188 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



grey, between the beak and the eyes black ; back of 

 the head and nape reddish brown ; ear-coverts and 

 sides of the neck dull dirty white ; back and scapu- 

 lars reddish brown; the centres of the feathers 

 black ; rump and upper tail-coverts dull pale brown ; 

 some of the lesser wing-coverts are broadly tipped 

 with white, making a conspicuous bar of that colour 

 on the wing; greater wing-coverts black, broadly 

 margined with reddish brown ; tertials the same ; 

 the rest of the quills dusky, narrowly edged with 

 reddish brown ; tail-feathers dusky brown, edged 

 with dull light brown; throat and breast black, 

 interspersed on the lower part of the breast with 

 smoke-colour ; rest of the under parts a sort of 

 smoke - colour ; legs, toes and claws brown. The 

 female has the top of the head and nape dull rusty 

 brown ; there is a light buff streak from the back of 

 the eye to the nape; the tips of the lesser wing- 

 coverts are buff, instead of white, and the margins 

 of the rest of the feathers on the upper surface are 

 considerably tinged with lightish buff; the chin, 

 sides of the throat and all the rest of the under parts 

 are a lightish dull brown. Varieties of this bird 

 frequently occur, the commonest of which are either 

 white or spotted with white : one of the former I have 

 in my collection ; it was killed on the other side of 

 the Quantocks. A very curious varietjr is mentioned 

 by Mr. Blake-Knox at p. 9467 of the ' Zoologist' 

 for 1865: "Entirely black, with the legs and bill 



