194 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Juvenile. — Whole upper-parts earth-brown with blackish 

 markings, forming dark hnes on sides of crown, upper tail-coverts 

 black-brown with very narrow buff tips ; eye-stripe extending 

 behind eye and little in front buff ; lores and ear-coverts buff 

 and dark brown ; chin and centre of throat pale buff ; sides of 

 throat from base of lower mandibles to breast and band across 

 breast brown-black ; rest of breast buff ; belly, under tail-coverts, 

 under wing-coverts and axillaries pale yellowish-buff ; tail- and 

 wing-feathers and wing-coverts as adult but with buff to whitish- 

 buff edgings and tips. N.B. — In this plumage apparently 

 indistinguishable from M. f. rayi. 



First winter. Male. — Crown and mantle brown ; back and 

 rump greenish-brown ; upper tail-coverts black-brown fringed 

 green ; eye-stripe more bufifish than adult ; lores and ear-coverts 

 as adult ; chin and throat buffish-white ; upper-breast darker 

 with a broken line of black-brown marks ; lower-breast, belly 

 and under tail-coverts pale yellow ; fringes of wing-feathers (when 

 not worn off) less yellowish than adults and tips and fringes of 

 wing-coverts paler and more whitish. (Much resembling adult 

 female winter, but upper-parts not so green and throat and breast 

 more buff.) The juvenile body-plumage and most of the wing- 

 coverts (not j>rimary-co verts) are moulted in July-Sept. N.B, — 

 In this plumage usually indistinguishable from M. f. rayi, but some 

 specimens of latter have deeper buff eye-stripe and upper-breast 

 than in M. f. flava. Summer. — Same moult as in adult, but often 

 commencing in November. After moult resembles adult. 



First winter. Female. — Closely resembling jfirst winter male, 

 but browner, not so green on back and rump, usually more buff 

 and more prominently spotted on breast, and belly paler yellow. 

 N.B. — In this plumage cannot be distinguished with certainty 

 from M. f. rayi. Summer. — After moult becomes a little greener 

 on back and rump, and rather deeper yellow on belly, thus 

 resembling first winter male and differing from adult summer 

 female by its whitish-buff throat and upper-breast and much 

 browner upper-parts. N.B. — In this plumage cannot be dis- 

 tinguished with certainty from M. f. rayi, but eye-stripe and chin 

 are usually whiter. 



Measurements and structure. — (^ wing 80-84 mm., tail 69-76, 

 tarsus 22-24, bill from skull 13-15 (12 measured). $ wing 76-82. 

 Primaries : 1st minute, about one-third primary-coverts, 2nd 

 longest, 3rd and 4th sometimes equal, sometimes 1-3 mm. shorter, 

 5th 3-7 shorter, 6th 10-14 shorter ; 3rd and 4th clearly, and 5th 

 indistinctly emarginated outer webs. Secondaries between 7th 

 and 10th primaries, tips square very slightly notched, longest 

 secondary between 4th and 5th or as long as (in spring often longer 

 than) longest primary. Bill fine, rather flat at base. A few 

 short, fine rictal bristles. Hind claw slightly curved, as long 

 as, or slightly longer than, hind toe. 



