&84 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Nestling. — Closely covered with soft down, much shorter on 

 head ; tarsi and toes bare. Fore-head and crown rufous-buff, 

 faintly speckled darker ; rest of upper -parts brownish-chestnut 

 speckled black with parallel lines of whitish-buff down centre and 

 each side ; sides of head pale buff with small brown line behind eye ; 

 rest of under -parts pale buff, whitish on throat. Down is replaced by 

 feathers. 



Juvenile. — Crown and nape dark brownish-olive ; rest of upper- 

 parts (except scapulars) olive-brown, feathers with small dull 

 whitish tips with brown subterminal bar ; lores and line over and 

 behind eye buffish-white ; chin, throat and cheeks dull or buffish- 

 white, surrounding feathers (in position of black circular line in 

 adult) more or less mottled blackish at tips ; breast olive-brown, 

 feathers with pale buff to whitish shafts and tips ; lower-breast dull 

 blue -grey, feathers edged and tipped olive and brown ; rest of 

 under-parts pale, dull orange-buff, flank-feathers with broad 

 whitish subterminal bands and narrow mottled brown tips ; tail 

 feathers chestnut narrowly tipped pale buff, central pair and tips 

 and edges of rest brown vermiculated black and pale buff ; 

 primaries much as adult but basal part of outer webs mottled 

 yellow-buff and speckled blackish, tips buff, extreme tips pale buff 

 with narrow penultimate black line and a pale buff spot near tip 

 on outer web ; secondaries same but outer webs more olive -brown, 

 much speckled blackish and distal portions with uneven indentations 

 of yellow-buff spotted and outlined with black ; wing-coverts as 

 mantle but with rather large and pale wedge-shaped tips and inner 

 feathers and scapulars with nearly white tips and heavy black 

 blotches and irregular bars above tips especially on inner webs. 



First winter and summer.- — Like adults and not to be dis- 

 tinguished when moult is complete except by 1st and 2nd primaries 

 which are rather more sharply pointed than in adult and have 

 extreme tips pale buff. The juvenile plumage is moulted in same 

 way as Common Partridge and is complete Nov. 



Measurements and structure. — S wing 156-165 mm., tail 88-95, 

 tarsus 40-44, bill from feathers 15.5-18 (12 British measured). 

 $ wing 147-160, bill 15-17. Primaries : 3rd and 4th longest, 5th 

 usually as long but occasionally 1-2 mm. shorter, 2nd often as long 

 but usually as 6th 1-5 shorter, 1st 8-15 shorter ; outer webs 2nd 

 to 7th emarginated and inner ones of 1st to 4th. Tail considerably 

 rounded, 14 feathers, tips rounded. Longest upper -tail coverts as 

 long (or nearly) as central tail-feathers and longest under-coverts 

 as long as outer tail-feathers. Tarsus with a knob -like spur in male. 

 Hind toe small and elevated, three front ones connected at base by 

 web, rather slender, claws slightly curved and dilated. Bill and 

 nostrils as in Common Partridge. Round eyes skin bare. 



Soft parts. — Bill, legs and feet and round eyes coral-red (juv. 

 bill brown, legs paler rose) ; iris brown. 



Characters and allied forms. — A. r. liispanica (N.W. Spain, 



