3. ANTHUS. 557 



smoky brown, the inner web obliquely blackish brown, the outer 

 web pale sandy buff, the shaft yellowish white, rather browner 

 towards the end ; lores pale sandy buff, continued into a broad eye- 

 brow of lighter sandy ; eyelid, sides- of face, and ear-coverts sandy 

 buff, the latter slightly mottled with brown ends to the feathers ; 

 cheeks pale sandy buff, separated from the throat by a distinct 

 moustache of dusky brown ; throat pale sandy buff; remainder of 

 under surface of body sandy buff, browner on the flanks and sides 

 of body ; the fore neck and breast distinctly mottled with triangular 

 blackish spots, which extend down the sides of the body ; axillaries 

 and under wing-coverts sandy rufous, mottled with dusky bases 

 near the edge of the wing ; quills dusky below, pale rufous-buff 

 along the inner web. 



A female bird obtained by Mr. Andersson on the 20th of January 

 is moulting from the plumage above described into its first winter 

 dress, and we are able to trace what the latter will be like. It is 

 evident that the bird passes at once into the uniform plumage of the 

 adult, but with this difference, that the new dorsal feathers are 

 obsoletely fringed with sandy buff, a little more distinct on the head, 

 where the feathers have dusky centres, so that the head has a 

 faintly striped appearance. It is at this season that the species 

 might be mistaken for A. nicholsoni ; but the absence of distinct 

 streaks to the dorsal plumage and the sandy rufous axillaries 

 effectually distinguish it. The under surface is strongly suffused 

 with sandy buff, especially on the fore neck and chest, which have 

 obscure dusky blackish streaks or spots in the centre of the feathers. 

 The tail does not retain the markings on the penultimate feather so 

 distinctly as in the nestling dress. The outer tail-feather is as 

 before, excepting that the sandy-buff colour on the outer web is 

 whiter. 



Adult female in hreedimj-ijlumage. General colour above nearly 

 uniform umber-brown, but slightly paler and more ashy on the 

 hinder neck ; least wing-coverts like the back, the remainder 

 blackish, edged with dark sandy buff; the bastard-wing and pri- 

 mary-coverts blackish brown, narrowly margined with ashy fulvous, 

 as also are the primaries, the secondaries, however, having rather 

 broader edges of sandy buff; tail-feathers dark brown, narrowly 

 edged with ashy fulvous, the two outer ones smoky brown, with 

 an oblique mark of dark brown along the inner web, the tips of both 

 feathers isabelline, as also the outer web of the external rectrix ; 

 head nearly uniform, like the back ; lores and a distinct eyebrow 

 as well as the feathers under the eye isabelline whitish, rather more 

 sandy on the hinder part of the eyebrow ; ear-coverts pale sandy 

 buff, browner along the upper margin ; cheeks whitish, with a 

 dusky line along the upper margin and a plainer mystacal line of 

 blackish ; throat whitish ; remainder of the under surface of the 

 body pale sandy buff, inclining to isabelline on the centre of the 

 breast, abdomen, thighs, and under tail-coverts ; fore neck and 

 breast slightly washed with ashy fulvous, with a few indistinct 



