30 



Allen's naturallst's library. 



shot on the 6th of June, the autumn moult having commenced 

 on the upper mantle, three different sets of feathers can be 

 seen on the back at once, belonging to the new autumn, the 

 old winter, and the old autumn plumages, both the latter very 

 clearly showing the result of wear and tear (PI. II., Figs. 1-3). 



The males at this season, no matter to what type they be- 

 long, bear a much closer resemblance to one another than they 

 do in their winter plumage, only the under-parts of the body 

 differing conspicuously. 



The first feathers of the winter plumage begin to appear 

 about the beginning of September. 



Adult Male.— Winter- Summer Plumage.— General colour above 

 black, with finely mottled bars of dark chestnut (PI. II., Fig. 5); 

 head, neck, and chest (PI. II., Fig. 12) mostly dark chestnut, 

 finely marked with black ; and the flanks mottled and barred 

 with the same colours, the chestnut usually predominating. 

 Generally a greater or less number of autumn feathers are re- 

 tained, and are conspicuous among the new winter plumage. 

 The rest of the under-parts remain the same as after the 

 autumn moult. 



The general colour of each bird varies, of course, according 

 to the type to which it belongs, some being darker, some lighter. 

 When once the winter moult is complete, 710 change ivhatever 

 takes place in the plumage of the male till the following 

 autumn moult, except that the feathers become bleached and 

 worn at the extremities. 



Adult Female.— Autumn-Winter Plumage.* — Upper-parts black, 



* The form described is the commonest or buffs potted form of the female 

 in autumn pkimage. In typical examples of the red form the buff spots at 

 the ends of the feathers of the upper-parts are absent, and this is also the case 

 in the much rarer black form. In the buff-barred form, from the south and 

 west of Ireland, the terminal buff spot takes the form of a marginal bar, and 

 the feathers are practically indistinguishable from the breeding or summer 

 plumage. It may transpire that, in the south of Ireland, the most southerly 

 point of this bird's range, the female retains her breeding plumage throuj^h- 

 out the year, but this seems unlikely, and birds killed between the months of 

 April and August are wanted to settle this point. 



