( 98 ) 

 SEQUENCE OF PLUMAGES IN BRITISH BIRDS. 



VI. THE BRITISH LONG-TAILED, GREAT, COAL, MARSH 



AND BLUE TITMICE. 



BY 

 H. F. WITHERBY. 



THE BRITISH LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. 



Acredula caudata rosea (Blyth). 



Male and Female. 



Down-Plumage, Not examined. 



Juvenile Plumage. Acquired while in the nest, the Down- 

 Plumage being completely moulted. 



Feathers of the crown white, some being lightly tipped with brown, 

 especially on the forehead ; lores, superciliary stripe, ear-coverts, hind- 

 neck, mantle, back, rump and tipper tail-coverts dark chocolate-brown ; 

 scapulars the same, but tipped with white ; under-side white, except 

 some of the flank- feathers, which have a buff tinge, and the vent and 

 under tail-coverts, which are pink ; axillaries white ; tail-feathers black, 

 the outer pair with a white outer web, the next pair the same, except 

 at the base, where the outer web is black, the next pair with faint 

 white markings on the oiiter web near the tip ; wing- feathers blackish- 

 brown, the inner secondaries being emarginated with white ; primary- 

 coverts blackish-brown ; all the wing-coverts dark brown, the inner 

 greater coverts being emarginated with white like the inner secondaries. 



FmsT Winter-Plumage. Acquired by a complete moult. 



Forehead, lores, centre of crown and hind-neck dull white, marked 

 here and there with black ; superciliary stripe extending from a little 

 in front of the eye to the mantle, black ; ear-coverts grey, streaked with 

 brown ; mantle black ; back black, with more or less pink ; scapulars 

 and rump pink, with the tijDS of some of the feathers white and some 

 black ; upper tail-coverts black ; chin and throat white ; an indistinct 

 band on the upper-breast formed by small brown tips to some of the 

 feathers ; centre of breast and belly white, the sides, flanks and under 

 tail-coverts jjink, the feathers being tipped with white ; tail-feathers 

 black, the outer two pairs having white outer webs, with the white 

 extending across the inner web in a slanting line towards the tip of the 

 feathers, the next pair the same, but with the outer web at the base 

 black and only fringed with white, the next pair with a little white on 

 the outer web towards the tip ; axillaries and under wing-coverts white ; 

 wing-feathers blackish-brown, the four innermost secondaries paler brown 

 and margined with white or buflfish-white, the next two with narrow 

 white edgings to the outer webs ; wing-coverts black, except the 

 innermost greater coverts, which are brown, tijiped with white, and 

 margined with pink and white. 



First Summer-Plumage. Acquii-ed by abrasion. The 

 plumage is like that of the First Winter, except that it is 

 abraded, the tail especially becoming very ragged. 



