76 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Description. — Adult male. Winter. — Fore-head, crown, nape, 

 lores, and chin glossy blue-black ; back of neck blue-grey ; mantle, 

 scapulars, and back same but slightly tinged yellowish-brown and 

 sometimes marked pink ; rump white ; upper tail-coverts glossy 

 blue-black ; ear-coverts, sides of neck, throat, breast, and flanks 

 varying rosy-pink to pinkish-red ; lower-belly, vent, under tail- 

 coverts, and axillaries white ; tail black, central pair and outer 

 webs of rest glossy ; primaries greyish-black, fringed black on 

 outer, and greyish-white on inner webs ; secondaries same but 

 outer webs fringed glossy blue-black, two inner secondaries all 

 glossy blue-black and innermost with outer web grey usually 

 marked pinkish-red ; primary-coverts greyish-black ; lesser and 

 median coverts blue-grey ; greater coverts glossy blue-black, inner 

 ones tipped pale blue-grey, outer buffish-white. This plumage 

 is acquired by complete moult in Aug. -Oct. Summer. — No 

 moult, and very little change by abrasion except that mantle 

 becomes purer blue-grey. 



Adult female. Winter. — ^Head as male but less bluish ; back 

 of neck brownish-grey ; mantle, scapulars, and back dark 

 yellowish-brown, tinged grey ; upper tail-coverts glossy blue- 

 black ; rump, vent, under tail-coverts and axillaries white ; ear- 

 coverts, sides of neck, and under-parts pinkish-brown to buffish- 

 brown ; tail as male (often with dull white streak along shaft 

 of outer feathers) ; wings as male but lesser and median coverts 

 darker, tips of greater coverts more buff less grey, and pink 

 on innermost secondary not so bright and extensive. Summer. — 

 No moult. When much abraded mantle and back become 

 greyer, less brown, and under-parts become paler. 



Nestling. — Dowti, blackish-grey, abundant and long ; distri- 

 bution, inner supra-orbital, occipital, humeral, spinal, ulnar, 

 femoral, ventral, and crural. Mouth, inside violet-red, no spots, 

 flanges whitish (C. B. Ticehuist, Brit. B., ii, 193). 



Juvenile. Male arid female. — ^Resembling adult female but 

 head brown like mantle, which is darker than in adult female; 

 rump white, tinged buff ; lores and chin yellow-brown and whole of 

 under-parts same and more yellowish than adult female ; vent 

 and under tail-coverts pale buff ; axillaries white ; wing-feathers 

 as adult but innermost secondary marked brown not pink ; lesser 

 wing-coverts as mantle ; median tipped brown ; greater tipped 

 deep buff. 



First unnter and summer. — Like adults. The juvenile body- 

 feathers, wing-coverts, and innermost secondaries are moulted 

 in Aug. to Oct. but not remiges, primary - coverts, or 

 rectrices. 



Measurements and structure. — ^ wing 78-84 mm., tail 56-62, 

 tarsus 15-17, bill from feathers 8-9 (14 measured). $ wing 78-83. 

 Primaries : 1st minute and hiddeU; 3rd, 4th, and 5th about equal 

 and longest, 2nd about 4 mm. shorter, 6th about equal to or a 



