1:32 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. x. 



but occasionally males have a few feathers on the flanks with 

 black erescentic bands, and females appear to have more of 

 these feathers than adult females. In males the primary- 

 coverts are distinctly brown as also are the unmoulted 

 primaries and secondaries. 



Masked Shrike [Lanius nnhicus). 



Adults. — Complete moult from August to November and 

 occasionally December. From January to March there is a 

 moult confined to the body-feathers. The winter and summer 

 plumages are the same except that abrasion of the white 

 edgings and tips to the inner secondaries, wing-coverts and 

 upper tail-coverts makes these parts more uniform black. 

 The female differs from the male in having dark greyish- 

 brown instead of black upper-parts, more creamy, not so 

 pure white fore-head and scapulars, browner wings and tail, 

 and less rusty-chestnut on the under-parts. 



Juvenile. — The upper-parts are brown, each feather 

 having a blackish-brown erescentic band, scapulars whitish 

 with similar bands ; the imder-parts are white closely barred 

 with dark brown erescentic bands, but the chin and belly 

 with few bands ; the median and lesser coverts are like the 

 mantle, while the greater coverts and innermost secondaries 

 are dark browii mottled with pale brown and with pale buff 

 edgings, the wings and tail are brown-black like those of 

 the adult female. Sexes alike. 



First winter. — The juvenile body -feathers, inner second- 

 aries, greater and median and lesser wing-coverts are moulted 

 from June to October, but not the primary-coverts, tail, nor 

 the rest of the wing-feathers. Frequently also a few outer 

 greater coverts and some body-feathers are retained. The 

 male in first winter is somewhat like the adult female, but 

 the feathers of the fore-head have black erescentic bands 

 and all the feathers of the upper-parts have longer rusty tips. 

 The female in first winter has the fore-head speckled with 

 brown. 



First summer. — The body-plumage is moulted from 

 January to April and except for the brownish wings and 

 tail the male becomes like the adult male though a few first 

 winter body-featheis are sometimes retained. The female, 

 however, still has the fore-head sliehtly speckled and the 

 mantle and crown are paler and with longer brown tips to 

 the feathers than in the adult female. 



