[ANNALS N. V. ACAD. Sci., VOL. XIII, No. I, pp. 73 to 360, Oct. 19, 1900. ] THE SEQUENCE OF PLUMAGES AND MOULTS OF THE PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK JONATHAN DWIGHT, JR. (Read March 13, 1899) [Plates I to VII] CONTENTS PAGE I. INDOOR STUDY OF MOULT 74 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 74 DETERMINATION OF AGE BY OSTEOLOGICAL CHARACTERS 76 WEAR OR FEATHER DISINTEGRATION 78 II. PROCESS OF MOULT 82 PROTECTIVE SEQUENCE IN FEATHER Loss 83 ADVANCE OF MOULT IN THE FEATHER TRACTS 84 1. Alar or Wing Tracts 87 2. Humeral or Shoulder Tracts 93 3. Capital or Head Tract 93 4. Dorsal or Spinal Tract 94 5. Ventral or Inferior Tract 95 6. Caudal or Tail Tract.. 96 7. Lumbar, Femoral or Thigh Tracts 97 8. Crural or Leg Tracts 97 III. EARLY PLUMAGES AND MOULTS OF YOUNG BIRDS 98 IV. SEQUENCE OF PLUMAGES AND MOULTS 101 1. Natal Down (Postnatal Moult) 105 2. Juvenal Plumage (Postjuvenal Moult) 106 3. First Winter Plumage (Prenuptial Moult) 107 4. First Nuptial Plumage (Postnuptial Moult) 109 5. Second or Adult Winter Plumage (Prenuptial Moult) 113 6. Second or Adult Nuptial Plumage (Postnuptial Moult) 114 V. COLOR FACTS versus COLOR THEORIES 116 VI. OUTDOOR STUDY OF MOULT 124 SEASONS OF MOULT 124 MIGRATION AFTER MOULT 126 PREPONDERANCE OF YOUNG BIRDS IN AUTUMN 128 VII. PLUMAGES AND MOULTS OF NEW YORK SPECIES 130 CLASSIFICATION OF MOULT 130 DESCRIPTIONS OF SPECIES AND THEIR MOULTS 135 VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY 318 (73) Univ. Library- UC Santa Cruz 1991 74 DW1GHT I. INDOOR STUDY OF MOULT Fundamental Principles The moulting of birds is a subject so complicated, so exten- sive, and so difficult of study, that it is not surprising to find it wrapped, even to-day, in dense clouds of ignorance which ob- scure the true principles underlying it. Doubts have arisen even in the minds of those who have come nearest to the truth, be- cause they have been unable to explain certain seasonal discrep- ancies in the plumage of birds, and theories have sprung up and flourished. Theories not founded on facts, must necessarily fall to pieces when the truth is known, and the present paper sets forth a number of indisputable facts derived from personal inves- tigations, which, rightly interpreted, will explain not only the problems of moult and plumage, but also the theories of those whose published opinions differ widely from my own. It is my present purpose to demonstrate the principles dominating the plumages and moults of no less than one hundred and fifty North American species of the great order Passeres or Perch- ing Birds, and at the same time indicate the wider application of these principles, which the study of other groups leads me to believe prevail among all species of birds modified only by cir- cumstances. The fundamental facts of moult have been grasped so imper- fectly by some observers, that much theorizing about color changes has taken the place of actual information upon the sea- sonal variations of birds' plumages, and much superficial work has been done, although some excuse for it may be found in the existing lack of suitable specimens for study. The folly of guessing at age or sex from plumage characters is exempli- fied in many collections, and museum collections especially con- tain many undated specimens, which are positive hindrances rather than helps in settling vexed questions of moult. Worse than all is the great dearth of birds actually in process of moult. My own collection remedies, in a measure, all these defects, for the subject of moult has interested me for many years and I have devoted much time to securing moulting birds, the sex of PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 75 which has been determined by dissection, and the age, when pos- sible, by osteological characters. I have obtained several thous- and of such birds and studied them before they were skinned, and also prepared hundreds of young birds in early stages of plumage. Among large series of the commoner species, I have birds taken every month in the year and oftener, so that not only are all the successive plumages illustrated, but in many species all the intermediate transition stages. Gaps in some of my series that-a lifetime of field work might not fill have been bridged to a certain extent through the kind assistance of friends. The extensive collections in the American Museum of Natural Histoiy have been put at my disposal by Doctor J. A. ALLEN and Mr. F. M. CHAPMAN. Mr. WILLIAM BREWSTER has accorded me like privileges with his private collection and Mr. ROBERT RIDGWAY has furnished me with birds from the collection of the United States National Museum, while Mr. CHARLES F. BATCHELDER, Mr. WITMER STONE and Mr. WILLIAM PALMER have all furnished me with specimens to throw light on obscure points. Equipped with such material, it has been possible for me to tread safely where others have slipped, and possessing in it a key which fits locks hitherto unopened, I have endeavored to use it to the best advantage. There may be little that is quite new in these pages, for many have traversed the subject before me, but no one has taken just my point of view, and my work has been on absolutely independent lines. Nothing what- ever has been taken at second hand, and every statement is for- tified by specimens to prove its truth. No previous attempt has been made to link together the successive plumages of so many species, and yet this very linking together of isolated facts affords the only highroad by which we may arrive at a true un- derstanding of plumage or of moult. Specimens are isolated facts, and hundreds of them taken at the wrong season may prove nothing, while one taken at the proper time may prove eveiything, provided the principles of moult are understood. Quality and not quantity of material for study determines its value. Moult and plumage truly go hand in hand ; moult a vital process at definite intervals for the production of new feathers, 76 DWIGHT plumage an assemblage of feathers produced by one or more moults ; and the underlying principles or laws by which every moult and every plumage may be explained are the following : 1 . Every species has a definite series of plumages and moults. 2. Moult is periodical feather growth. 3. Moult is complete or incomplete. 4. Moult is modified by age, sex and individual. 5. Plumage is renewed by moult. 