assumed by Female Birds. 229 



{I.e.), to which the following may be added : — A hen R. phos- 

 nicurus assuming male plumage, and very like Mr. Millais^ 

 described in the ' Norwich Nat. Trans.^ iv. p. 182, was caught 

 by Mr. W. E. Clarke sitting upon her eggs, at Wike, near Leeds, 

 in June 1886; at the same time Mr. Clarke saw the cock 

 close by, which appeared to be in the ordinary adult plumage. 

 The late Mr. Henry Doubleday's collection contained a hen 

 Redstart [R. phoenicurus) in male plumage, which had the 

 ovaries '^ quite perfect and full of eggs^^ [cf. B. of Norf. i. 

 p. 370, note), probably one of those alluded to by Yarrell 

 (Brit. B. 1st ed., i. p. 240) in the remarks made by him on 

 the plumage of this species. I have some recollection of 

 this Redstart at the dispersal of Mr. Doubleday's collection, 

 but do not know who was the purchaser of it. There can 

 be no doubt that more would soon turn up if looked for ; 

 and now that attention has been drawn to the subject, and 

 the practice of dissection is getting more general among 

 birdstuffers, it is certain to be the case, not only in 

 RuticiUa, but in other genera besides. Why it should happen 

 in RuticiUa phoenicurus oftener than in other Passerine birds 

 is hard to explain, but such is evidently the case. 



The same is recorded to have happened five or six times 

 with the female Red-backed Shrike (Lani?is collurio) ; see 

 'The Field,^ June 17, 1871, and April 25, 1885 ; Mag. N. H. 

 iv. p. 344; 'B. of Suffolk/ p. 45 ; 'Ibis,' 1863, p. 292; but 

 the number of hen Redstarts which have donned masculine 

 attire is greater. 



The following is a list of the species in which one or more 

 instances of females assuming male plumage are ascertained 

 to have occurred : — 



Falco cesalon*, fide Scully. 



Tinnunculus alaudarius, fide Sharpe; col. fig. P. Z. S. 

 1874, p. 580. 



Lanius colluj'io, fide Hoy. 



Lanius vittatus, fide Blyth. 



RuticiUa phoenicurus, fide Millais, Clarke, and otheri. 



FringiUa ccelebs, fide Clarke. 



* Cf. Sharpe, ' Cat. Birds Brit. Mus.' i. p. 407. 



