120 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



tinged rufous varying in shade, feathers of upper-breast with brown- 

 black shaft-streaks which on flanks and lower-breast become 

 drop-shaped and sometimes broader arrowhead-shaped marks 

 (these marks vary individually in size and number) ; centre of 

 belly and under tail-coverts uniform pale buff ; tibia same but 

 more tinged rufous and occasionally with a few small black marks ; 

 axillaries and under wing-coverts white or creamy -white with large 

 spots or incomplete bars of brown -black often marked rufous ; 

 tail-feathers blue-grey with greyish-white tips and broad black 

 penultimate band, shafts brown-black, inner webs usually narrowly 

 barred black but this barring varies greatly individually, being 

 usualty entirely absent and only occasionally strongly marked 

 on central pair, on rest sometimes entirely absent, often only 

 on basal part of inner webs, sometimes very faintly and sometimes 

 very strongly marked ; primaries brown -black very narrowly 

 edged and tipped whitish, inner webs with comb-like bars of white 

 often tinged rufous at points of " comb, " especially on inner feathers, 

 outermost secondaries as primaries but rest with an increasing 

 amount of rufous on both webs until innermost which are like 

 mantle ; primary -coverts brown-black often with some rufous 

 marks ; rest of wing-coverts as mantle and scapulars. Individuals 

 are to be found moulting body -plumage in every month of year 

 (though most are in full moult from Aug. to Nov.), and it is difficult 

 to be sure whether there are two moults of body -plumage or only 

 one. Wings and tail certainly moult only once commencing often 

 in June and usually complete by Dec. (one just finishing in April !). 

 In some individuals body -moult begins Jan. to April and as many 

 show no signs of moult in May and June this may indicate that 

 there is a second spring moult of body -plumage as in Merlin. 



Adult female. Winter and summer. — Fore-head creamy -white, 

 feathers often with black shafts ; crown and nape pale chestnut-red, 

 streaked brown-black, sometimes with a blue-grey tinge especially 

 on nape ; mantle and scapulars chestnut-red thickly and widely 

 barred black-brown, sometimes much less thickly barred especially 

 in centre of mantle where bars are frequently reduced to wide 

 arrowhead marks ; upper-back as mantle but bars narrower and 

 sometimes reduced to spots ; lower-back sometimes same but 

 usually like rump and upper tail-coverts dull blue-grey with blackish 

 shaft-streaks, usually with greyish-black bars and more or less 

 tinged rufous ; lores as fore-head, creamy -white which usually 

 extends over eye ; ear -coverts more hoary and finely streaked 

 black-brown ; moustachial stripe brown and less well defined 

 than in adult male ; under-parts as in adult male, ground-colour 

 varying in shade and streaks also varying but never so reduced in 

 size or number as in adult male ; tibial feathers with more brown 

 streaks than in adult male ; axillaries and under wing-coverts as 

 in adult male ; tail-feathers pale chestnut-red with varying amount 

 of grey tinge (occasionally no grey tinge and occasionally brownish- 



