590 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



seldom with dark at the end. Upper coverts of 

 secondaries deep brown, with pale tips ; the lower 

 coverts of secondaries chiefly blue-grey; some are 

 marked with brown. Under surface : Yellowish 

 white. Bill grey, flesh at the base, dark at the tip. 

 Feet earthy flesh." This plumage changes from 

 August to October, partly by change of colour in the 

 feathers and partly by moult ; " the back, shoulders 

 and scapulars are mixed with new blue-grey feathers, 

 and the head with white ; the band at base of the 

 neck is also falling off." A bird in my collection, 

 killed in Curry Marsh about the middle of January, 

 is exactly in this state of plumage, not even then 

 having progressed further in its winter change : this 

 backwardness in changing plumage Mr. Knox attri- 

 butes to such birds being a late brood, the previous 

 eggs having been taken, and very likely sent to Lon- 

 don and sold for Golden Plover's eggs, and this may 

 probably account for it to a great extent, but I think 

 some birds are slower than others in assuming their 

 various plumages : on this I shall have a little more 

 to say when we arrive at the Herring Gull, which I 

 have had more opportunity of watching. The next 

 plumage I shall quote is the adult in winter, at 

 which state of plumage the bird appears to arrive 

 about the November of its third year: "Head, 

 neck, rump and tail-coverts, tail, bastard wing and 

 end primary coverts pure white, as are all the under 

 parts and the margin- of the wing ; the spot before 

 the eye and the ear- spot black. Back, shoulders, 



