually darkest on the sides and flanks, narrow and paler on the thighs 

 and under tail coverts; under wing coverts whitish UTegularly and 

 incompletely barred or spotted with dark sepia and usually with dark 

 sepia shaft streaks; iris dark brown; cere and bill pale plumbeous; 

 feet pale bluish or pale bluish green; claws black. 



Juvenal, dark variety (females only). — Gray phase: Similar to the 

 last, but much darker; entire upperparts fuscous, the crown, occiput, 

 and nape often streaked with buffy white; the feathers of the back 

 and upper surface of wings edged with dull sepia; unbarred or other- 

 wise marked; primaries with the pale color on the inner webs much 

 reduced sometimes to a slight freckling, sometimes the marginal bars 

 not extending more than halfway to the shaft; secondaries uniform 

 fuscous, unmarked; rectrices dull fuscous, tipped narrowly with dirty 

 white, the pale bars reduced to transverse spots and often entirely 

 absent save for one or more subterminal small spots on each feather; 

 lores, cheeks, and auriculars dark fuscous; entire underparts very 

 dark fuscous to fuscous-black, the feathers edged with pale buffy 

 white, the edgings often narrow, producing an appearance of narrow 

 pale streaks on the dark background; in other cases, much broader, 

 usually broad on the chin and upper throat; the thighs and under tail 

 coverts spotted or barred with buffy white; under wing coverts fuscous- 

 black or dark fuscous, the outer and the greater ones spotted with 

 buffy white. (This plumage phase appears to be confined to Labrador 

 birds, not all of which, however, are of this type.) 



