53. EMBEKIZA. 543 



with narrow black shaft-lines to the feathers of the upper back and 

 mantle ; the scapulars, lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts 

 uniform ; lesser wing-coverts bluish grey ; median and greater 

 series chestnut, blackish on the inner web, and narrowly edged with 

 ashy whitish ; bastard-wing and primary-coverts dusky, edged with 

 pale brown ; quills dusky, the primaries margined with ash} - white, 

 the secondaries with pale chestnut, broader on the inner ones ; 

 centre tail-feathers pale chestnut, blackish along the centre, the 

 remainder blackish, the two outer ones margined externally with 

 white, the penultimate one having a large wedge-shaped mark of 

 white towards the end of the inner web, the outer feather almost 

 entirely white excepting the shaft, an oblique black mark along the 

 base of the inner web and a small blackish mark near the end of 

 the outer web ; crown of head and nape deep chestnut, darker than 

 the back ; lores and base of forehead blackish ; over the eye a 

 distinct line of white from above the lores to the sides of the nape, 

 where it is tinged with grey, like the sides of the neck ; ear-coverts 

 deep chestnut ; below the eye a broad streak of white ; cheeks black, 

 tinged with chestnut anteriorly ; behind the cheek-stripe a white 

 spot on the sides of the neck : at base of chin a tiny spot of black ; 

 throat greyish white, followed by a broad band of deep chestnut 

 across the chest ; sides of breast and flanks paler chestnut, deeper 

 again on the flanks ; centre of the breast aud abdomen, as well as 

 the thighs and under tail-coverts, ashy whitish ; axillaries and under 

 wing-coverts greyish white ; quills dusky below, ashy along the 

 inner webs. Total length G-6 inches, culnien 0*45, wing 3 - 3, tail 

 3"1, tarsus 0*75. 



Adult female in breeding-plumage. Not so richly coloured as the 

 male, and having broader black stripes to the upper surface ; the 

 chestnut breast-band paler. Total length 6 inches, culmen - 45, 

 wing 3, tail 2-S5, tarsus OT. (Mus. H. Seebohm.) 



The winter plumage of the adult male differs from the summer 

 plumage in having the chestnut of the upper surface obscured by 

 sandy margins to the feathers, the head and ear-coverts being also 

 washed with sandy ; the chestnut edges to the wing-coverts and 

 quills broader and more distinct; the sides of the neck and throat 

 bluish grey ; the chest-band obscured by bluish-grey margins to the 

 feathers ; otherwise as in summer. 



The adult female in winter plumage differs from the male in being 

 much more ash}', especially on the head, which is streaked with black 

 like the back ; the chestnut band on the fore neck, which is alwa} s 

 less distinct in the female than in the male, is entirely hidden in 

 the winter plumage by the ashy-fulvous margins to the feathers. 



Young males in winter plumage closely resemble the old females 

 and have the head similarly striped. Like the latter, they lack the 

 black chin -spot. 



Nestling. Similar to that of E. cia, but more rufous on the wings, 

 rump, and upper tail-coverts, and especially on the central tail- 

 feathers. 



Hid). Siberia. 



