VOL. X.J MOULTS OF BRITISH FASSERES. 129 

 Bearded Titmouse {Panurus h. hiarmicus). 



Adults. — Complete moult in autumn. No moult in 

 spring and practically no change by abrasion. The adult 

 female lacks the black moustachial stripes of the male though 

 the feathers in this region are somewhat elongated, the crown 

 of the female is yellowish-brown, often streaked with brownish- 

 black instead of being grey as in the male, the mantle of the 

 female is paler and less tawny and usually has some dark 

 streaks, the under tail-coverts are buff instead of black, 

 besides other smaller differences. 



Juvenile. — ^The mantle and back are black, and the rest 

 of the upper-parts, as well as the imder-parts, are paler and 

 buffer than in the adult female, the central tail-feathers are 

 pale buff and the rest largely black instead of tawny, the 

 lesser coverts are pale buff instead of grey, and the wing- 

 feathers have not nearly such bright edgings as in the adult. 

 The first (bastard) primary is much broader and longer than 

 in the adult. The sexes appear to be alike. 



First winter. — The juvenile plumage is completely 

 moulted including the wings and tail in autumn, and after 

 this the birds resemble the adults. 



Family Lanhd^. 



The moults of the Shrikes on the British list are exceed- 

 ingly puzzling, and so different that it seems inadvisable to 

 sunnnarize them. Those interested in the subject may 

 consult the details given below, which aie the result of a 

 very careful examination of all the material I can find. 

 Whether I have interpreted the moults correctly or not, 

 other workers must decide, but in some cases, and especially 

 in the Red-backed Shrike, it has been difficult to say exactly 

 what takes place. Shrikes would seem to be in a transition 

 stage with regard to their moults. 



Lesser Grey Shrike {Lanius minor). 



Adults. — Complete moult in autumn. In February and 

 March (sometimes April) there is a moult confined, so far as 

 I can discover, to the body-feathers. The male in winter 

 has a few grey feathers mixed with the black of the fore-head, 

 and the plumage is not so bright and clean looking as in 

 summer. The female in winter has more grey on the fore- 

 head than the male, the ear-coverts are browner, the upper- 

 parts are duller, and the under-parts have less pink. After 

 the spring moult the female becomes more like the male in 

 winter. 



