REDBREAST. 35 
have the brown feathers mottled with dull orange and buff, 
with pale olive brown tips; chin, throat, and breast, tinged 
with dull reddish or yellowish brown, the feathers margined 
with darker brown. The back has the brown feathers mottled 
with buff or pale brown tips. Greater and lesser wing 
coverts, partially tipped with dull orange buff, or very pale 
brown; toes, pale yellowish red, paler underneath. 
After the first autumnal moult the young birds resemble 
the female, but the red of the breast is more tinged with 
orange; the legs dark brown. 
Varieties are not of very great rarity. The Rev. R. P. 
Alington records in the ‘Naturalist,’ old series, one which 
_had the wing primaries white. In the same work, vol. ui, 
page 538, I mentioned one which had the mandibles slightly 
erossed. This vear also, February, 1853, while waiting for a 
train at the Hutton station, on the York and Scarborough 
line, one came into the room in search of food, the ground 
being covered with snow, and, having caught it for a moment, 
I saw that the lower bill was almost entirely gone, yet the 
bird appeared in good condition. How it could have managed, 
or does manage, is a difficulty to me, as it must, I fear, be 
in some degree to itself. 
One has been seen which had the part which is usually 
red a light bluish grey, the back and wings bluish green. 
White ones are not very unfrequent; others are greyish 
white; some yellowish white. One has been seen which had 
the whole of the primary and secondary feathers of the 
wings white, as also those of the tail, with the exception of 
the tips, which were of a dull grey colour: it was a young 
bird of the year. One all but entirely white—one of the 
primaries shghtly edged with brown; one pale buff, with the 
usual red breast; one with the bill white, the back white, 
with a few streaks of light brown, the breast with more 
white than usual, the wings nearly all white, with a few 
pale olive feathers, the legs very lhght coloured, the breast 
red; one with the whole upper plumage a very light fawn- 
colour, the quills and larger feathers of the wing whitish, 
the red breast retained, the legs and toes much lighter 
coloured than usual. Of a brood of young Robins, two of 
which were white, and one partially so, all moulted into the 
usual colour. 
