THE WOODCHAT SHRIKE. 269 



cream and feathers lightly tipped buff ; rump and most upper 

 tail-coverts white usually tinged cream ; long upper tail-coverts 

 grey tipped black ; superciliary stripe (joining black band across 

 crown), ear-coverts, and extending in a broad stripe nearly to 

 shoulders black ; a few white feathers immediately behind eye ; 

 whole of under-parts white tinged more or less with cream-colour, 

 flanks dark cream ; axillaries and under wing-coverts greyish- 

 black and white ; tail black, central pair with little or no white at 

 base, and with very narrow white tip, rest with white bases (con- 

 cealed by coverts) and larger white tips, amount of white at base and 

 tip increasing on outer feathers, outermost being mostly white with 

 only portion of inner web black ; primaries brown-black very 

 narrowly edged whitish and with white bases showing 5-10 mm. 

 beyond primary-coverts ; secondaries brown-black with no white 

 at base but with broader white or cream-coloured edgings and 

 tips ; primary-coverts brown-black with small white tips ; greater, 

 median and lesser coverts as secondaries. This plumage is acquired 

 by complete moult from Aug.-Dec. Summer. No moult. Abrasion 

 usually causes crown to become paler, mantle more uniform, most 

 tips of feathers wearing off, back purer grey, white tips and edgings 

 of tail, wing, and wing-coverts become much reduced. 



Adult female. Winter and summer. Like adult male, but 

 band on fore-part of crown, and stripe through ear-coverts not so 

 broad, and more or less mixed with chestnut ; mantle, wings and 

 tail brown not black ; back browner not so grey ; varying number 

 of feathers of upper-breast and flanks with dusky-black crescentic 

 bars. 



Nestling. (Not examined.) 



Juvenile. Male and female. Fore-head, crown and whole 

 upper-parts varying from greyish-white to rufous-buff, each 

 feather with a broad brown-black subterminal crescentic band ; 

 scapulars rather paler ; upper tail-coverts more rufous ; rump 

 nearly uniform pale rufous-buff ; ear -coverts brownish marked 

 black ; under-parts creamy-white, most feathers with dusky- 

 black crescentic bands but centre of belly and under tail-coverts 

 either without or with only a few bands ; tail brown with tips 

 and bases (except of central pair) cream-colour and with dark 

 subterminal lines, outermost feathers with most of inner web 

 brown ; primaries brown with wider and more buff edgings and 

 buffer or more creamy not so white at base as in adults ; secon- 

 daries brown with broad buff fringes and whitish tips, innermost 

 feathers with buff markings of varying extent ; primary-coverts 

 much as adult but with longer white tips ; greater coverts 

 brown with most of outer webs rufous-buff with black subterminal 

 line and white tips ; median and lesser coverts whitish with black 

 crescentic bars as feathers of upper-parts. 



First winter. Male and female. New feathers of fore-head, 

 crown and nape rufous with black subterminal crescentic bands ; 