6. Plumage is modified by wear. This is the whole matter in a nutshell no " undiscovered law of nature," no " restoration," no " rejuvenation " of feathers, no " repigmentation," in fact, no " aptosochromatism," what is left of it being represented by the good Anglo-Saxon word wear. The only question to ask in order to solve a plumage is : When did each feather grow ? Could anything be simpler ? Every feather develops with a definite color and pattern which it re- tains modified only by wear until the next moult. This is the A B C of it and only those ignorant of facts can maintain the contrary, and assert that a feather once grown can rebuild or re- color itself. A mature feather is acknowledged by physiologists (and by everyone except those with theories) to be a completed appendage of the skin, cut off from vital connection with the body and incapable of any but destructive changes. I shall show that regenerative processes occur only by moult in some of the very species that have been exploited as undoubted ex- amples of abnormal color change without moult, and I hope to protect other species that as yet have escaped the imputation. The highroad to such conclusions is not an easy one to travel, but those who will begin at the beginning and follow me will find it everywhere avoiding the pitfalls of doubt, that end in blind theories, and leading straight to an understanding of the signifi- cance of plumage. Determination of Age by Osteological Characters One of the first essentials in the study of moult, and one hitherto almost wholly disregarded, is the ability to distinguish an PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 77 old bird from a young one. The plumage is, of course, a guide in many species, when we know which is which, but it is surprising how little is actually known of autumnal plumages, especially of adults. Fortunately until a young bird is five or six months old, immaturity may be recognized among Passerine species by a very simple osteological character, and one requiring no mi- croscope for its demonstration. I have made constant use of it for a dozen years past and doubtless others have done the same, but as yet I have never seen any explanation of it. It is simply this, the prominent frontal bones of the young bird are thin and transparent showing the brain beneath, while those of the adult are thicker and flecked with little whitish dots, which show even better as black dots, when, with the brain removed, the skull is held up to the light. As the skull of the young bird ossifies, with the advance of the season, it assumes the adult characters, the dotted area of ossification creeping irregularly from behind for- ward and from the sides upward, until perhaps a couple of trans- parent spots anteriorly may be all that is left to show immaturity. When these disappear this valuable diagnostic feature is, of course, lost. The dots mark the ends of slender branching columns of bone that partly fill the open space between the two tables of the mature skull, and bind them together. Mutilation, or the in- filtration of blood or fluid from the brain, may obscure the dotted appearance, but it is usually obvious at a glance. This progressive ossification is scarcely perceptible in any New York species before the end of October, and seems to be com- pleted in the frontal bones about two months later. The mi- grants that press further south seldom show more than the begin- ning of the process for they have nearly all departed by the middle of October. Resident species, such as the Chickadee (Pants atricapillus), and early nesting species, may complete the ossification before the middle of December ; early broods of the Song Sparrow {Melospiza fasciatd) at about the same time, late ones a month later ; and late nesting species, such as the Cedar Bird (Ampelis ccdrontui} and Goldfinch (Splints tristis), often as late as February. Many of our winter visitors arrive with skulls incompletely ossified ; the Horned Lark (Otocoris alpcs- 78 DWIGHT tris) being one of the earliest (early in December), and the Tree Sparrow (Spizella monticola) one of the latest (early in Janu- ary), to complete the ossification. These dates are approximate, but they throw some light on a neglected page of bird study that I now turn for the first time. The late ossification of other bones should be mentioned in passing, but most of them require such careful examination as to preclude their ready use in deter- mining the age of the bird. The bearing all this matter has on the question of moult is this : if, when a species departs south in the autumn, we know exactly the plumage of the adult and exactly that of the young bird, it is far easier to interpret the changes that have taken place in each when they return in the spring, for the amount of moult and the amount of wear varies according to age. The new aspect of the plumage may be entirely due to wear, to moult, or to a combination of the two. A method has been suggested for telling old from young in the fall by the presence of sheaths on the primaries in adults and their absence in young birds, because the latter do not usually moult these feathers in assuming fall dress, but it fails both in young birds that do renew the primaries, and in old birds that often show moult elsewhere after the primaries have lost their sheaths. Wear or Feather Disintegration Some of the effects of this complex process are illustrated on plates I, II, IV, VI and VII, where a change in the shape and color of feathers is produced by loss of substance, generally at their margins. The destructive influences to which feathers are exposed may best be summed up under the word wear, which means a great deal and should be thoroughly understood in studying the relation of plumages and moults. The chief fac- tors concerned in wear are abrasion and fading, which always go hand in hand the one mechanical disintegration, the other chem- ical decoloration, but there are a number of minor factors which modify their effects. The age of a feather, its position, its struc- ture, its color and the habits of the bird, are all matters that PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 79 modify wear. The longer a feather is exposed to the bleaching of the elements and to the effects of mechanical abrasion, the more ragged in appearance it becomes, and the older it is the more rapid becomes its disintegration ; so that plumage showing perhaps comparatively little wear during the winter, will rapidly become tattered during the few months of the breeding season. Much of the abrasion is not due to external causes but to the attrition of the feathers themselves one upon another. This may be observed, for instance, upon the nape of the neck where from the constant movements of the head the feathers become much worn. The wing coverts, tertiaries and scapularies also show markedly the effects of opening and closing the wings. The feathers of the anterior parts of the body however seem to suffer from contact with leaves and grasses while the bird is gathering its food and the flight feathers of some species show marked wear depending also of course upon their habits. It is in all of these ways that position modifies wear. Another minor factor affecting wear and a very important one is structure. The large strong remiges and rectrices by their compactness, as well as the long-barbed abdominal feathers by their yielding quality, both suffer less from abrasion than those of intermediate weight and stiffness. The weaker feathers, too, of young birds are peculiarly liable to abrasion, aided no doubt by the clumsy efforts at locomotion of the birds themselves. Even the remiges and rectrices are less resistant than those of the adult, the borders being less compactly rounded out and the pigment deficient. The color of a feather is another factor of considerable impor- tance in determiningTits wear, and it is well to bear in mind that color may be