THE YELLOW BUNTING. Ill 



dark greenish ; lores, over and behind eyes, chin and throat bright 

 yellow sparsely streaked dark greenish* ; moustachial stripe (some- 

 times absent) chestnut ; upper-breast olive-green ; lower -breast 

 (especially on sides) and flanks chestnut, tinged yellow and often 

 with black-brown streaks on flanks; belly and axillaries bright 

 yellow ; vent and under tail-coverts same but streaked chestnut 

 and dark brown ; tail brown -black, central pair fringed yellowish- or 

 chestnut-brown, two outer pairs narrowly fringed greenish-yellow 

 on outer webs, and with large wedge-shaped white marks on distal 

 two-thirds of inner webs; primaries black-brown, outer webs 

 narrowly fringed greenish - yellow and inner greyish - white ; 

 secondaries same, but with more brownish fringes, and innermost 

 with broad chestnut fringes and tips ; primary-coverts like 

 primaries ; greater coverts like innermost secondaries but often 

 with paler tips ; median coverts tipped chestnut or yellowish- 

 brown, and sometimes yellow ; lesser coverts fringed yellow and 

 chestnut. This plumage is acquired by complete moult from 

 Aug. to Oct. Summer. No moult. Abrasion makes crown and 

 throat more uniform and paler yellow, upper-parts more strongly 

 streaked, sides of breast and flanks brighter chestnut, greenish- 

 yellow edges to wing-feathers also wear off. 



Adult female. Winter. Resembling male but crown and 

 throat much less yellow and more dark green ; breast and flanks 

 reddish-brown streaked black-brown, not so chestnut as male; 

 belly paler yellow. Summer. Abrasion makes plumage rather 

 brighter and more striated. 



Nestling. Down, smoke-grey, fairly long and plentiful ; 

 distribution, inner supra-orbital, occipital, humeral, ulnar, spinal, 

 femoral, ventral, and crural. Mouth, inside pink, no spots ; 

 externally, flanges bright pale yellow. 



Juvenile. Male. Resembling first-winter female but browner 

 and more streaked and less chestnut rump ; paler and duller yellow 

 throat and belly ; with usually blacker, not so brown and much 

 more prominent streaks on breast and flanks ; tips of median and 

 greater coverts paler, and divided centrally by dark brown. Female. 

 Greyer, not so yellowish on crown, throat and belly as juvenile 

 male. 



First winter and summer. Male. Closely resembling adult 

 female but yellow brighter, and breast and flanks chestnut, not 

 brown ; as compared with adult male yellow paler, not so deep and 

 brilliant, with more brownish-green and less yellow on crown, 

 ear-coverts, and sides of neck. The juvenile body -feathers, wing- 

 coverts, four inner secondaries and occasionally middle pair of 

 tail-feathers moult in July to Oct., but not primary-coverts nor 

 rest of remiges and rectrices. Female. Like adult female but 

 crown and nape yellow-brown (not dark green) streaked black- 

 brown, scarcely any pure yellow showing on crown ; throat and 



* Very rarely throat has more or less chestnut (c/. Ibis, 1901, plate x.). 



