466 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



and whitish bases often ill-concealed ; whole of rest of upper -parts 

 dark brown, feathers margined grey-brown to grey ; outermost 

 under scapulars with dull white edges or white subterminal bands ; 

 between nostrils and eye feathers brown, tipped white ; under 

 eye, chin, throat and rest of under -parts white, but feathers along 

 sides of neck tipped brown, giving somewhat mottled appearance ; 

 feathers of sides of lower -throat and upper-breast with brown 

 centres and white edges, giving somewhat streaked appearance ; 

 sides of breast and flanks brown, some feathers with white outer 

 webs and edges ; across vent narrow band of brown ; under tail- 

 coverts brown, broadly tipped white ; axillaries white with dark 

 brown median streaks ; under wing-coverts white, lower ones with 

 pale brown median streaks ; tail-feathers dark brown tipped white ; 

 primaries and secondaries black-brown tips and outer webs, dark 

 brown shafts, paler brown inner -webs ; wing-coverts as rest of 

 upper -parts but many lesser with small ill-defined whitish sub- 

 terminal spots and innermost sometimes with white subterminal 

 bars. This plumage is acquired by complete moult Aug. (some- 

 times July) to Jan. Primaries, primary-coverts and secondaries 

 are moulted simultaneously but wing-coverts and innermost 

 secondaries normally. Sometimes some old summer body-feathers, 

 wing-coverts and innermost secondaries are retained until next 

 moult. Summer. — Another complete moult similar to that of 

 autumn takes place Feb. -May. Whole head and neck all round 

 velvety-black, slightly glossed green on back of head, neck and 

 throat, and with mauvish tinge on sides of head, lower part of 

 throat and neck all round much more strongly glossed greenish - 

 purple, in middle of throat a prominent line of short white parallel 

 vertical streaks, on each side of lower -neck a similar line of longer 

 streaks not quite meeting in centre of throat or back of neck (these 

 streaks are formed by series of feathers larger and of stronger struc- 

 ture than those of rest of neck and throat and with even white 

 margins on each side of webs) ; rest of upper -parts black glossed 

 greenish and thickly spotted with white, each feather having a pair 

 of subterminal spots of more or less square shape, those on upper- 

 mantle very small, becoming large on lower -mantle and still larger 

 on scapulars, back and rump with very small spots and upper tail- 

 coverts unspotted ; breast and belly white, sides of upper-breast 

 glossy-black streaked white, feathers being much like those forming 

 white streaks on neck ; flanks as upper -parts, feathers with small 

 white spots and sometimes two on outer webs, feathers nearest 

 breast with inner webs white streaked black or whole feather white 

 with black streak ; across vent a line of dark brown, some feathers 

 haiing white subterminal spots or white edges ; under tail-coverts 

 brown-black tipped white ; axillaries and under wing-coverts as 

 winter but central streaks darker ; tail-feathers glossy-black with 

 no white tips ; primaries and secondaries as winter but outer webs 

 and tips black glossed purplish, innermost secondaries with white 

 spot on outer webs ; primary-coverts as primaries ; wing-coverts 



