THE GRASSHOPPER- WARBLER. 331 



dark streaks ; lores greyish, tipped dusky ; faint, short, pale streak 

 behind eye ; ear -co verts olive-brown, somewhat speckled yellowish - 

 buff ; chin and centre of throat, breast and belly white or pale 

 buffish -yellow ; sides of throat, sides of breast, flanks and band 

 across upper-breast buff or yellowish-buff ; throat and flanks with 

 varying amount of dark brown spots and streaks, and often with no 

 streaks ; under tail-coverts brownish-buff, each feather marked 

 brown centrally ; axillaries and under wing-coverts pale buff ; 

 (X.B. Variation in general colours of under-parts and in streaking 

 is entirely individual) ; tail reddish-brown, with obsolete trans- 

 verse bars scarcely showing in some specimens but more clearly 

 in others ; wing-feathers dark brown, outer webs narrowly edged 

 pale, and slightly reddish, brown, inner webs narrowly edged dull 

 brownish-white ; all wing-coverts as rest of upper-parts but 

 usually not quite so olive. This plumage is acquired by co i plete 

 moult in August-September. Summer. A complete moult 

 probably takes place in February or March but no specimens 

 collected from December to March have been available. In April 

 specimens the feathers appear to be new.* Coloration as winter. 

 Abrasion gradually makes upper -parts less olive, and more streaked, 

 and under-parts paler and less yellowish. 



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

 distribution, inner supra-orbital, occipital, spinal and humeral. 

 Mouth, inside yellow, olive-green at sides of roof, two black spots 

 at base of tongue and another at tip, externally gape-flanges 

 yellowish -white. 



Juvenile. -Like adult but upper-parts more reddish-brown 

 with scarcely any olive tinge ; buff of under-parts more dusky. 



First winter. Like adult but upper-parts rather browner and 

 less olive but not so reddish as juvenile ; under-parts varying as in 

 adult both as regards colour and presence or absence of streaks on 

 throat and flanks. The juvenile body -plumage, tail-feathers and 

 apparently lesser and median wing-coverts are moulted August - 

 October, but not apparently greater wing-coverts, nor primary- 

 coverts or wing-feathery. 



Measurements and structure. $ wing 60-67 mm., tail 51-59, 

 tarsus 19-21, bill from skull 11.5-13.5 (12 measured). ? wing 59-66. 

 Primaries : 1st minute, equal to or 1-2 mm. shorter or longer than 

 primary-coverts, 3rd longest, 2nd .5-4 shorter, 4th .5-2 shorter, 

 5th 3-5 shorter, 6th 5-8 shorter ; 3rd emarginated on outer web. 

 Rest of structure as L. certhiola. 



Soft parts. Bill dark brown, lower mandible pale yellowish- 

 brown ; legs and feet pale yellowish -brown ; iris brown. 



CHARACTERS AND ALLIED FORMS. L. n. straminea (Urals, Trans- 



* In L. ncevia straminea there is a complete moult in March-April, and 

 i t is unlikely that one subspecies moults differently from another. 



