THE KHER-PIDDAH 55 



paler. The yoang is a brown bird with, 

 mottling s on the breast. 



In winter the black feathers of the male 

 are edged with reddish-brown so that the 

 cumulative effect is to give it a reddish-brown 

 appearance instead of black. The bird at 

 this time so closely resembles the female 

 that but for the white collar in the neck 

 the sexes are well-nigh indistinguishable. 

 Except when they are in full dress in the 

 mating season, it is difficult to come 

 across two birds which are exactly alike in 

 colour. This is due to the fact that the 

 young birds are gradually assuming adult 

 plumage, while the feathers of the old are 

 undergoing a process of continual abrasion. 



Our Kher-Piddah is a cousin of the 

 English Stone-chat which "one may often 

 note by a furzy wayside, perched on a bush." 

 The English bird has a "nice little song and 

 breeds early in spring, lays five eggs of dull 

 pale sea-green with reddish spots". In 

 coloration, too, they are similar, except that 

 the white portions in the English bird are 

 broader than in the Indian. 



