DESCRIPTIONS OP THE HEST PIUMAGE IN VAEIOUS SPECIES OE 

 NOETH AMEEICAN BIEDS. 



By WILLIAM BREWSTER. 



The! first plumage assumed by nearly all young Altrices (birds 

 ■which are reared in the nest) at or about the time of leaving the 

 nest, though representitig a universal, and, in the majority of cases, 

 well-defined stage, has been almost entirely ignored by Ornithologi- 

 cal writers, of, if referred to at all, in such cbnipreheilsivB and in- 

 definite terms as to afford information of little distinctive value. 

 Thus under the general term "young," we find described sometimes 

 the real nesUing, but more frequently the young in autumnal dress. 



My attention was called to this fact some years since by the ex- 

 treme difficulty, and too often impossibility, of identifying by " the 

 books" nestlings of even the commoner species. I have since given 

 special care to the acquisition of series Of specimens representing all 

 the stages through whieh birds pass in arriving at maturity, and it 

 is proposed in the course of tte present paper to treat, as fully as 

 may seem necessary, some hitherto undescribed plumages of North 

 American birds, and also in certain instances to clear up the confu- 

 sion that has previously resulted either from misapprehension, or 

 from a too free use of certain distinctive terms. 



While it is to be regretted that the specimens at hand do not 

 furnish full Series of 'even all the commoner species, it is nevertheless 

 hoped that, by calling attention to this hitherto neglected field, an 

 impetus will be given to future investigation that tnay result in a 

 more complete knowledge of the subject than can here be presented. 

 Before proceeding to a detailed considera;tion of specimens it may 

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