due to pigment, to optical effects produced by structural interference with rays of light or to a combination of the two. As a matter of fact, black or iridescent feathers are most resistant to wear, other things being equal, while certain buffs and browns yield most rapidly. The pale contrasting borders and the paler areas of the feathers of many species tend to decolorize and disintegrate as far as the adjacent dark portions. There are many striking 80 DWIGHT illustrations of this among them, the Meadow Lark (Sturnclla magnd] (plate II, fig. 17) the Grasshopper Sparrow (Amuw- dramus savannarum passcrinus) (plate II, fig. 3) the Rose- breasted Grosbeak (Habia ludoviciand), and many others where bars and spots of light color become singularly eroded during the breeding season. Buff or pale-tinted edgings of dark colored feathers, produc- ing in the plumage a veiled effect, are acquired by many species at the time of moult both in the spring and in the autumn and seem to owe their deciduous character as much to their color as to their structure. I have examined hundreds of such feathers under the microscope and can find little evidence that they wear down to the black or other darker color, because at this point an "interlocking" or strengthening of the barbules takes place as has been stated and even figured. No such conditions regu- larly prevail, for the black color often extends distally far beyond the point where the barbules cross and often the breaking off of the barbs either does not reach the black, or on the other hand, the black may be involved to a considerable extent, as for in- stance in the Meadow Lark (plate II, fig. 14). It is significant, however, that each overlying feather tip should reach only to the limits of the black area of the feather, beneath, leaving its pale margin wholly exposed to wear. Veiled species are the rule in' autumn and the loss of feather edgings produces remark- able color changes in the plumage, although there is no actual pigmentary change in the individual feathers, an im- portant difference to be noted. By wear alone the brown Snow- flake (Plectroplienax nivalis), for instance, becomes entirely black and white in the breeding season and the brown young of the Red-winged Blackbird (Agclains plicenicciis} assumes a black breeding dress. In these and many other species the actual shape of the individual feathers is changed but always by de- struction of their substance. It is equally true that whatever pigmentary color change takes place in a feather there is always destruction of color, never a recoloration. I find no slightest exception, the apparent exceptions being optical delusions. In proof of one such delusion I need cite but two species : the PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 81 Purple Finch ( Carpodacus purpureus) and the American Cross- bill {Loxia citrrirostra minor} figured on plate VII which shows at a glance what has occurred. Ordinarily in most spe- cies, wear removes the barbs, bit by bit, so that each terminates in a V formed by the barbules on either side. In the case of these two as well as other species, the barbs of certain feathers are blunt and heavy and the barbules are gradually lost, leaving them bare. Such barbs are apparently brighter red than when the grayish barbules between them produce an effect that to the eye is pinkish. This is the "brightening" that has also been observed in certain Finches, for instance the Redpoll (Acanthis linarid) and its allies, but it is not " repig- mentation " nor even " recoloration." The red color is in the barbs when the feather grows in the autumn and the eye is simply deceived. There is still another factor that modifies wear, the habits of a species or of the individual. Birds that live from morning till night in the air, like the Swallows, the Flycatchers, the Vireos and some of the Warblers, suffer little wear from outside sources while Sparrows and other grass-loving species, are prone to be- come exceedingly ragged in a veiy short time. No better ex- amples can be cited than the Sharp-tailed Sparrow (Ammodra- mus caudacutus), the Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) and the Long-billed Marsh Wren {CistotJwnis palustris) all of which species, by clinging to harsh reeds and grasses, rapidly fray out even the resistant remiges and rectrices, thus, perhaps, necessi- tating two complete moults annually, although there are other species, such, for instance, as the Seaside Sparrow (Ammodrauius inaritinnts), which have but one, although they are apparently exposed to the same amount of wear. The subject of wear is a large one and its possibilities are by no means exhausted, although many writers have already dis- cussed it most minutely, but there is need of getting beyond the narrow field of a microscope focused on single parts of single feathers. To base theories on pigment granules and exuding pores is perhaps simpler than to prove that color and pattern were present when the feather first grew and yet those who have ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. PCI., XIII, Aug. 3, 1900 6. 82 DWIGHT been masters of microscopic technique have sometimes signally failed to grasp the rudiments of wear, let alone those of moult. It would seem to be an easy matter to determine the age of a feather by the amount of wear, but as a matter of fact it is not. All of the factors I have mentioned must be taken into consid- eration. Minute and careful study, not only of single feathers, but of many feathers, the whole plumage in fact, is necessary in order to reach conclusions. Even then, in some cases, one must make comparison of many birds in order to eliminate in- dividual irregularities. It is not difficult to say that a feather is not new, but without some corroborative evidence, aside from the feather itself, it is not easy to estimate whether it has been worn, let us say a couple of months, or perhaps three times as long. A dark feather growing at the side of a light one shows far less wear in a given time, and in the same way remiges and rectrices of young birds, compared with those of adults, show much more wear, but it is only possible to prove this by knowing that all of these feathers grew at the same time of the year. Hence the importance of knowing the autumnal plum- age of both young and old birds in order to estimate wear. On a correct estimate often hinges the question of a moult that may have occurred in southern latitudes during the winter months. It is, however, quite possible to reach intelligent conclusions in many cases without other aid than the naked eye, although a lens magnifying ten or fifteen diameters achieves better results. II. PROCESS OF MOULT The moult of a bird is a physiological process, whereby new feathers grow periodically to replace the old ones. The whole plumage may be renewed or only a part of it and the moult periods must not be confounded with occasional new growth at any time and anywhere to replace feathers accidentally torn out. There are two seasons of moult peculiar to the adults of most of our Passerine species, one in all species which is complete fol- lowing the breeding season, and