VOL. X.] MOULTS OF BRITISH PASSERES. 131 



coverts are moulted from August to December, but occasion- 

 alh^ a good many juvenile body-feathers are retained until 

 the spring moult. Except for the juvenile feathers retained 

 the first winter bird is mucli like the adult, but both sexes 

 have wavy brown bars on the breast though those on the 

 female are stronger than those on the male. 



First summer. — A moult takes place as in the adult, after 

 which the birds become like the adults. 



WooDCHAT Shrike [Lanius s. senator). 



Adults. — Complete moult from August to December. 

 There is no spring moult in the adult so far as I can discover. 

 The female has a narrower black band across the fore-head 

 and through the ear-coverts than the male, the mantle, 

 wings and tail are brown instead of black, and a varying 

 number of feathers of the upper-breast and flanks have 

 dusky-black crescentic bars. 



Juvenile. — Upper-parts varying from greyish-white to 

 rufous buff, each feather with a broad brown-black subter- 

 minal crescentic band, rump nearlj^ uniform pale rufous-buff 

 and upper tail-coverts more rufous ; except for the centre of 

 the belly and under tail-coverts the under-parts have dusky- 

 black crescentic bands ; the tail-feathers are brown with 

 dark subterminal lines and have cream-colour instead of 

 white tips and bases ; the wing-feathers are also brown with 

 wider and more buff edgings than the adults, the greater 

 wing-coverts have most of the outer web rufous-buff, while 

 the median and lesser coverts are much like the feathers of 

 the upper-parts. The sexes are alike. 



First winter. — A varying number of the juvenile body- 

 feathers, lesser and median wing-coverts are moulted from 

 June to September, but a good many of the feathers of these 

 parts are retained as well as the greater wing-coverts, primary- 

 coverts and wing- and tail-feathers which are not moulted. 

 The new feathers of the fore-head, crown and nape are rufous 

 with black subterminal crescentic bands, of the mantle 

 rufous-brown with faint dark crescentic bands, of the rump 

 and upper tail-coverts buff with black crescentic bands. The 

 first winter birds thus differ considerably from the adults in 

 these new feathers besides the mixture of juvenile feathers 

 retained and other smaller details not mentioned. 



First summer. — The mixed plumage described above is 

 completely moulted from November to March, except for 

 the primary-coverts and frequently two or three primaries 

 or secondaries. The new plumage is like that of the adults, 



