814 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS 



Nestling. — Closely covered with short down. Crown, wings,, 

 lower flanks, back of tibia, and upper -parts, except neck, with 

 about equal blotches and lines of sandy-buff and brown to blackish- 

 brown (down appearing brown has buff base) ; nape, neck and throat 

 mostly sandy-buff with a black-brown stripe down centre of upper 

 half of back of neck and several spots and streaks of black-brown 

 on throat and sides of head and neck ; rest of under-parts uniform 

 sandy-buff becoming paler and whitish in centre. Down is replaced 

 by feathers. 



Juvenile. — Crown cinnamon-buff much marked and finely 

 powdered with blackish-brown ; neck and throat all round dull 

 grey faintly barred dusky and feathers tipped cinnamon-buff ; over 

 eye whitish-buff ; ear-coverts mottled grey and tipped pale buff ; 

 chin dull white ; base of neck all round more cinnamon, on sides 

 with black-brown ; upper -parts paler, more cinnamon, not so 

 rufous as adult and dark bars browner and not so jet-black ; under- 

 parts white but tips of feathers of sides of breast and under tail- 

 coverts tinged buff and barred dusky ; tail-feathers : outer pair 

 white tinged buff marked grey-black below tip, rest more cinnamon 

 with two blackish bands and vermiculations and buff-white tips 

 with extreme tip cinnamon-buff, central ones darker cinnamon 

 with often small, wavy, dusky bar at tip ; primaries tipped 

 cinnamon-buff ; secondaries tipped and mottled white and inner 

 secondaries white and cinnamon-buff mottled and barred grey- 

 black ; primary-coverts with distal half dark grey, basal paler and 

 mottled grey, tip buff ; greater coverts white much mottled 

 greyish-black, with brown-black subterminal bar and buff tip ; rest 

 of coverts cinnamon-buff barred brown-black, outer ones more or 

 less washed grey with buff tips and often buff inner webs and black 

 subterminal bars. 



First vjinter and summer. — Like adults but moustachial feathers 

 less developed and wings and tail like juvenile, buff tips of primaries 

 and primary-coverts especially affording easy distinction but tips 

 of tail and many wing-coverts become gradually worn down. N.B. 

 — Primaries and tail-feathers considerably narrower and more 

 pointed than in adult, bird considerably smaller in bulk at all events 

 in first winter. The juvenile body -feathers are moulted in autumn 

 but not tail, wing-feathers or wing-coverts. 



Measurements and structure. — $ wing 615-660 mm. (measured 

 with tape, see Vol. I, p.* xiii), tail 215-260, tarsus 140-170, bill from 

 feathers 45-60 (11 measured). ? wing 480-515, tail 190-210, tarsus 

 110-130, bill 35-43. Primaries : $ ad. 5th longest, 3rd and 4th 

 equal or 5-10 mm. shorter, 1st 65-80 shorter, 2nd 10-20 shorter, 

 6th 30-50 shorter ; 2nd to 6th abruptly emarginated outer webs, 

 7th less so, 1st to 5th emarginated inner webs. Outer secondaries 

 about equal 10th primary and inner 6th primary, tips broad and 

 rounded. Tail rounded, 20 broad feathers, tips rounded. Bill 

 stout, broad and rather flat at base, culmen curved gently, tip 

 rather blunt, under mandible shallow, gonys rather short and 



