464 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Description. — Adult male. Winter. — Fore-head black, feathers 

 narrowly tipped grey ; crown, mantle, scapulars and back dark 

 french-grey more or less washed brown, feathers of mantle and 



TLe Black Eedstart (Phccnicurus o. gibraltariensis). Adult male. 



scapulars with more or less black (varying individually) above 

 the french-grey tips, the black mostly concealed, but showing here 

 and there especially in those birds which have a considerable amount 

 of it* (feathers of fore-part of crown very rarely have whitish centres) ; 

 rump and upper tail-coverts bright chestnut ; lores, ear-coverts, 

 sides of neck, chin, throat and breast black, feathers narrowly tipped 

 grey (more broadly tipped on breast) ; flanks grey often washed 

 yellowish -bro^Yn (varying individually) ; centre of belly greyish - 

 white ; under tail-coverts orange-buff ; under wing-coverts and 

 axillaries blackish tipped ashy -grey ; tail : central pair brown- 

 black with bases and fringes of outer webs chestnut, rest chestnut 

 usually with some dark broAvnat tips (varying in extent individually) ; 

 primaries and secondaries blackish-brown inner webs edged greyish- 

 white, outer webs of primaries narrowly edged same, outer webs 

 of secondaries and especially inner secondaries broadly edged white, 

 forming distinct wing-patch ; primary-coverts very dark grey 

 edged paler ; greater coverts blackish-brown edged and tipped grey ; 

 median and lesser coverts blacker tipped grey. This plumage 

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

 Abrasion of tips of feathers makes black of mantle and under-parts 

 much more uniform and intense, while in much worn plumage 

 lesser and median wing -co verts also become almost uniform black. 



* A specimen in moult from first summer to adiilt has new feathers of 

 mantle freach-grey with no black and those specimens with scarcely any 

 black in mantle but otherwise adult may be second winter birds. 



t Two specimens were growing a few feathers on mantle, breast and throat, 

 in Feb. and Mar., but this appears to have been abnormal as many others 

 show no sign of moult in spring. 



