And then, too, there are difficulties due to seasonal changes 

 of plumage — often striking — ^sex, and age ; since immature 

 birds often differ totally from the adults in appearance. The 

 young robin and the starhng afford instances in point. 



The adult starling, as everybody knows, is " black," with 

 a yeUow beak and reddish legs. But seen close at hand his 

 feathers gleam with a wonderful metallic sheen reflecting 

 changing hues of violet, green, and purple. The young bird, 

 in the early summer, is of a pale brown colour. In the autumn 

 the plumage is changed for a " black dress," Uke that of the 

 adult, but heavily spotted with white. As the winter wears 

 on the white spots become abraded, and disappear. The 

 robin needs no description. But the young bird, in its first 

 plumage, is commonly mistaken for the female, which, of 

 course, is practically indistinguishable from the male. It is 

 certainly unlike one's notion of a " cock-robin," being of a 

 yellowish-brown colour, with pale spots, a type of plumage 

 characteristic of the young of the " thrush tribe." 



In some nearly related species, again, the males are 

 strikingly different, the females barely distinguishable. 



But nevertheless, a very considerable number of our 

 British birds can be more or less easily distinguished during 

 flight — sometimes by the manner of that flight, sometimes 

 by characteristic markings, sometimes by the notes they 

 utter ; and these are briefly summarized in this chapter. 



72 



