54 STOFECHAT. 



furnished at the base of the bill; head, crown, neck on the 

 back, and nape, nearly black, the feathers broadly edged with 

 rufous brown after the autumnal moult; neck on the sides, 

 white, tinged with light red the white less pure after the 

 summer. Chin and throat, black, the feathers edged with 

 rufous brown after the moult; breast, rich orange chesnut 

 brown, fading into yellowish white lower down: it is paler 

 after the summer. Back, black, the feathers edged with 

 yellowish brown, most so after the autumnal moult. 



The wings, which expand to the width of nine inches, have 

 the first quill feather less than half as long as the second, 

 which is much shorter than the third, but nearly equal to 

 the seventh; the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth nearly equal, 

 but the fourth rather the longest; underneath they are leaden 

 grey, edged with dull white. Greater and lesser wing coverts, 

 blackish brown, margined with rufous brown after the autumnal 

 moult; those that cover the tertiaries white, but partly hidden 

 by the others; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, brownish 

 black, edged with pale reddish brown, most so after the 

 moult. Tail, short and even, and nearly black, tipped with 

 rufous brown after the autumnal moult, the outer feathers 

 margined with brownish white; upper tail coverts, white, 

 tipped with reddish, and having a dusky spot; under tail 

 coverts, nearly white. Legs, toes, and claws, black. 



Female; length, five inches and a quarter; bill, black; iris, 

 dark brown. Head on the sides, dusky brown; crown, neck 

 on the back and nape, brown, streaked with dusky and brownish 

 red, the margins of each feather being of the latter colour, 

 the white space on the sides of the neck less than in the 

 male; the neck in front is yellowish brown. Chin and throat, 

 blackish brown, mixed with light greyish brown; breast, 

 yellowish brown, with a tinge of dull red; back, brown, 

 bordered with buff. The wings extend to nearly nine inches 

 in width; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, brown, edged 

 with buff, darker, and the white on the latter much smaller 

 than in the male. Tail, brown, edged with buff, darker than 

 in the male; upper tail coverts, yellowish red, with a dusky 

 streak. Legs, toes, and claws, black. 



The young at first are mottled with greyish white, 

 subsequently the bill is dusky above, light brown beneath; 

 iris, dark brown. Head on the sides, dusky, mottled with 

 brown; on the crown, neck on the back, and nape, blackish 

 brown, the centre of each feather marked in a triangular 



