266 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



turn white in winter, such protective plumage being unnecessary 

 in the localities it inhabits, the winter moult has been gradually 

 dropped. Now this is the case with the female only, and we 

 find the male, for no apparent reason, changing his newly 

 acquired buff and black autumn plumage for a winter one of 

 chestnut and black. Further investigations may lead to some 

 explanation of this strange anomaly, but at present we know of 

 none. 



"Adult Male, Autumn Plumage. After the breeding season a 

 very complete autumn moult takes place, the quills, tail, and 

 feathers on the feet being entirely renewed. In most examples 

 the feathers of the upper parts are black, margined, and irregu- 

 larly barred with tawny-buff, and in most cases the bars cross 

 the feathers more or less transversely (pi. ii. fig. 4), but in some 

 they are more or less concentric and parallel with the marginal 

 band, giving the upper parts a scaled appearance (pi. ii. 

 figs. 6 and 7). The feathers of the chest are rather widely 

 barred with buff or rufous-buff and black (pi. ii. fig. n), and 

 some of the flank-feathers are more narrowly barred with the 

 same colours. The rest of the under parts vary according to 

 the type to which the individual belongs, being chestnut, black, 

 or white-spotted, or a mixture of all three. In a bird shot on 

 the 6th of June, the autumn moult having commenced on the 

 upper mantle, three different sets of feathers can be seen on the 

 back at once, belonging to the new autumn, the old winter, and 

 the old autumn plumages, both the latter very clearly showing 

 the result of wear and tear (pi. ii. figs. 1-3). 



" The males at this season, no matter to what type they belong, 

 bear a much closer resemblance to one another than they do 

 in their winter plumage, only the under parts of the body 

 differing conspicuously. 



"The first feathers of the winter plumage begin to appeal- 

 about the beginning of September. 



"Adult Male, Winter-Summer Plumage. General colour above 

 black, with finely of mottled bars of dark chestnut 

 (pi. ii. fig. 5); head, neck, and chest (pi. ii. fig. 12) 

 mostly dark chestnut, finely marked with black ; and the flanks 

 mottled and barred with the same colours, the chestnut usually 

 predominating. Generally a greater or less number of autumn 



