78 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



tions of brown -black, outer webs of outer scapulars more uniform 

 tawny like feathers of back of neck ; back and rump tawny- 

 buff with narrow wavy brown bars and with tips of feathers of 

 rump vermiculated brown ; upper tail-coverts same but bars 

 and vermiculations more pronounced ; facial disk incomplete, 

 feathers over eye being norma] and not radiating ; loral portion 

 of disk pale cream, feathers tipped black, lower and middle portion 

 of disk tawny-buff to brown-buff, feathers with brown shaft-streaks 

 and bars ; chin and upper -throat white divided by a narrow band of 

 feathers with brown centres and tawny edgings ; feathers of sides 

 of lower-throat and upper-breast with wide black-brown centres and 

 tawny edges more or less vermiculated, those of centre of lower 

 throat and breast with white edgings and narrower brown centres 

 thus carrying white of upper -throat down centre of breast to some- 

 what varying extent ; feathers of sides of lower-breast pale cream 

 to tawny-buff with narrow centres and edgings with more prominent 

 dark brown wavy bars, lower flanks and sides of belly still more 

 barred and no dark central streaks ; centre of belly and legs and 

 feet buff, with paler brown and thus less prominent bars ; under 

 tail -coverts and axillaries same but barring rather more prominent ; 

 under wing-coverts buff strongly barred and marked black-brown 

 and those covering primaries with long black-brown tips ; tail : 

 central pair dark brown with cream to greyish-white vermiculations 

 on edgings and tips and varying amount of larger vermiculations 

 forming irregular bars, next pair with more definite and regular 

 vermiculated bars which are more tawny on inner webs, outermost 

 pair with bars much broader and more tawny ; wing-feathers with 

 dark brown tips and bars, paler portions being vermiculated dark 

 broAvn and greyer on outer webs especially of secondaries and more 

 tawny on inner webs, innermost secondaries central portions brown, 

 edges vermiculated irregularly grey to buff ; primary -coverts 

 dark brown with a few pale brown vermiculations ; greater and 

 median coverts as innermost secondaries ; lesser coverts dark 

 brown with few vermiculations. This plumage is acquired by 

 complete moult July -Dec ember. Summer. — Apparently no moult. 

 Abrasion has not much effect but paler portions of feathers become 

 more greyish and less buff. N.B. — There is considerable individual 

 variation in extent and intensity of dark bars and vermiculations 

 and some examples are of a deeper tawny than others ; while some 

 are considerably more greyish and occasionally grey with little 

 buff, especially when in worn plumage. 



Nestling. — Down short, soft and plentiful, covering whole 

 surface including legs and toes to base of claws, bumsh-white 

 rather buffer on fore-head, wings, rump and below eyes.* 



Juvenile. — Feathers of body and greater, median and lesser 



* I can find no trace of a second nestling down as described by Mr. J. L. 

 Bonhote {Bull. B.O.C., xxvn, p. 83). 



