THE RED-BACKED SHRIKE. 275 



DESCRIPTION (Plate 10). Adult male. Winter. Narrow line on 

 fore-head black ; whole crown, nape and hind-neck ashy blue-grey ; 

 mantle and scapulars extending on to back bright bay ; rest of back, 

 rump and upper tail-coverts blue -grey, feathers indistinctly edged 

 rufous ; lores, under and immediately round eye and ear-coverts 

 black ; usually a whitish line over and behind eye ; chin dull 

 white ; rest of under-parts pale pearly-pink, darker on flanks and 

 white in centre of belly and under tail-coverts ; axillaries white 

 with dusky-black bases ; tail : central pair black with small whitish 

 tips, next pair same but with about basal half white, rest with 

 about basal two-thirds white, shafts black and longer white tips ; 

 primaries and secondaries brown-black with narrow edgings, rufous 

 on outer webs and whitish on inner webs, inner primaries with 

 concealed white bases, inner secondaries with broader rufous 

 edgings and innermost with still more rufous and with whitish tips ; 

 primary-coverts like primaries ; all wing-coverts bay like mantle, 

 with inner webs and bases of feathers brown-black. This plumage 

 is acquired by complete moult, body-feathers often commencing 

 July and wing- and tail-feathers and rest of body-feathers usually 

 not moulting until Dec. -Feb. and sometimes not complete until 

 March. Summer. No moult. Plumage like winter. Abrasion 

 makes little difference except that white tips wear off central 

 tail-feathers. 



Adult female. Winter. Fore-head brown to rufous-brown, 

 often speckled black ; crown and nape brown to rufous-brown 

 often tinged grey, a few feathers sometimes with small black spots 

 at tip ; hind-neck usually greyer and less rufous-brown ; mantle 

 and scapulars brown to bright rufous-brown, a few feathers some- 

 times with fine penultimate bands ; back, rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts greyish-brown, feathers with indistinct pale tips and 

 penultimate blackish bands, longer upper tail-coverts more rufous ; 

 lores and stripe behind eye whitish speckled black ; ear-coverts 

 dark brown or rufous-brown ; under-parts white or creamy-white, 

 sides of throat, breast and flanks more or less heavily marked with 

 black-brown crescentic bands ; axillaries white with inner webs 

 and bases dusky-black ; tail dark brown usually with obsolete 

 darker bars, tips white with penultimate dark line, outer pair 

 (sometimes two outer pairs) with white edging to outer web ; 

 primaries and secondaries as male but browner ; wing-coverts 

 as male but browner and darker. (Exceptional examples have 

 crown nearly as grey as male, lores and ear-coverts blackish, and 

 few crescentic bands on under-parts. General colour of upper-parts 

 varies considerably individually some being much more rufous 

 than others). Moult as in male. Summer. As winter. 



Nestling. Down absent. Mouth inside orange-yellow, no 

 spots ; externally flanges pale yellow. 



Juvenile. Male and female. Whole upper-parts varying 

 from buff to rufous closely barred with black crescentic bands ; 



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