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THE MOULTS OF THE BRITISH PASSERES, 



WITH NOTES ON THE SEQUENCE OF THEIR 



PLUMAGES. 



BY 



H. F. WITHERBY. 



Part V. 

 {ConiinucdfromVo]. IX., page 316). 



Family Motacillid.^. 



The members of this family, comprising the Pipits and 

 Wagtails, all have very similar moults, differing only in 

 details. The adults have a complete autumn moult and a 

 spring moult involving the body -feathers, a varying number of 

 wing-coverts, usually some of the innermost secondaries and 

 the central pair of tail-feathers, occasionally the outer pair 

 of tail-feathers and exceptionally all the tail-feathers. This 

 moult varies in details in species and also individually in the 

 same species. 



The moult from the juvenile to the first winter is very 

 much like that of the adult in spring, but usually more 

 restricted with regard to the wing-coverts, innermost 

 secondaries and tail, but the extent of this moult varies in 

 different species. The first spring moult is usually like that 

 of the adult. 



In the Pipits there are sexual and seasonal differences in 

 the adults of the Red-throated and Water-Pipits only. The 

 juveniles do not differ very markedly from the adults and 

 the first winter birds only in three species. 



In the Wagtails, on the other hand, the adult male and 

 female, the winter and summer plumages, the juvenile and 

 the first winter and summer plumages all have differences. 



Richard's Pipit {Anthus r. richardi). 



Adults. — Complete moult in August or September. From 

 March to May there is a moult involving the body-plumage, 

 most of the wing-coverts (not primary-coverts), innermost 

 secondaries, central pair of tail-feathers, and occasionally 

 the outer pair. The extent of this moidt varies individually. 

 There is no sexual nor seasonal difference in the plumage. 



Juvenile. — The juvenile has the upper-parts, wing-coverts, 

 innermost secondaries and central tail-feathers brown-black, 

 evenly margined with buffish-white, giving it the appearance 



