( 314 ) 



THE MOULTS OF THE BRI'lISH PASSERES, 



WITH NOTES ON THE SEQUENCE OF THEIR 



PLUMAGES. 



BY 



H. F. WITHERBY. 



Part IV. 



(Continued from page 248.) 



Black-headed BmyTLSG (Emberiza melanocf phala) supra 

 p. 24L Correction. The juvenile plumage is completely 

 moulted, including the wing- and tail-feathers, at the first 

 autumn moult. Dr. C. B. Ticehurst has very kindly pointed 

 out to me that a specimen in the British Museum collection, 

 which has still some juvenile feathers upon it, is moulting 

 its wings and tail. I have examined this specimen, as Avell 

 as a female which is certainly in first winter plumage and 

 has still remains of sheaths on the primaries, so that specimens 

 in moult in other collections which I had examined were 

 probably not in a sufficiently advanced stage to show the wing 

 and tail moult which certainlj^ occurs. I am much indebted 

 to Dr. Ticehurst for enabling me to make this correction. 



Family Alaudid^. 



Although the British species in this family belong to six 



genera the}' all have the same moults. The adults have a 



complete autumn moult, and the young also all have a 



complete moult in their first autumn. There is no spring 



moult at any age. Tt is not therefore necessary to describe 



the moults of each species separatelj-, but the sequences of 



plumage may be briefly referred to. 



Before proceeding to do so, I should like to mention an 



interesting point which concerns all the species. This is 



that in the juvenile plumage the first 



(bastard) primary is considerably larger, i.e. 



A longer and usually broader and less pointed, 



I than in the first Avinter and subsequent 



I J plumages. 



i I The only other species of the British 



Passeres which, so far as I know, moult 



their juvenile wing- and tail-feathers in 



J St Primary of Skylark ^he first autuum are : Sturmts vulgaris. 

 Left-hand juvenili-, _, . n, ,/• • m • ?• ri 



right hand adult Pastor roseus, Mantijnngtlla tinans, rasscr 



mat. size). domesticus, P. montanns, Emberiza calandra, 



E. melanocephala, E. cioides, .Egithalos caudaius, Panurus 



