WHEAT-EAR. 
43 
second a little shorter than the third and fourth, which are 
the longest, and nearly equal in length. 
The distinct and well-contrasted colours of the adult male 
bird of this species, in summer plumage, are disposed as 
follows : the head, mantle, and upper part of the back are 
fine bluish grey ; the wings and wing coverts are black ; the 
beak is black, and a narrow streak of the same passes from 
the nostril, skirts the eye above and below, and expands 
over the ear, above which a band of white crosses the fore¬ 
head, and passes over the eyes ; the chin is also white ; the 
lower part of the back and upper coverts of the tail are pure 
white, as well as the side feathers of the tail for two thirds 
of their length, commencing at the base, the remaining third 
part being black ; on the two centre feathers of the tail the 
black portion reaches higher up ; the lower part of the breast, 
belly, and under tail-coverts are white, slightly tinged with 
yellow ochre ; the iris is hazel; the eyelids, legs, and feet are 
black. 
The autumn colouring of the adult male differs conside¬ 
rably from that of the spring. At the autumnal moult the 
white of the under parts is exchanged for bright rufous on the 
breast and sides of the neck, and pale rufous white on the 
chin, belly, and under-coverts of the tail; the grey of the 
upper plumage is obscured with brown, and the wing-coverts 
and tertials are broadly bordered with rufous brown, the tail- 
feathers are also narrowly tipped with pure white. These 
two states of plumage are represented in the plate, and the 
change from the autumn to the spring, or summer plumage, 
is effected by the gradual wearing away of the edges of the 
feathers, and by the effect of season on the bird itself, not 
by a vernal moult, as these birds cast their feathers only in 
the autumn. 
The spring plumage of the adult female differs not very 
materially from that of the male ; the black, white, and grey. 
