BEARDED TIT. 



387 



sides tinged with salmon colour : the flanks fawn colour ; 

 under tail- coverts jet black ; legs, toes, and claws, black. 



The whole length rather more than six inches ; from the 

 carpal joint to the end of the wing two inches and one quar- 

 ter ; the first feather very short ; the second feather equal 

 in length to the fifth, but shorter than the third ; the fourth 

 the longest in the wing. 



In the female the head is of a dull brownish fawn colour 

 where the male is pearl grey, and the feathers in the situa- 

 tion of the moustache are of the same colour as those of the 

 cheek ; the female has sometimes been described as wanting 

 the whiskers ; but the elongated feathers are present, 

 though not coloured black ; the plumage of the female is in 

 other respects like that of the male, but the colours are not 

 quite so delicate and pure ; the under tail-coverts in the 

 female are fawn colour. 



In young birds about three weeks old the tertials want 

 the broad white inner webs ; the wing and tail-feathers are 

 patched with black ; the tail-feathers short, and but slightly 

 rounded ; the whole of the under surface of the body fawn 

 colour ; the legs light brown. At this age young males 

 have an indication of the whisker in a small black line 

 reaching from the base of the beak to the eye. 



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