848 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



tips, except centre of fore-head which is bare in position of shield, 

 and crown where down is very sparse and lores, sides of fore-head 

 and round eyes where down is short and has drop-like, waxy tips of 

 crimson. General colour of down black, tinged greyish on under- 

 pays, tips of down on back of neck, sides of neck and chin and 

 throat reddish-orange, on mantle and wings yellow and on rest of 

 upper -parts and under -parts whitish. These tips are coarse and 

 formed by thickish sheaths each enclosing a number of filaments of 

 down which when freed from the sheath are black. Crimson tips to 

 down on sides of fore-head and round eyes is also formed by sheath-, 

 like substance produced in drop-like shape beyond tips of down 

 itself. As bird grows older much of the sheath on body is lost but 

 it persists on head, neck and throat. Down is replaced by juvenile 

 feathers to tips of which it clings. Thumb with rather strong claw, 

 curved at tip. 



Juvenile. — Upper-parts brown-black becoming more sooty- 

 brown on back and rump, feathers of fore-head and crown usually 

 narrowly tipped grey- white ; lores, ear-coverts and sides of neck 

 freckled brown-black and grey-white ; chin, throat and upper- 

 breast white with brown-slate bases of feathers not entirely con- 

 cealed ; rest of breast and belly brownish-slate, feathers more or 

 less fringed white ; flanks and vent browner ; tail, wing and wing- 

 coverts as adult. 



First winter and summer. — Upper-parts like adult but with 

 slightly more brown tinge ; under -parts more tinged brown than in 

 adult, more feathers fringed white (but varying) and often some 

 white feathers on chin, throat and neck. The juvenile body-plumage 

 is moulted Aug. to Nov. and Dec. but not wing- or tail-feathers nor 

 wing-eo verts. 



Measurements and structure. — (J wing 200-225 mm., tail 47-60, 

 tarsus 57-67, bill from shield 33-38 (12 British measured). $ wing 

 196-218, bill 30-37. Primaries : 2nd and 3rd longest, 1st 15-25 

 mm. shorter, 4th 3-9 shorter, 5th 10-20 shorter ; 1st primary 

 sharply pointed. Outer secondaries rather shorter than 10th 

 primary, tips rounded, innermost almost or quite as long as longest 

 primaries, tips pointed. Tail very short, rounded, 12 to 16 feathers, 

 tips rounded ; upper and under tail-coverts nearly as long as tail. 

 Bill stout, compressed and tapering. At base of upper mandible 

 an elliptical, fleshy plate or " shield," larger in males than females, 

 much reduced in juvenile and 1st winter and somewhat reduced in 

 adults in autumn, in breeding-season covering fore-part of crown 

 to beyond eyes. Nostrils oblong in fore-part of shallow nasal groove. 

 About one-fourth of tibia bare ; tarsus compressed and strong ; 

 three front toes very long and slender with wide, laterally expanded 

 membranes contracted at each joint thus forming a scalloped out- 

 line ; hind toe elevated, comparatively small ; claws, long, slightly 

 curved and very sharply pointed. 



Soft parts. — (ad.) Bill white with rosy tinge ; shield white ; legs 

 and feet greenish, tibia orange, toes bluish -grey, joints slate ; iris 



