310 



1'PvIXGILLIDiE. 



on the inner secondaries ; the primaries with a pale rufous mark at 

 the hase of the outer web, which is again paler-edged at about one 

 third from the tip ; tail-feathers dusky brown, edged with ashy 

 fulvous or whity brown ; crown of head and nape ashy grey, the 

 hind neck also ashy grey, mixed with chestnut ; lores and a line 

 below the eye black, the latter with a small white spot behind it ; 

 from behind the upper part of the eye a broad streak of chestnut, 

 widening out on the sides of the neck ; ear-coverts dull ashy, with 

 whitish bases ; cheeks white, widening out on the sides of the neck, 

 which are ashy mixed with white ; base of cheeks, throat, and fore 

 neck black ; sides of breast pale ashy, browner on the flanks ; centre 

 of the breast and abdomen white, with a few dusky streaks on the 

 upper breast ; tbighs light brown ; under tail-coverts pale brown, 

 edged with whitish ; under wing-coverts and axillaries pale oehreous, 

 the lower ones yellowish white ; quills dusky below, ashy fulvous 

 along the inner web ; bill leaden-blue in summer, blackish or 

 horn-brown in winter ; legs brown ; iris hazel. Total length 6 

 inches, culmen 0*55, wing 2-95, tail 2*1, tarsus 075. 



The adult male in winter plumage is much duller than in summer, 

 the whole aspect of the bird being browner ; the chestnut of the 

 back is obscured by fulvous, the head is brown instead of grey, the 

 lower back and rump earthy brown instead of ashy ; the wings 

 and tail are as in summer, but the edges to the feathers are broader 

 and the white wing-band is washed with fulvous ; the sides of the 

 face are ashy brown, with a little white behind the cheeks, the fore 

 parts of which, with the lores and the feathers under the eye, are 

 black ; over the eye a small line of white ; the chestnut band on the 

 side of the head obscured by sandy-buff tips to the feathers ; the 

 whole of the throat hidden by pale sandy edges to the feathers. 



The summer plumage is gained without a moult by the shedding 

 of the pale tips to the feathers, and the bill changes from horny 

 brown to black. 



The Eastern House-Sparrow differs from the ordinary Passer do- 

 mesticus of Europe in being much lighter and purer in colour, the 

 cheeks and ear-coverts being generally pure white, as also the under 

 wing-coverts and axillaries : there is also a broader streak of black 

 below the eye, and the black mark at the base of the cheeks is 

 larger. But the Sparrow varies so much according to locality, that 

 a perfect gradation between the two forms can bo found ; for in the 

 south of Europe the colour is always brighter and purer than in 

 the north, and this variation increases according to the more eastern 

 habitat of the species. 



The House-Sparrow from ]S T orth-east Africa shows a tendency to 

 chestnut in the centre of the black on the fore neck. This is by no 

 means a specific character, however, for it is present in some English 

 specimens, and also in another from Finland. In the last-named 

 countries, at least, it may be considered a mark of extreme age. 



Adult female. Browner than the male ; the mantle and back 

 tawny instead of chestnut, streaked with black as in the male ; 

 lower back and rump ashy brown ; wings and tail as in the male, 