one in some species, which is usually incomplete, preceding it. The first, the post-nuptial, re- PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 83 stores the worn-out plumage, the second (when it is not sup- pressed), the pre-nuptial, adorns birds for the nuptial season. In a few of our species the latter moult is complete, usually the wings and tail are not involved, and often the renewal is limited to a sprinkling of new feathers here and there, so limited, in fact, that it sometimes becomes a difficult matter to draw the line be- tween a moult and the regular tendency, in nearly all species, at this season, to the renewal of a few feathers. A limited, or sup- pressed, pre-nuptial moult is peculiar to many females, while the males may undergo an extensive renewal, and young birds of some species undergo a pre-nuptial moult once, that is appar- ently not repeated another year. There are also several moults peculiar to young birds before they even acquire feathers of adult structure, and many species need to pass through at least two moults besides those of the first summer before the plumage be- comes wholly of the pattern and color of the adult. With all of these possibilities it is easy to understand, I think, why the moult has been considered complicated. In reality it is the re- sulting plumages that are perplexing rather than the moults by which they have been produced. Closely allied species may not moult alike but it is evident that subspecies follow in the footsteps of the parent stock. On account of certain irregularities and peculiarities in the moult of young birds, I have deemed it best to describe first the process of moult as it occurs in the adult and take up that of the young bird later. Protective Sequence in Feather Loss. The feather loss at the time of a moult is so compensated for by feather gain that but few birds lose either the power of flight or the protection of their plumage. The plan on which a moult proceeds is a perfectly definite one although often much modified and obscured. Old feathers or rows of feathers tend to remain until the newcomers adjacent have matured sufficiently to as- sume their function, when the old fall out and their places are taken by the new which develop from the same papillae. How 84 DWIGHT the old feather is pushed out by the new, so to speak, is a matter for microscopic study and a subject by itself, but it usually falls when the follicle of the new is barely visible to the naked eye as a bluish spot beneath the skin. The systematic replacement of areas of feathers shows most obviously in the wings where not only do the remiges fall out one after another in definite sequence and almost synchronously from each wing, but the greater coverts are regularly replaced before the fall of the secondaries beneath them, the lesser coverts before the median and even in the rows of the lesser coverts alternation seems to be attempted. Furthermore the under wing coverts are usually replaced after the moult of the upper surface of the wings is completed (regularly so in young birds) the row nearest the quills of the remiges following the more distant. On the body the protective sequence is less obvious, but the moult regularly begins at fairly definite points in the feather tracts radiating from them in such manner that the outer rows of feathers where the tracts are widest and the feathers of their extremities are normally the last to be replaced. The tail coverts, too, precede the rectrices which fall on either side in pairs, the outer protecting in a measure the inner ones. If this sequence is borne in mind many supposed discrepancies will nicely adjust themselves, and exceptions will be individual and in no wise mar an evident and far reaching plan of moult. The important part that the blood-supply plays in this plan appears to have been quite overlooked, nor have I had oppor- tunity to fully investigate it. I may say, however, that the radiation of the moult from given points corresponds very closely to the distribution of the superficial arteries, beginning where the main trunks come to the surface and ending with their ulti- mate ramifications. Advance of Moult in the Feather Tracts. Reference to plate III, will give some idea of how the pterylce or feather tracts are distributed in a Passerine bird. The subject photographed is a young American Robin (J^lerula migratoria) PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 85 five days from the egg, the tracts being the same as in the adult. The only way to get any idea of how a moult proceeds is to appre- ciate the fact that it begins almost simultaneously at a number of points in the different tracts and advances independently from each of them. This is why a bird seems to be moulting at irregular spots all over. There is, as might be expected, a good deal of individual irregularity in the growth of new feathers, but when each tract is studied separately, each will be found to have a definite plan of development which in its turn fits into the general scheme of the process we call the moult. There is far more symmetry in all this than would be imagined from the study of a few specimens and the moult may well be likened to a flood tide which gradually spreads over the different islands of feathers found on a bird's body. It is important to note that the tide of moult may pass by certain feathers which later succumb to it so that a few new ones are always to be expected on the body very near the points where the moult began. What is more important yet, certain feathers or groups of feathers are often entirely passed by and persist old and worn until another period of moult. This suppression is the rule at the prenuptial moult, especially in young birds and females, but rarely occurs at the postnuptial period. When such feathers are of a different color from those of the new plumage surrounding them, they are very conspicuous, but may usually be recognized as belong- ing to a previous plumage by their frayed and faded appearance. Young birds are most apt to fail to renew these stray feathers, often whole patches of them, particularly when the adult plum- age is brilliantly colored, as for instance, in the Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyancd] or Orchard Oriole {Icterus spurius). It would seem that the tide of moult fails to rise or exhausts itself sooner in the young bird than in the adult, consequently the young of some species pass their first breeding season in a plumage adorned with only a few new feathers colored like those of the adult. This is true of the species just mentioned, and the Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) and Summer Tanager (Plranga rubra], are also other good examples. When only a few new feathers are assumed they are confined chiefly to the 86 D WIGHT head and chin with stray ones here and there on the other feather tracts. The process of moult begins at the usual points and is then checked, producing the mottling of different colored feathers so obvious in species with contrasting plumages. When- ever a complete moult occurs either in young or old, left-over feathers are the exception probably