PIED FLY-CATCHER. 211 



and upper part of the breast with brownish-yellow. When 

 they attain old age their plumage darkens more on the upper 

 parts, and the forehead becomes dirty white. 



The young birds of the year are principally known by their 

 smaller size, and their plumage is of the following description. 

 The base of the beak and soles of the feet are reddish-ash ; 

 throat, and fore-part of the neck, yellowish-white ; from the 

 lower corner of the beak descends a faded greyish or dusky 

 streak along the sides of the neck. The middle of the 

 breast, the belly, and under tail-coverts, are white ; the chest 

 dirty yellowish, and the sides tinged with yellowish-grey; 

 the thighs are spotted with grey ; the cheeks and forehead 

 are dirty pale brown ; all the upper parts brownish-ash, 

 strongly tinged with brown on the top of the head, shoulders, 

 and back ; the lesser wing-coverts are like the back, the 

 larger dusky, edged with brownish-ash, and dull white tips ; 

 the tertials are of the same colouring, but without white tips ; 

 the three last are edged with dull white, and have a spot of 

 the same near the root ; the tail, including the latter upper 

 coverts, black, dusky on the sides ; the outer feather white on 

 the outer web, and the same extending to the root for half 

 its length on the inner web ; the second feather has a white 

 edge for half its length from the root, and the third fre- 

 quently an indication of white in the same place. 



The young female birds vary very little from the young 

 males ; they are less clean on the under parts, browner on 

 the upper, and have still less white on the wings. 



The young birds of the year, before the first moult, re- 

 semble the young of the spotted Fly-catcher very much ; but 

 their smaller size, and other markings of the tail-feathers dis- 

 tinguish them plainly. They are brownish ash-coloured on 

 the upper parts, sprinkled all over with dirty white drop- 

 shaped spots ; the breast spotted with brown ; wings and 

 tail as already described ; the iris brownish-ash, but the 



