COMMON WHITETHROAT. 319 
and upper tail-coverts, reddish brown; quill-feathers 
blackish brown; secondaries and tertials broadly edged 
with bright chestnut ; great part of the outer tail-feather 
on each side dull white, and rather shorter than the rest ; all 
the others dark brown, with lighter margins; chin and 
throat white; lower part of the neck, the breast, belly, 
flanks, and under tail-coverts, pale brownish white, tinged 
with rose colour; under surface of wings and tail-feathers 
grey ; legs pale wood-brown ; toes and claws darker brown. 
The whole length five inches and a half. From the 
carpal joint to the end of the wing, two inches and five- 
eighths: the first quill short ; the second and third equal 
in length, and the longest in the wing. 
The female is without the rosy tmts on the breast, and 
the other colours of the plumage are less pure. 
Young birds have a light coloured space between the 
beak and the eye; the irides yellowish brown ; the outer 
tail-feather on each side tinged with red. 
The vignette below represents the nest of the Lesser 
Whitethroat, the species next to be described. 
