648 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



they are rather more than a year old, the upper parts are very little changed, 

 except that the head and neck are mottled with white, and the brown 

 mottlings on the underparts have almost disappeared. After the second 

 moult, the head, neck, and underparts are nearly white, and large patches of 

 white appear on the scapulars, wing-coverts, and tail-feathers. After the 

 third and fourth moults, the black on the upper parts gradually disappears, 

 and the adult plumage is assumed after the fifth moult. 



