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1. LAGOPUS. 37 



black, with finely mottled bars of dark chestnut ; head and neck 

 dark chestnut ; top of the liead and back of the neck marked with 

 black ; feathers of the mantle, lower back, rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts with narrow transverse bars and vermiculations of black and 

 chestnut, the latter colour usually predominating. As usual in this 

 group of birds, the autumn plumage is rarely completely donned, a 

 greater or lesser number of the summer featliers being retained. 

 From the evidence before me it is certain that no change is made 

 in the plumage of the male till after the breeding-season, and that 

 in the month of July he commences gradually moulting into his 

 autumn plumage, which is perfect by about the middle of August. 

 In summer the white spots on the underparts are absent or much 

 less prominent ; but this is accounted for by the wearing off of the 

 ends of the feathers. 



Adult male (autumn plumai/e). The upper parts are black, marked 

 and spotted Avith rufous or rufous-buff and edged all round with 

 paler buff; the markings are usually more or less concentric on the 

 mantle and lower back, and the chest is more or less strongly barred 

 and marked with black and buff. 



In September the first feathers of the winter plumage begin to 

 a])pear on the back and the barred chest-feathers are mostly or entirely 

 rejjlaced by dark chestnut feathers narrowly barred with black. 



Males in full breeding-plumage can be distinguished from 

 December specimens by their faded plumage and the more worn 

 edges of the feathers. Total length 15 inches, wing 8-3, tail 4'4, 

 tarsus 1-0. 



Adult female {autumn and winter plumages). Upper parts black, 

 with narrow irregular bars of rufous and buff spots at the tips of 

 most of the feathers ; chest-feathers narrowly and often irregularly 

 barred with rufous and black, usually more or less tipped with buff, 

 and with a buff patch along the basal part of the shaft. This 

 plumage is retained throughout the autumu and winter ; in early 

 spring the feathers of the summer plumage begin to appear, and by 

 the end of April the summer plumage is complete. 



Adult female (summer plumage). Upper parts black, coarsely 

 mottled and margined with buff or rufous buff ; most of the markings 

 are more or less concentric, and the butf margins to the feathers of 

 the back a ■■d scapulars give the bird a more or less scaled appearance; 

 most of the feathers of the neck, chest, sides, flanks, and under tail- 

 coverts are buff, coarsely and ii regularly barred with black *. All five 

 types don this breeding-plumage and, at this season, are very similar 



* Tliere is no doubt that many of these buff feathers coarsely barred with 

 black are not produced by a fresh niouh, but are actually the same featliers 

 which in autumn and winter are finely barred with black and rufous. The 

 change of pattern occurs in early spring, and the mode by which this alteration 

 takes place is well shown iu February and March specimens. First a bufT 

 shaft-stripe extends towards the end of the shaft, and gradually resolves itself 

 into transverse buff bars, and meanwhile the intermediate spaces become 

 black. 



