THE GREAT CRESTED GRERE. 451 



each side of fore -head above eyes a patch of bare skin and another 

 roughly triangular patch on top of crown. Line of down in centre 

 of fore-head white margined on each side with black dividing over 

 eyes and passing down each side of crown, sides of crown with 

 wide black stripes, centre of back of crown with patch of white, 

 stripes down neck and upper -parts regular and even, black stripes 

 down sides of neck and throat narrower and rather broken on chin 

 and cheeks, that down centre of throat dividing on lower -throat 

 making an inverted V, breast and rest of under-parts white. Bill 

 with two transverse black bands across both mandibles. Down short 

 and very close, but as feathers of juvenile plumage begin to grow 

 they push it out and it adheres to tips of rami. Down thus becomes 

 distributed and pattern is broken up. Down of upper -parts though 

 still mostly concealing feathers, to tips of which it is adhering, 

 then appears black-brown sprinkled with huffish-grey. Down of 

 head and neck remains striped until bird is considerable size as 

 feathers on these parts grow later and often as late as Nov. some 

 down remains attached to these feathers. 



Juvenile. — Fore-head and crown black-brown, feathers of 

 fore-head tipped white, short tufts on sides of back of crown of 

 slightly elongated feathers ; lores and sides of head white with 

 two somewhat broken stripes of black-brown, one from behind eye 

 and another from base of upper mandible to upper -neck, shorter 

 and more ill -defined streaks on sides of chin and some brown -tipped 

 feathers down centre of chin ; on sides of neck (in region of " tippet " 

 of adult) usually some pale rufous and black ; upper -parts as adult 

 but browner not so black ; under-parts silky-white ; flanks 

 brownish with rufous -buff tinge ; wings much as adult. 



First winter. — When juvenile body -feathers are entirely 

 moulted becomes like adult winter except that tufts on crown are 

 shorter and sides of head are white without any black or rufous 

 " tippet " feathers or with some tinged buff or dusky. The juvenile 

 body-plumage (not wings) sometimes begins to moult July but often 

 as late as Dec. all juvenile feathers are not moulted especially on 

 head, some white-tipped fore-head feathers remaining and some black 

 or rufous feathers of streaks on sides of head, while some scapulars 

 with down still on tips are frequently not yet moulted. First 

 summer. — Moult as adult, but apparently often later, some birds 

 being in first winter plumage even as late as April. There seems 

 no definite way of distinguishing from adult but those birds with 

 less developed " tippets " are apparently first summer. 



Measurements and structure. — <$ wing 180-195 mm., tarsus 

 62-68, bill from feathers 47-55 (12 British measured). $ wing 

 175-187, bill 40-46. Primaries : 1st very small and hidden by 

 coverts, 3rd longest, 2nd and 4th sometimes as long, often 3-5 mm. 

 shorter, 5th 10-15 shorter, 6th 20-28 shorter ; 3rd and 4th emar- 

 ginated near tips on outer and 2nd and 3rd and sometimes 4th on 

 inner webs. Tail a small tuft of very short, loosely constructed 

 feathers. Bill straight, compressed and tapering to point, gonys 



