22 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



DESCRIPTION. Adult male and female. Winter. Whole head, neck, 

 mantle, inner scapulars, upper tail-coverts, throat, upper-breast, 

 tibial feathers, vent, under tail-coverts, axillaries, and under 

 wing-coverts velvety-black with blue-purple tinge ; crown and 

 scapulars slightly glossed greenish ; chin and throat-feathers 

 with whitish shaft-lines ; rump varying from white or brownish- 

 white to brown (in British specimens never very white and 

 often nearly black) ; rest of scapulars and breast, flanks, and belly, 

 pure white ; tail below black, above both webs of central pair 

 and outer webs of rest brilliant bronze-green with band of red- 

 purple near tip, merging into blue-purple and green-purple at 

 tip ; primaries : outer webs and tips glossed blue-green, inner 

 webs mostly white except at base and tip ; in outer primaries 

 white goes to a point near shaft, in inner ones it is squarer at tip 

 and extends less towards base (extent of white in primaries varies 

 slightly individually) ; secondaries : outer webs glossed bright blue 

 with inner line of bronze-green on basal half of outer feathers, tips 

 bluish-green, inner webs black except those of innermost feathers 

 which are bluish-green ; primary-coverts, greater and median 

 coverts, bronze bluish-green ; lesser wing-coverts black with 

 little gloss. This plumage is acquired by complete moult in 

 autumn. Summer. No moult. Abrasion causes slight loss of 

 gloss and brilliancy. 



Nestling Down, absent. 



Juvenile. Like adult, but with all black parts sooty blackish- 

 brown ; rump blackish -brown ; scapulars brownish or buffish- 

 white ; belly buffish-white ; wing-coverts much less brilliantly 

 glossed ; wing and tail-feathers like adult but slightly less brilliant. 



First wnter and summer. Scarcely distinguishable from 

 adults but slightly less brilliant wings and tail, especially noticeable 

 on central tail-feathers, primary-coverts, and primaries, which 

 become brownish in summer. The juvenile body-plumage and 

 wing-coverts are moulted in Aug.-Sept. but not tail, wing- 

 feathers, or primary-coverts. 



Measurements and structure. $ wing 187-200, tail 215-260, 

 tarsus 47-53, bill from nostril 24-29 (12 measured). $ wing 

 173-190, tail 205-240. Primaries : 1st about twice primary- 

 coverts, scythe-shaped, 2nd usually between 9th and 10th, some- 

 times either shorter than 10th or longer than 9th, 4th tc 6th about 

 equal and longest, 3rd and 7th 7-12 mm. shorter ; 3rd to 7th clearly 

 emarginated outer webs. Secondaries about equal 10th primary, 

 tips almost square. Tail wedge-shaped, central pair 20-40 mm. 

 longer than next and rest graduated in steps of about 20 mm. 

 Strong rictal bristles and numerous nasal bristles completely 

 covering nostrils. Bill slightly hooked at tip. 



Soft parts. Bill, legs and feet black ; iris dark brown. 



CHARACTERS AND ALLIED FORMS. P. p. melanota (Spain and 

 Portugal) has uniform black rump, occasionally with pale patch, 



