108 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



breast, flanks greyer and more closely barred ; axillaries and under 

 wing-coverts even more prominently barred than flanks ; tail-feathers, 

 basal portions pale blue-grey (more whitish on inner webs except 

 in central feathers) barred blackish, distal portions darker grey 

 and with wider blackish bars, tips greyish-white ; primaries blackish 

 with very narrow whitish edging at tips and inner webs closely 

 barred (tooth-like) with greyish-white, tinged buff near shaft ; 

 primary-coverts blackish with narrow whitish tips ; secondaries, 

 greater and median wing-coverts as scapulars, but secondaries 

 with tooth-like greyish-white bars along inner edges of inner webs ; 

 lesser coverts blackish with narrow grey edgings as upper mantle. 

 This plumage is acquired by complete moult which appears to 

 take place usually Aug. -Dec. but birds examined have been in 

 various stages of moult in every month of year and moult is not 

 only slow and gradual but varies greatly individually, e.g. in some 

 moult is nearly complete in Oct., Nov., Dec. and Jan., while in 

 others it is nearly complete in April and in one about half-way 

 through in May. There appears to be only one moult. 



Adult female. — Like male but often rather darker on lower 

 mantle and rump and whitish or huffish bases of feathers on nape 

 more often showing and these feathers sometimes slightly edged 

 buffish ; upper-breast usually with larger drop -like blackish mark- 

 ings and rest of under -parts especially centre of breast and belly 

 usually more heavily barred than in male ; tooth-like barring of 

 inner webs of primaries usually more rufous -buff than in male. 



Nestling. — When first hatched not very thickly covered 

 (round eyes and patch at sides of neck bare) with short creamy- 

 white down (a) which is subsequently replaced by juvenile feathers, 

 also some small, very short tufts of white down (b) amongst down (a). 

 When nestling is about 10 days or a fortnight old it becomes very 

 thickly covered with a coarse, long down (c), pale bunrsh-grey on 

 upper -parts and pale creamy on under-parts. This down (c) 

 replaces very short down (b) which can be seen clinging to its tips 

 here and there, but it also grows in many parts where there is no 

 previous down. Down (c) when fully grown almost conceals 

 down (a). About same time or shortly after down (c) commences 

 to grow, juvenile feathers begin to sprout and these entirely replace 

 down (a), which adheres to tips of feathers. (N.B. — Down which 

 is subsequently replaced by true feathers growing from same 

 follicle has been called " prepennse "). Down (c) is shed when 

 feathers are almost fully grown. In no case have I found it adher- 

 ing to tips of under-down of feathered bird which is of a finer and 

 more silky structure and appears to grow quite independently when 

 nestling down (c) is mostly shed. 



Juvenile. Male. — Centre of crown, mantle and back dark 

 brown, feathers edged pale brown and whitish ; fore -head and 

 nape with dark brown much reduced generally only as shaft-streak 

 widening at tip and rest of feather creamy or buffish-white ; 



