128 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



upper mantle more or less strongly washed rufous ; back, rump and 

 upper tail-coverts paler slate-grey, barred blackish ; patch in loral 

 region and narrow line round eye black ; moustachial stripe chestnut ;; 

 ear-coverts, sides of neck, chin and throat buff ; rest of under- 

 parts chestnut-buff (varying in shade) with a few fine blackish 

 shaft-streaks chiefly on flanks and sometimes widening into narrow 

 drop-like streaks ; centre of belly and under tail-coverts without 

 streaks and usually paler, tibial feathers also unstreaked and 

 usually darker ; axillaries and under wing-coverts chestnut-buff 

 streaked, occasionally spotted and axillaries sometimes barred 

 blackish-brown, under wing-coverts covering primaries buffish- 

 white barred black-brown ; tail-feathers pale slate-grey with 

 narrow bars and broad subterminal band of brownish-black, tips 

 often tinged rufous ; primaries blackish, outer webs with silvery 

 tinge, inner webs with comb-like marks of white to pale grey often 

 tinged rufous ; secondaries same but often barred greyish-black 

 and with white comb-like marks confined to inner portion of inner 

 webs, innermost secondaries and wing-coverts slate-grey barred 

 blackish ; primary -coverts slate-grey, outer webs with silvery tinge. 

 Moult as in male. 



Nestling. — At first down (a) covering bird fairly well (round 

 eyes and patch on sides of neck bare) but short and very short 

 tufts of down (b) both white. Later thickly covered with longer 

 and coarser down (c) which replaces down (b) (exactly as in Pere- 

 grine, see p. 108). Down (c) pale bufnsh-grey on upper -parts and 

 paler on under -parts, like Kestrel but slightly darker. 



Juvenile. Male and female. — Fore -head creamy-buff, feathers 

 with blackish shafts ; whole crown varying chestnut-buff to buffish- 

 brown, narrowly streaked black ; nape pale buff to bumsh-white 

 with thicker black streaks ; rest of upper -parts brown-grey barred 

 blackish and each feather broadly tipped rufous to buff or pale buff ; 

 patch in loral region, round eye and extending in short moustachial 

 stripe black ; rest of ear-coverts, sides of neck, chin and throat 

 creamy -white ; rest of under-parts pale buff to creamy -white 

 thickly streaked brown except tibia, vent and under tail-coverts 

 which are unstreaked ; axillaries and under wing-coverts pale buff 

 thickly barred dark brown and rufous -brown ; tail varying, usually 

 barred rufous and brownish-black with more or less tinge of slate- 

 grey, sometimes (especially central pair) much more slate-grey only 

 tinged rufous and with narrower bars of black, all tail-feathers 

 tipped bumsh-white ; wing-feathers and primary-coverts as in 

 adult female but with less grey tinge and tipped bumsh-white ; 

 innermost secondaries and wing-coverts as upper -parts. 



First winter. Male and female . — Like j u venile . 



First summer. Male. — The juvenile body -feathers, some lesser 

 and median wing-coverts, occasionally whole tail, but usually only 

 one or two central pairs, moult gradually from Feb. -May, but 

 not greater coverts, under wing-coverts, primary -coverts, or wing- 



