THE WREN. 493 



DESCRIPTION (Plate 17). Adult male and female. Winter. Whole 

 upper -parts rufous-brown, amount of rufous varying considerably 

 individually ; fore-head, crown and nape usually darker and less 

 rufous than rest of upper -parts and always uniform ; upper 

 mantle usually same but sometimes feathers barred black-brown ; 

 rest of upper -parts with all the feathers barred black-brown but 

 extent and intensity of barring varies individually ; rump and 

 upper tail-coverts usually most rufous and most barred ; scapulars 

 sometimes with a few whitish marks and feathers of rump with 

 concealed whitish marks ; from nostrils, over and extending behind 

 eye a narrow creamy-buff to whitish stripe ; lores and ear -coverts 

 creamy-buff to whitish speckled and streaked brown ; chin, 

 throat and breast creamy-buff to whitish, feathers more or less 

 edged with darker buff and sometimes minutely speckled on breast 

 with brown ; flanks and belly same but closely barred rufous-buff 

 and dark brown (N.B., amount of barring and intensity of buff 

 on under -parts varies considerably) ; under tail-coverts rufous 

 barred dark brown and tipped whitish ; axillaries and under 

 wing-coverts whitish to pale buff usually freckled or barred with 

 brown but sometimes uniform ; tail rufous-brown, finely barred 

 black-brown ; primaries and secondaries brown-black, inner webs 

 narrowly edged whitish, outer webs of outer five primaries barred 

 whitish and rufous-buff, 6th with more rufous and rest and second- 

 aries rufous-brown with narrow brown-black bars, innermost 

 secondaries with both webs rufous-brown with narrow brown-black 

 bars ; primary -coverts and rest of wing-coverts rufous-brown with 

 narrow black-brown bars and median coverts with conspicuous 

 white spot at tip and a pale line on shaft of most of the feathers. 

 This plumage is acquired by complete moult from Aug.-Oct. 

 Summer. No moult and very lit tie change in coloration by abrasion 

 though under -parts become rather paler and more whitish. 



Nestling. Down, greyish sooty-black, rather short and scanty 

 especially on spinal tract. Distribution, inner supra -orbital, 

 occipital and spinal. Mouth inside bright yellow, no spots, 

 externally flanges very pale lemon-yellow. 



Juvenile. Much like adults, upper -parts more rufous and 

 feathers of fore-head, crown and nape with very narrow black-brown 

 borders, giving these parts a less uniform appearance than in adult ; 

 superciliary stripe not so well marked as in adult ; ear-coverts 

 usually rather more streaked with dark brown than in adult ; chin, 

 throat and breast more buff than in adult and feathers narrowly 

 margined brown, giving a less uniform and more mottled appearance ; 

 flanks and belly more rufous-buff than in adult and with few and less 

 conspicuous dark brown bars ; under tail-coverts rufous, barred 

 brown but without white tips of adult ; tail and wing-feathers and 

 wing-coverts as adult but median coverts without the conspicuous 

 white spots at tip though they usually have an indistinct pale 

 mesial streak. 