because functional activity is called into full force, but when a partial moult takes place, as it does in many species prior to the breeding season, parts only of the feather tracts are renewed, and left-over feathers abound. They are valuable landmarks, and more will be said of them later for they are the chief prop of the theory of " color change without moult." Whenever a complete moult is about to take place the first tract to show activity is usually the alar, and the fall of the inner- most or proximal primary is the starting signal closely followed by the feathers of the breast on either side at a point pos- terior to the forking of the ventral tract into its lateral branches. Very shortly, new feathers appear among the interscapularies, the scapularies and the greater wing coverts, and usually a little later the feathers of the forehead, occiput, throat, lesser wing coverts and tail coverts begin to be renewed. The moult of each tract is traced elsewhere so it will suffice to say here that as a' rule the moult of the wings is completed before that of the body and that there are some pretty definite spots on each where the last evidences are to be found. The latest feathers of the alar tract are the inner secondaries (excluding the tertiaries which are earlier), the under surface of the wing and the humeral surfaces. On the head the latest feathers of the new dress are regularly found in the postauricular region, on the nape and at the nostrils ; on the back at the expansion of the dorsal tract, and at the anterior extremity of the humeral tracts ; and on the ven- tral tract at the chin, at the lateral forking, at the wide part of the lateral branches and at the sides of the unfeathered central portion of the abdomen. The down feathers that clothe the so-called featherless spaces (apterid) keep pace with the contour feathers adjacent, but usually are later. Other modified feathers, such as filoplumes, semi- PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 87 plumes or bristles, moult along with the contour feathers with which they are associated. In adults there is regularity in the development of the tracts all bearing a fairly definite time rela- tion to each other but in young birds an outbreak of moult in any of the tracts earlier or later is less unusual. A knowledge of the distribution of the feathers of each tract, their relative numbers and arrangement is indispensable in fol- lowing their successive growth, but it is not possible in the pres- ent paper to go too deeply into the niceties of pterylographical differences. Other writers, notably Nitzsch, have discussed them and mapped out the feather tracts of various species. It is well to remember that among our Passerine species contour feathers grow on all the tracts, a small part of the alar and caudal tracts furnishing the remiges and rectrices respectively. It is well to observe that these too are contour feathers a fact that some writers overlook. They are renewed in adults but once in twelve months as a rule and no oftener in most young birds but there are exceptions among a number of species. The body feathers of a great many species are renewed twice a year in both old and young. 1. Alar or Wing Tracts (Ptervlce alares). The power of flight depends upon the remiges of these tracts, and until they have reached maturity after the moult regularly subsequent to the breeding season, there appears to be little or no attempt at mi- gration on the part of most, birds, some of the Flycatchers, Swallows and, perhaps, a few others, being marked exceptions. As flight then, is the first object to be attained, it is not surpris- ing the moult should begin where it does near the middle 01 each wing with the fall of the respective innermost or proximal primary. In nine-primaried species it is the ninth as usually counted, omitting the one aborted, and the tenth when ten are found. The upper primary coverts fall with or a little after the primaries to which they belong and are almost never moulted independently of the primaries. As soon as a primary falls the follicle or envelope containing the new forming feather pushes into view, often reaching one quarter the length of the old feather and a diameter exceeding it by one half before the 88 DWIGHT feather itself breaks from the apex. The follicle is pulpy, dark and bluish in appearance owing to the developing feather within, the quill of which, after it is grown, remaining pulpy until one or two of the adjacent quills have reached maturity. The re- mains of the follicle persist in the form of a scaly sheath at the base of each quill until several of the new feathers are fully grown and often much longer. This development of the new feather is not peculiar to the primaries, but is true of every other feather on a bird. Before, however, the follicle of the proximal primary has opened, the primary adjacent regularly falls, closely followed by its upper covert. It probably falls at very nearly the same time as the proximal in many cases and even in ad- vance of it in a few, as may be inferred from the relative length of the two new feathers, but as a rule the order is the one indi- cated. Both are out of their follicles before the next adjacent, and its covert falls, and this is followed in order by the more distal primaries one after another. At no time is a gap left of more than one or two whole feathers at most and perhaps one or more partly grown so that a Passerine bird is never much hampered in its flight. From the examination of specimens it is impossible to deter- mine the exact time required for a complete renewal of this most important row of flight-feathers which is usually the first to be affected by the moult in adults although outstripped in development by some of the other areas. I should estimate the time at about one month or probably a little longer. In exten- sive series of a few species, I find that the period between the earliest date of a specimen showing loss of the proximal primary and the earliest date of a specimen showing the distal primary fully grown varies between a month and six or eight weeks. The primaries are rarely moulted more than once in a year. Adults and year-old birds at the end of the breeding season both male and female always renew them. In a few species, all the primaries are again renewed by moult in the winter or early spring. Young birds of a few species moult these feathers in acquiring their autumnal or first winter dress, but the majority retain them until the moult following the first breeding season. