Scraps relating to Natural History, by C. M. Adamson. 859 



feathers would have assimilated with its pale winter plumage, the 

 bird's summer condition having entirely left it before that time. 

 All the summer tertials are cast, and those renewed are plain, as 

 are all the wing coverts, which are all new feathers, and which 

 have no spots on them. It is quite clear that this bird had been 

 moidting its back feathers for a length of time, as most of the 

 renewed feathers had come like those of summer, but were not in 

 the least worn, and evidently had been replaced since the bird 

 acquired its breeding plumage in spring. On the breast it had 

 a few white feathers much worn, which showed conspicuously 

 a-inongst the red plumage acquired in spring, and also amongst 

 the buff feathers now coming ; these I think undoubtedly were 

 feathers the bird had acquired early the preceding autumn, and 

 having lost their vitality before the bird acquired its summer 

 condition, they remained white aU through the summer. They 

 would undoubtedly have been shortly cast, and if the bird had 

 entirely lost its summer condition, which it most probably would 

 have done, before those feathers which would replace them had 

 come, the new feathers would again come white. If they were 

 cast previous to the bird's having entirely lost its summer condition 

 they would begin to come buff, but probably would be white 

 before they acquired the full size. This bird has not yet cast its 

 top tail feathers, they being dark feathers of the mature bird 

 which it got last autumn, but two light reddish-coloured spots or 

 bars appear on these feathers evidently having changed colour 

 during the summer by fading to a oertailn extent, and the faded 

 part forming the bar or spot having acquired the red tint of 

 summer, I think, showing conclusively that the feathers some 

 months after having come to the full size do change colour, as 

 these mature birds only cast their tail feathers in autumn and 

 when those renewed show no trace of red. Some new tail feathers 

 are coming with the usual plain dark outside edge of the tail of the 

 mature bird, which it always gets on moulting. The other bird 

 had nearly lost its summer plumage, but the winter plumage 

 acquired by it is quite pale as in ordinary cases. Evidently this 

 bird had lost its summer condition previous to commencing to 

 moidt, but why the two birds differ so much in appearance I 

 cannot explain further. In this bird the tail is changed and is 

 plain, and all the renewed feathers on the back, breast, and wing 

 coverts are those of the ordinary winter plumage, i.e., plain, and 

 without spots. In both birds the wings are in similar condition, 



