VOL. xt. ] MOULTS OF BRITISH WADERS. 63 
3 Shanghai, March 20th, has acquired some summer plumage, 
but apparently is not in moult. : 
Abnormal Moult.—Under this heading come those individuals 
which, instead of moulting into their breeding plumage in 
normal fashion, either (1) retain the winter plumage and do 
not moult at all, or (2) moult in spring into winter, instead 
of summer, plumage. The following are some instances and 
it will be observed that those which are migrants are mostly 
from winter localities :— 
Caspian Plover adult 9, Russia, May, in worn winter 
plumage, no moult. 
Golden Plover 9. Tripoli, 9/4/44, in full moult into winter 
plumage ; another (no sex) Sussex, 15/4/80, in full body-moult 
into winter plumage. 
Asiatic Golden Plover, one, South Andaman Island, July 2nd, 
moulting into winter plumage and moulting primaries; 4, 
Shanghai, 9/5/88, in winter plumage, but for a few scattered 
black feathers on under-parts. 
Curlew-Sandpiper, two or three adult and first winter 
examples moulting into winter plumage in spring, or in winter 
plumage in summer, all from winter localities. 
Semi-palmated Sandpiper, several June adults in winter 
plumage. 
Yellowshank, one Ecuador, June, in worn winter plumage 
getting new winter feathers on the body (a bird of the previous 
year). 
Redshank, some adults in summer in worn winter plumage 
with only a few scattered summer feathers. 
Ashy-rumped Sandpiper, adults and birds of the previous 
year in worn winter plumage in summer, or in moult into 
winter plumage, in some cases moulting the remiges; all 
from winter localities. 
Red-necked Phalarope, two from Amboyna and Formosa, 
apparently adult, collected in March, moulting into winter 
plumage. 
Black-tailed Godwit, 9, White Nile, 23/5/01 and 9, 
Khartoum, May, apparently birds of the previous year in 
worn and abraded winter plumage and moulting into winter 
plumage. 
These birds may be barren or they may lack the necessary 
constitutional vigour to enable them to participate in the 
spring moult, though the fact must not be overlooked that 
the assumption of the nuptial plumage does not in all cases 
indicate the breeding potentiality of an adult bird. 
In the case of birds of the previous year, inability to assume 
the breeding dress probably indicates that the reproductive 