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 89 Some few young birds however have the peculiarity of renew- ing only the outer or distal four or five at the prenuptial moult. This partial moult is easily overlooked particularly in worn spring specimens. The Indigo Bunting (^Cyamospiza cyaned) and Short- billed Marsh Wren (Cistothonis palustris) are ex- amples of this peculiarity. Primaries are almost never left over if any moult takes place in .this series all are involved except as just indicated. When- ever they undergo a moult so do their upper coverts with rare exceptions and as the latter fade and wear more than the pri- maries they are often a key to the age of the bird, in the young differing more in color from those of the adult than do the pri- maries themselves. Occasionally one or more of the primary coverts is left over until the next moult. Primaries show the least wear of any feathers when compared with others grown at the same time. Their compact structure and deep pigmen- tation make them unusually resistant. The secondaries are always six for each wing in the species under consideration, it being desirable to recognize the three proximal feathers of this series as tertiaries. Coincidently very nearly with the fall of the fifth or sixth primary the first or outermost of the secondaries is lost, followed in succession by the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth or proximal, the pre- ceding feather usually reaching a considerable length before the next in the series is moulted. There seems to be some irregu- larity in the loss of the inner members which are replaced more rapidly than are their predecessors, but the innermost falls at very nearly the same time as the outermost primary so that the moult appears to begin near the middle of the remiges and proceed evenly in either direction. Whenever there is a complete moult of the primaries there is also one of the secondaries and there seems to be few exceptions to this rule in young or old although the outer primaries as al- ready explained may be moulted when no renewal occurs among the secondaries. The secondaries are never renewed as a series without moult of the primaries preceding their moult. The three tertiaries of each wing which, from their position, 90 DWIGHT appear to be only inner secondaries, do not as might be ex- pected, follow their sequence of moult. The middle one falls with or even before the distal secondary, and in spite of some irregularity the three are almost always grown in advance of the inner secondaries. The middle feather is the first to be lost, followed by the innermost, and this in turn by the outermost, which often acquires complete maturity before the adjacent secondary, the sixth, falls out. The tertiaries follow in their moult most frequently, per- haps, the example of the adjacent body plumage, but are very irregular, individuals of the same species acting in defiance of what might be expected of them. Some adults regularly renew them at the prenuptial moult when the body plumage is re- newed, but even these birds may replace only one or two feathers and asymmetrically in either wing. Young birds are still more irregular and old feathers frequently persist in one bird and* not in another of the same species, as may be seen in the Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Habia ludoviciand], or Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbuld) and many others. When young birds acquire plumage of adult structure in the early autumn of their first year, the tertiaries are often replaced by others so similar in color, pattern and structure, that it is very difficult to be sure of their moult, unless they are caught in the act. As they moult quickly, it is not always easy to do this, and as they wear quickly it is easy to mistake their age. Sometimes a precocious young bird acquires one or two of adult color that are not normally due until a later moult. It is doubtful if such feathers, when assumed in the autumn, are again renewed in the spring. The moult of the ahilce, the feathers on the ''thumb" of each wing usually follows the example of the wing coverts, most fre- quently being renewed when they are, but often not. The three larger feathers fall with or a little after the proximal primary. The proximal feather falls first, sometimes the middle one, followed by the distal. The smaller feathers which act as coverts are earlier and related in moult to those of the carpo-metacarpal region adjacent. The alulce are quite irregular and are moulted by some individuals of a species and not by others. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 91 The row of greater coverts, usually eleven in number for each wing, lie directly over the secondaries and tertiaries, but do not, like the primary coverts, follow the moult of the rerniges beneath them. They usually reach full development before feather loss fairly begins in the series beneath them ; and do not fall out regularly but many of them at about the same time, the inner feathers, however, being a little later than the others. This row sometimes begins to fall before the inner primary is lost, especially in young birds, usually very soon after. They are more frequently renewed than are the tertiaries when a moult of the body plumage occurs and often are renewed only in part. At the prenuptial moult the inner members only may be re- newed and one here and there so that a curious alternation of old and new feathers results, some of the Warblers and Tana- gers illustrating this point to perfection. The outer members of the series are the ones most frequently left over and the contrast in color is often striking, especially when precocious young birds assume a few of adult pattern and color. The median coverts, eight in number for each wing, do not be- gin to fall as a rule until the greater coverts on one side of them and the lesser coverts on the other have been largely renewed. Like all of the minor wing series this one falls out irregularly, the tendency being for the outer members to be replaced earlier. They are renewed whenever the other coverts show moult and may like them be left over here and there until a later moult. Young birds of the Summer Tanager (Piranga rubrd) may, for instance, have a red band of these feathers across an otherwise greenish wing. The lesser coverts or cubital coverts clothing what are often inappropriately called the ''shoulders," are very small feathers in several rows, usually about five, so easily disarranged that it is difHcult to follow their sequence in renewal. They seem to moult in alternate rows, beginning with the row next to the one that protects the anterior margin of the wing membrane, and the last to be replaced are those nearest to the body and to the median coverts. The series may be only partly renewed. The feather loss begins as a rule just as the greater coverts are well 92 DWIGHT sprouted and precedes by a distinct interval feather loss in the median coverts. They are usually renewed with the adjacent body plumage, and are the coverts most likely to be renewed if the wings show any moult at all. In some species there is a striking difference in the color of these coverts by which young birds one year old in breeding plumage may be distinguished from those that are older, as for example in the Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) or Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus^ Renewal among the under wing coverts which are often spoken of as " lining of the wing" takes place after the moult of the upper surface of the wing has been nearly or quite com- pleted. They are among the last feathers to develop in young birds after leaving the nest. The first row of those lying upon the bases of the remiges remains as a