646 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



metallic blue-green ; wing-coverts black, glossed metallic blue- 

 green. This plumage is acquired by complete moult July to Dec. 

 N.B. — Abrasion of brown tips leaves upper-parts uniform metallic 

 blue-green. Summer. — Feathers of head and neck all round, a few 

 scattered feathers on upper- and under-parts, some upper and 

 under tail-coverts, sometimes one or two inner secondaries and 

 their coverts, and sometimes some median and lesser coverts are 

 moulted Jan. to June, but apparently not tail and not rest of wings. 

 N.B. — Occasionally body-moult appears to be complete. Colora- 

 tion as winter but under-parts suffused with roseate tinge and 

 crown and nape more or less black, variations of which may be 

 roughly divided into three main groups : viz. (1) with crown down 

 to below eye and nape black (fore -head and lores white) ; (2) as 

 (1) but crown and region behind eye usually intermixed with white, 

 nape intermixed with white or with white feathers tipped black ; 

 (3) crown white, hinder crown intermixed with black, feathers of 

 nape white, sometimes tipped black. 



Adult female. Winter. — As male but feathers of nape ap- 

 parently seldom tipped black ; mantle and scapulars hair-brown, 

 feathers narrowly tipped white ; primaries (usually) and secondaries 

 with less metallic gloss and lighter brown on inner webs ; innermost 

 secondaries and coverts hair-brown, narrowly tipped white and 

 sometimes slightly glossed metallic -green ; innermost median 

 coverts same but without white tips ; rest of wing-coverts as male, 

 but sometimes duller metallic -green, many coverts narrowly tipped 

 brown. N.B. — Abrasion of white tips makes upper -parts uniform 

 hair-brown. Summer. — Apparently as winter ; sometimes feathers 

 of hinder crown tipped black-brown. 



Nestling. — Down on fore-head light buff ; from base of upper 

 mandible to hinder crown a black-brown median line (sometimes 

 absent on fore -head) ; rest of crown light buff, with irregular lines 

 and small dots and tufts of black-brown ; nape light buff, down 

 with sooty-brown bases ; rest of upper -parts, sides of neck and 

 sides of body light buff with irregular and indefinite and variable 

 black-brown markings, sometimes tending to form two irregular 

 bands down mantle and back ; an irregular band from uropygial 

 tuft along sides of lower -back, down around tibia intermixed with 

 sooty-brown ; uropygial tuft black-brown, down with buff tips ; 

 from base of upper mandible through eye a black-brown line ; 

 eye-stripe light buff ; remaining under-parts white. 



Juvenile. Male. — Fore -head and lores white ; crown to below 

 eye and including ear-coverts sepia, feathers narrowly tipped light 

 buff ; nape light sepia or ash -brown, feathers narrowly tipped light 

 buff or white ; upper-mantle light sepia, feathers tipped and 

 sometimes streaked or spotted, light buff ; mantle and scapulars 

 sepia, feathers bordered buff and some with dark sepia subterminal 

 border ; upper tail-coverts as adult but tipped buff and with pale 

 sepia subterminal border ; rest of body-plumage as adult but 

 under wing-coverts brown-black, narrowly tipped white or buff ; 



