496 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



DESCRIPTION (Plate \1). Adult male and female. Fore-head, 

 crown and nape uniform grey-brown, not so dark or rufous as in. 

 Common Wren ; rest of upper -parts brighter brown, but not rufous 

 and barring considerably heavier, more conspicuous and more 

 extended on upper part of mantle than in Common Wren ; super- 

 ciliary stripe whiter ; lores and ear-coverts whiter speckled and 

 streaked dark brown ; under -parts paler with little buff and dark 

 bars on flanks and belly more blackish and more conspicuous and 

 more often extending up sides of breast than in Common Wren ; 

 under tail-coverts not nearly so buff, black barring more marked 

 and white tips not so noticeable ; axillaries and under wing-coverts 

 greyish-white lightly barred blackish ; tail, wing-feathers and wing- 

 coverts not rufous, blackish barring darker, heavier and more 

 conspicuous and pale barring of outer primaries whiter and bars 

 narrower and more in form of spots. Moult as in Common Wren. 

 Summer. Abrasion makes upper -parts paler, more grey-brown 

 and under-parts paler. 



Nestling. (Not examined.) 



Juvenile. tipper-parts much resembling juvenile Common 

 Wren but not so rufous (general colour much as in adult Common 

 Wren), barring rather more distinct than in juvenile Common Wren ; 

 superciliary stripe and ear-coverts as in juvenile Common Wren as 

 also rest of under-parts but margins ot feathers considerably broader 

 and darker and flanks and belly less rufous ; tail, wings and wing- 

 coverts like adult but median coverts lacking white spots as in 

 juvenile Common Wren. 



Measurements and structure. <$ wing 51-55, tail 30-37, tarsus 

 18-21, bill from skull 13.5-16 (11 measured). $ wing 48-52. 

 Structure as Common Wren, but bill thicker and stronger. 

 BREEDING-HABITS. Most birds breed on face of cliffs, sheltered 

 by grasses, etc., but also among loose stones and in roofs of 

 " cleats " or sheds. Nest. Rather large, but very similar to 

 that of Common Wren, built of local material. Eggs. 4 to 6, 

 larger than mainland form, but similar, sometimes boldly marked. 

 Average of 39 eggs, 18.2x13.8 mm. Breeding-season. Apparently 

 June and July. 



FOOD. No definite information, but probably like Shetland Wren 

 picks up small Crustacea from shore. 



DISTRIBUTION. Confined to St. Kilda (O. Hebrides), where it is 

 resident in all islands of group. 



203. Troglodytes troglodytes zetlandicus Hart. THE SHET- 

 LAND WREN. 



TROGLODYTES TROGLODYTES ZETLANDICUS Hartert, Vog. pal. Fauna, i, 

 p. 777 (1910 Shetland Islands). 



Troglodytes parvulus K. L. Koch, Yarrell, i, p. 460 (part) ; Saunders, 

 p. ] 15 (part) ; T. t. zetlandicus, Hartert, Brit. B., iv, p. 134. 