rule until the adjacent second row has been replaced. The moult begins among the secondary coverts of the second row extending irregularly out- ward and inward, the innermost being the latest, followed closely by the second row of primary coverts. The first row completes the moult of this surface of the alar tract, perhaps excepting the tiny down feathers growing at the bases of the secondaries and over the wing membrane. The long infra-marginal coverts, a double row of alternating long and short feathers that sweep backward over the compara- tively bare under surface of the wing membrane, begin to fall somewhat irregularly near the carpal joint, the row of long ones preceding the short ones, and the moult moves inward, the feathers close to the body being late in renewal. The thatch- like row of lesser coverts that grow at the anterior margin of the wing are equally late, the renewal being irregularly towards the body from the carpal joint. The tiny carpo-metacarpal coverts, or feathers of the wrist and hand, both above and below may show moult early, but in young birds the contrary prevails. The moult tends to pro- ceed in the two principal median rows from the carpal joint, distally. The few feathers of the upper arm (excepting those of the humeral tracts), especially those on its posterior edge, are among the latest of the wing series. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 93 2. Humeral or Shoulder Tracts (Pterylcz humerales). A tol- erably symmetrical, bilateral outbreak of new feathers takes place very early in this pair of tracts showing usually at the median and internal portion. The moult proceeds forwards, seemingly effecting a junction with the lateral branches of the ventral tract near the edges of the wing membranes at the very time the moult in them has reached this point ; and back- wards to the posterior margin of the upper arm joining very nearly the humeral coverts. Old feathers frequently persist at these junction points and also externally, particularly in young birds. These tracts follow the example of the body plumage in their moult, and not that of the alar tract, being renewed in many species twice a year. 3. Capital or Head Tract (Pteryla capitis). The pterylog- raphy of this important tract requires a little more explanation than is usually given it in order to understand its moult. Al- though the head is practically entirely covered (save a small spot behind the eye) with a multitude of extremely small feathers in Passerine species, they are arranged in several groups or series. Starting at the nostrils near the base of the upper mandible two rather broad bands pass backward over the crown, but before reaching the occiput they widen out curving laterally to the postauricular region, the lines of feathers on the occiput extending laterally. On each side of the head is a narrow band corresponding to the superciliary stripe ; another includes the loral and circumocular region ; another passes from the gape backward in a loop includ- ing the auriculars ; and finally there is a submalar band starting beneath the middle of the ramus of the lower mandible and joining the auriculars at a point near where they are joined by the short auricular branch of the ventral tract. There seems to be some relation between these minor tracts and the distri- bution of color ; and moult begins independently in any or all of them at about the same time and, as a rule, tends to proceed from before backwards. The auriculars being the largest areas are usually the first and often the last to show moult. A fre- quent point of departure is just back of the extreme anterior 94 DWIGHT feathers of the forehead which fall out a little later. We see new feathers centrally on the crown in advance of those on the occiput, and the loral and circumocular regions are often bare when the crown and auriculars are largely renewed, and especially is this noticeable in very young birds. The last traces of moult are, as a rule, to be found in the postauricular and cervical regions. The head tract is of paramount importance because if any partial prenuptial moult takes place, the new feathers will be found here and on the chin and often nowhere else. In some species the renewal is limited chiefly to the loral feathers and those adjacent, or it may involve the crown and anterior parts of the throat. Adult males may or may not renew this tract at the prenuptial moult according to species ; young males in many species renew it their first spring only (possibly their second in some cases) ; and females may moult the same as the males, but more frequently either omit this moult altogether or as- sume a very limited number of new feathers. Young males of the same species may show the greatest individual variation, especially in highly colored species, some of them assuming plumage indistinguishable from adults, others only a few scattered feathers at the anterior parts of the head and throat. Each species, however, has a tolerably definite area of renewal peculiar to itself and although the feathers of the head tract are very numerous they are, most of them, so extremely small that their moult may be very easily overlooked. 4 . Dorsal or Spinal Tract (Pteryla spinalis). The slight variations in the distribution of this tract among our families of Passeres need not be here specified. It extends in most of them from the occiput to the oil gland at the base of the tail, widening posterior to the scapulae into a triangular " saddle," some- times dividing into two bands and enclosing an elliptical space instead, and sometimes forking and ceasing before reaching the oil gland. The first place where new feathers show is at a spot in the anterior interscapular region. There seems also to be another spot behind the saddle where as the tract is narrow the moult PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 95 is soon completed. The central rows of feathers tend to pre- cede the outer and the moult advancing rapidly forward and backward soon reaches the base of the head and the wide saddle behind the shoulders, at both of which points will be found the last traces of new feathering. It is sometimes the first tract to show new growth. If a species has a prenuptial moult this tract is not usually involved unless all the body plumage is renewed, except in a few cases where only the interscapular portion is included with the head and throat. 