408 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



and flanks rusty-black, but occasionalJy dark nisty-brown ; nnder 

 tail-coverts with long white tijis and blackish bases freclded and 

 marked with rusty-browr ; axillaries and nnder wing-coverts 

 chestnut narrowly fringed whitish ; tail-feathers brown-black 

 edged chestnut -brown at bases ; primaries brown-black with base 

 and outer portion of rest of inner webs chestnut, most of outer 

 webs at base same and a narrow edging of chestnut on rest of outer 

 webs ; secondaries with broader chestnut edging to outer webs 

 sometimes covering whole of web ; primary -coverts as primaries ; 

 greater coverts mostly chestnut but with varying amount of brown- 

 black especially at tip of inner webs, edges of outer webs at tip 

 buffish-white ; median coverts chestnut with varying amount of 

 black, tips buffish-white ; lesser coverts more brown-black and 

 with very narrow huffish fringes. This plumage is acquired by 

 complete moult Aug. -Oct. Summer. — No regular moult, but in 

 some examples a number of bodj^ -feathers are renewed in March. 

 Abrasion makes crown blacker and chestnut -brown on mantle and 

 rump rather more marked, many spots wear completely off from 

 feathers of throat and black of breast becomes almost uniform 

 and flanks become darker by wearing off of white tijDS. 



Adult female. Winter. — Upper-parts like adult male but 

 crown and mantle usually brown rather than black (some examples 

 indistinguishable in this respect), scapulars sometimes with pale 

 chestnut-buff markings ; chin anel centre of throat more siDotted 

 than adult male ; breast usually (but not always) browner ; flanks 

 usually more rusty and less blackish, wing -feathers with only an 

 edging of chestnut on outer webs, less extensive, paler anel less rich 

 than in male ; greater and meelian coverts also with considerably 

 more black than adult male and edgings duller. 



Nestling. — (Not examined, but feathered skin with whitish 

 elown on inner supra-orbital, occipital, spinal, humeral and 

 ulnar tracts.) 



Juvenile. — Crown brown-black, feathers with narrow and 

 inconspicuous whitish -buff shaft -streaks ; nape same but feathers 

 with whitish -buff subterminal banels ; feathers of mantle with 

 wieler and more rufous-buff shaft -streaks, those on sides of mantle 

 and scapulars with most of their centres rufous-buff ; rump buffish- 

 brown with paler centres and dark tips ; upper tail-coverts dark 

 brown with pale shafts and narrow greyish tips ; eye-stripe as 

 adult but much less distinct and spotteel with black ; ear -coverts 

 brown-black mottleel with buff ; cheeks, sides of neck and sides 

 of throat whitish-buff heavily spotteel with brown-black ; chin 

 and centre of throat same, less heavily spotteel ; breast white in 

 centre, buff at sides, thickly spotteel broAvn-black, each feather 

 having a roundish black tip ; flanks and sides of belly same but 

 spots smaller ; centre of belly white ; under tail -coverts as adult 

 but bases paler ; uneler wing-coverts and axillaries as adult but 



