82 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol.xiv. 



from these six birds, however, I would say that there are other 

 marks of distinction which, if indeed insufficient to identify 

 male and female, come very near to doing so. The male bird 

 holds himself and his plumage more angularly : the female 

 has a distinctly more demure aspect. The male is the more 

 vigorous in his actions. The margin of the black cap in the 

 male is cut as a cleaner line, the irregularities, often confined 

 to the female, are always greater in the female, and her black 

 cap is not infrequently broken by one or more very small 

 patches of white or grey. I think also that the black of the 

 male's head is a little more deeply pigmented or more glossy, 

 and that it extends a little farther down on the nape. In 

 respect of one pair there was a very sharp distinction in the 

 colour of legs and feet ; in the male these were almost bright 

 orange, while in the female they were a very dusky red, almost 

 brown. The actual point upon which I relied for recognition 

 of a bird under observation was, however, the form of the 

 black cap at its margin ; until I had seen this clearly and 

 knew my bird, referring to my sketches when in the smallest 

 doubt, I made no note of sex. These little differences in 

 marking are clearly displayed by several of the accompanying 

 photographs. 



