80 A CATALOGUE OF THE BIKDS 



of the tail being a little darker, and consequently by the white at 

 this part being more conspicuous. The middle figure (Plate X) 

 represents the male in this dress. 



It is in this state of plumage that the Pied Flycatchers appear 

 on our shores previous to their departure in autumn. On their 

 return in the spring the males have assumed more or less of the 

 black tint ; but it is difficult to obtain, at any time, a specimen 

 ■svith the black pure, some brown being almost always mingled 

 with it. 



This change of colour in the males appears to be brought 

 about, not by a moult, but by an alteration in the tint of the 

 feathers themselves. "Were it not so the partially black individ- 

 uals ought to be in a moulting state, but I can see no indica- 

 tion of this in any of my specimens. 



The nest, or first plumage, does not appear to have been 

 described. I possess an example in this plumage (Plate X., 

 upper figure) which I shot at Grrindelwald, Switzerland, August 

 6th, 1845. It is not easy to procure specimens in this state, 

 for the nestlings have no sooner completed their first plumage 

 then they begin to moult it. Before the first moult the upper 

 parts are brown as in the female ; but the feathers of the back 

 and flanks are obscurely edged with a darker tint, those of the 

 rump, sides of the head, and wing coverts have each a pale spot 

 near the extremity ; the under parts are pale as in the female, 

 and the spots on the wings are likewise, as in it, of a dull white. 

 The young males can be distinguished by a slight indication of 

 the white band on the front of the head. 



The first plumage of the Pied Flycatcher is, then, spotted, but 

 not so conspicuously as that of the Spotted Flycatcher and many 

 of the other Passer es. 



In Mr. Gould's work on the "Birds of Great Britain," the 

 male, female, and young are supposed to be figured. The female 

 in that work undoubtedly represents a rather dull-coloured male, 

 the white band in fi'ont of the head proving this. The so-called 

 "young" is in the plumage of the female, or that of the young 

 after the first moult. 



