412 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



at tip ; median coverts with more pronounced greyish-white tips 

 extending wedge-shaped up shafts ; lesser coverts with whitish 

 mesial streaks. 



First uinter. Male. Somewhat intermediate between adult 

 male and adult female. Upper-parts usually more brown as in 

 female, but sometimes as grey-brown as some adult males ; crown 

 with less black as in adult female ; black of lores and over eye with 

 more grey fringes than in adult male ; feathers of chin, throat and 

 breast with wider white fringes, those of chin especially being 

 often mostly white with only black streaks, but these parts with 

 more black than in adult female ; rest of plumage as adult male 

 but unmoulted greater wing-coverts greyish-white at tips of outer 

 webs. The juvenile body -feathers, lesser and median wing -co verts 

 and varying number of inner greater coverts are moulted Aug. -Sept., 

 but not wing- or tail -feathers, primary -co verts nor rest of greater 

 wing-co verts. Summer. Abrasion makes throat and breast darker 

 owing to wearing off of white tips, but never so dark as in adult male. 

 First winter. Female. Like adult female and difficult to 

 distinguish except by paler and more prominent tips of greater 

 wing-coverts ; breast usually greyer and with less brown-black 

 than in adult and lower-breast and sides usually with more smoke- 

 brown and more streaked than adult female and much more so than 

 in male. (N.B. Occasional examples, irrespective of age and sex, 

 are almost as rufous on the tail as examples of T. r. ruficollis and have 

 also a considerable amount of rufous marks on throat and breast.) 



Measurements and structure. <$ wing 132-142 mm., tail 93-105, 

 tarsus 32-34, bill from skull 21-24 (12 measured). $ wing 128-135. 

 Primaries : 1st 10-15 mm. shorter than primary -coverts, 3rd and 

 4th longest (4th rarely 1-2 mm. shorter), 2nd 5-7 shorter, 5th 3-10 

 shorter (5th often equal to 2nd, but somewhat variable), 6th 16-22 

 shorter ; 3rd to 5th emarginated outer webs. Outermost tail- 

 feathers only slightly shorter than the rest, 12 feathers. Other 

 .structure as in White's Thrush. 



Soft parts. Bill dark brown with yellow base ; legs and feet 

 dark brown ; iris dark brown. 



CHARACTERS AND ALLIED FORMS. In T. r. ruficollis (east Siberia) 

 tail-feathers are rufous except for central pair, in male throat and 

 breast are rufous instead of black, females are very similar to 

 females of T. r. atrogularis except for rufous tail-feathers and usually 

 rufous tinge on feathers of breast. From other British Thrushes 

 T. r. atrogularis may be distinguished by black of throat and breast, 

 rusty-buff of axillaries, uniform upper-parts, absence of rufous on 

 upper side of wings, and absence of distinct eye-stripe. 

 BREEDING-HABITS. Breeds in pine-forests, nesting in small trees, 

 close to trunk, from 3 to 6 feet high. Nest. Like Blackbird's, built 

 of coarse, dry grass, lined mud, and inner layer of dry flat grasses. 

 Eggs. 4-6, rather variable, some being of Blackbird type, but with 



