92 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



in centre of throat and on belly, feathers with black-brown central 

 streaks varying in width, and dark brown cross-bars and rufous- 

 brown bars or marks, closer on sides of breast and wider apart on 

 lower flanks, but varying greatly in form, quantity and colour 

 in individuals ; centre of belly and usually centre of lower throat 

 with few or no streaks or marks ; under tail-coverts as lower flanks 

 but sometimes with only central streaks and no cross-bars ; legs 

 and feet, feathered to base of toes, white speckled rufous-brown 

 to dark brown ; axillaries pale buff to white occasionally with one 

 or two brown central streaks ; under wing -coverts same with brown 

 central streaks and those covering outer primaries with long grey- 

 brown tips ; tail-feathers brown to rufous-brown with greyish- 

 white to bunish tips either uniform or freckled brown, central pair 

 mottled dark brown and more uniform than rest, which have 

 broad dark brown bars on their inner webs and in outer feathers 

 across both webs ; primaries and secondaries dark brown with 

 paler and more bunish -brown bars which have dark brown mottlings, 

 on outer primaries outer webs with paler buff to dull white bars 

 with little or no mottling and inner webs with darker mottled bars, 

 tips of feathers more greyish and mottled dark brown ; primary- 

 coverts barred dark brown and buff-brown or rufous-brown with 

 dark mottlings ; greater and median coverts much as outer scapulars 

 with white " mirrors " (varying in size and often absent on inner 

 feathers) on distal part of outer webs ; lesser coverts as rest of 

 upper -parts. This plumage is acquired by complete moult June- 

 Oct. and occasionally not complete until Dec. Summer. — Several 

 examples were moulting body -feathers in Jan. and Feb. but this 

 does not seem regular and may have been due to the autumn moult 

 being much delayed. N.B. — There is no difference in coloration 

 in males and females. Individual variation in colour and markings 

 is very considerable, but those with grey ground-colour on upper- 

 parts are very rare in Great Britain. 



Nestling. — Down white, fairly short, soft and plentiful, 

 covering whole body and tarsi and toes to base of claws, with a 

 bare patch at back of tarsal joint. 



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

 wing -coverts of very loose structure especially on under -parts. 

 Crown brown to rufous -brown, feathers tipped and with indistinct 

 bars of greyish-white ; rest of upper -parts same but feathers 

 with longer and whiter tips and barred buff to whitish, bars and 

 tips on scapulars and wing -coverts wider and more prominent ; 

 feathers of facial disk rufous -buff with whitish tips or greyish - 

 white with brown bars and those in loral region greyish -white 

 with black shafts and tips ; rest of under -parts sandy-buff to 

 bunish -grey barred pale brown, feathers with whitish tips on flanks 

 and sides and without bars on centre of belly, tarsi and feet. 



First winter. — Like adults . The j uvenile body -plumage, greater, 

 median and lesser coverts are moulted sometimes commencing 



