12 DUNNOCK. 



of May: three are sometimes hatched. Meyer, in his 'British 

 Birds,' mentions having seen a nest on the 21st. of January, 

 and found one with a newly-laid egg in it on the 22nd. of 

 July. The same situation is frequently resorted to from 

 year to year. 



Male; weight, near six drachms; length, from five inches 

 and three quarters to six and a quarter; bill, dark brown, 

 lighter at the base; the corners of the mouth dull yellow; 

 iris, dark blackish brown with a tint of red. Head and 

 crown, dark bluish grey streaked with brown; neck on the 

 sides, dark bluish grey streaked with brown; nape, grey, 

 streaked longitudinally with brown; chin, throat, and breast, 

 rather dark bluish grey, the latter lighter lower down, and 

 on the sides pale yellowish brown, the centres of the feathers 

 darker; back above, brown, the centres of the feathers 

 reddish, and the outsides yellowish brown, thus forming dark 

 streaks of an oval shape. 



The wings, which when closed reach to about a third of 

 the length of the tail, and expand to the width of eight 

 inches and three quarters, have the first feather very small, 

 the second a little longer than the seventh, but shorter than 

 the sixth, than which the third is a little shorter, the fourth 

 and fifth nearly equal in length, but the fourth rather the 

 longest, and the former very little longer than the sixth. 

 Greater and lesser wing coverts, yellowish brown, the middle 

 ones tipped with whitish, forming a mark across the wings; 

 primaries, dark dusky brown; secondaries, dark dusky brown; 

 tertiaries, also dark dusky brown, margined with reddish 

 brown; larger and lesser under wing coverts, brown, bordered 

 with whitish. The tail, which is slightly forked, and rather 

 curved downwards, and has the side feathers a little bent 

 outwards, is dusky brown, the feathers narrowly edged with 

 reddish brown ; upper tail coverts, brown ; under tail coverts, 

 pale yellowish brown or slate-colour, the centres of the feathers 

 dark along the shafts; legs and toes, dark yellowish orange 

 brown; claws, black, the hind claw as large again as either 

 of the others. 



The female is scarcely to be distinguished from the male, 

 but is smaller, measuring in length from five inches and a 

 half to nearly six inches; the wings expand to the width of 

 eight inches and a half; her plumage is more dull, the spots 

 larger, and the lower part of the back more olive-coloured. 



The young before the first moult have the bill light 



