442 EMBERTZID.E. 



to Italy, being very abundant in Holland, as might be ex- 

 pected. 



The beak is dusky brown above, paler beneath ; irides 

 hazel ; head, cheeks, and ear-coverts, velvet black, bounded 

 by a collar of white, which descends to the breast ; from the 

 angle of the gape a white streak passes backwards and falls 

 into the white collar ; back and wing-coverts black, each 

 feather having a broad margin of rufous or bay ; tertials black 

 on the inner web, red on the outer, and margined with white; 

 upper tail-coverts grey ; the two outer tail-feathers on each 

 side white, with a dusky brown patch at the base and tip ; 

 the central pair dark brown, margined with red, the others 

 blackish brown ; the tail slightly forked ; chin and throat 

 black, this colour ending in a point directed downwards ; 

 sides of the chest before each wing, breast, belly, and under 

 tail-coverts, white, clouded and streaked on the sides and 

 flanks with brown ; legs, toes, and claws, brown. At the 

 autumn moult in each year the new feathers of the head and 

 throat are tip])ed with brown, which tips falling off in the 

 following spring, leave these parts pure black. 



The whole length of the male bird six inches. From the 

 carpal joint to the end of the wing three inches : the first four 

 quill- feathers nearly equal in length, but the second rather 

 the longest ; the fifth shorter than the first. 



The female is rather smaller than the male : the head and 

 ear-coverts reddish brown, varied with darker brown, over 

 and behind the ear-coverts, and from thence passing forwards 

 to the base of the under mandible, a pale yellowish brown 

 streak ; both sets of wing-coverts and the tertials broadly 

 edged with rufous ; on the chin upon each side a descending 

 streak of dark brown ; under surface of the body more clouded 

 with brown than in the males ; legs and toes pale brown. 



Young birds resemble the female. Young males obtain 

 a black head in the spring following their first winter. 