5. Ventral or Inferior Tract (Pteryla gastrcei}. From this extensive tract grows the whole plumage of the lower surface of the body. It may be said to begin at the interramal space, it gives off two short auricular branches near the angle of the jaw and it forks at the mid-neck into two lateral, or sternal, branches which passing along the sides of the body, end on either side of the vent or at some distance from it. On the breast there is regularly a widening of the lateral bands, the ex- ternal half of each ending abruptly under the wings nearly mid- way between head and tail. It is not surprising that the first as well as the last traces of a moult are frequently to be found on this extensive tract. A few new feather follicles may be expected on either side of the breast even before the proximal primary is lost and soon a V-shaped band is seen, the point of the V reaching the mid- throat forking. The tide of moult seems to sweep chiefly backwards, beginning in the middle rows and new outbreaks take place a little later on the throat. The sides of the chin and throat may precede or follow as the case may be, the throat in their feather development owing to the submalar bands which seem properly to belong to the head tract. The feather growth extending forwards from the breast is met by that extending backward from the throat, the lower part of which is consequently late in acquiring new feathers. The last traces of moult in the ventral tract will be found at its ex- tremities on chin and abdomen, or among the outer rows of feathers where it is widest as at its forking and under the wings. The feathers which hide the middle of the abdomen are con- 96 DWIGHT spicuously among the last to be moulted. If the species under- goes a partial prenuptial moult a few throat feathers may be all that are renewed, but usually new growth extends as far as the pec- toral forking. In some species with a more extensive moult at this season, the whole tract, or all of it except its posterior ex- tremity is renewed, and there is much individual variation besides in the amount of renewal. 6. Caudal or Tail Tract (Pteryla caudalis). From this tract grow the rectrices and their upper and under coverts, and the anal circlet and crissum may conveniently be included for their moult coincides with that of the adjacent coverts. Most of the feathers of this tract are large and not numerous, the twelve rectrices or tail feathers being the most important of them all. Their moult is late and is usually preceded by that of the" upper and under coverts nearest to them. At about the time the sixth or fifth primary is lost the renewal of the rectrices begins but it is irregular especially in young birds. The rectrices fall out approximately in pairs beginning with the central pair, and fol- lowed by the quills next adjacent on either side. The process is so rapid however, that when the outer pair falls, the middle ones are seldom more than half grown and the whole series is usually found in a pulpy condition at a time when the rest of the body plumage is well developed and the first primary nearly or quite grown. The sheaths of these feathers adhere unevenly giving the impression of more irregularity in their moult than really exists, but there are evidently a good many cases where the normal sequence is violated. In young birds just from the nest, the wings are often well developed before the tail shows much growth and bob-tailed adults as well as young birds are often seen together at the season of moult. The coverts mostly reach maturity before the tail itself, the rows nearest to its roots tending to precede in their order of moult those at a distance, although there is considerable irregularity. The rectrices are regularly renewed whenever all the remiges are moulted, and they are often moulted when the latter are not, especially in young birds which assume much of the adult PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 97 plumage at the prenuptial moult preceding their first breeding season. The Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) and Rose- breasted Grosbeak (Habia ludcrvidana) are examples and in these and many other species the renewal may not be complete or the color may be deficient, producing tails that have been said to be in process of " recoloration." When a young bird acquires a new tail in autumn without moult in the remiges it often suggests, either individual precocity or accident, for there seem to be very few species in which this regularly occurs with- out simultaneous moult of the remiges. Unilateral moult of a few rectrices only generally indicates a mishap by which the feathers have been pulled out and this is not an uncommon accident. 7. Lumbar, Femoral or Thigh Tracts (Pterylce hiuibales sen fe morales). Two narrow bands, one on either side of the pos- terior part of the back, form the areas from which the feathers of the flanks grow, but the name flank generally applies to the external lateral rows of the posterior extremities of the ventral tract. The renewal in these tracts proceeds approximately from above downward and from before backward, there being little evidence of moult as a rule until the process is well under way elsewhere. They are less often involved when there is a spring moult than are the other body tracts and at this time may be only partially renewed. 8 . Crural or Leg Tracts (Pterylce crurales). The conto ur feathers of these bilateral tracts are scattered, small and inconspicuous, although most abundant near the tarsal or ankle joint. Their moult easily escapes notice, beginning usually with the super- ior and external feathers and ending among the closely imbri- cated rows of the lower part of the tibiae or legs. The process begins quite early and may be completed early. The failure of these tracts, to moult when there is a general moult else- where is frequent, especially with young birds in the spring, and old feathers persist, noticeable chiefly when of a different color from the new. These old feathers are often a valuable key to the age of the bird. [ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. Sci., XIII, Aug. 3, 1900 7 98 DWIGHT III. EARLY PLUMAGES AND MOULTS OF YOUNG BIRDS The plumages and moults of young birds differ so much from those of adults as to deserve further elucidation. Although feathers of adult structure are acquired and worn during the first winter after leaving the egg there are two antecedent stages of plumage in all species and in some, several subsequent stages indefinitely classed as immature, all of which are but imper- fectly understood. A bird on emerging from he egg may be absolutely naked, of which the Woodpeckers furnish an example, scantily clothed with downy tufts as in most of the Perching Birds, or com- pletely invested with downy growth as in the Ducks, the Water Birds and the Birds of Prey. The structure of this " nest-down" varies greatly in the different groups of birds, and it is always replaced by several other plumages before that of the adult bird is assumed. Among the Passeres, which is the only group here under consideration, the downy growth is present (at least part of it is) before the chick hatches. It is found at only a few points. A longitudinal row or two is found above the eyes corresponding nearly to the location of the superciliary stripes, several rows occur on the occiput and nape and tufts are found on the dorsal, humeral and lumbar tracts as well as filaments at the tips of the secondaries and their coverts. No down is found at the tips of the primaries or rectrices nor does it occur on the ventral tract in any of the Passerine species I have exam- ined, the protection of the nest perhaps obviating its necessity below. A nest full of young birds gives one the impression that they are covered with a fluffy blanket of down. The distribution of these downy filaments may be dimly seen by consulting plate III, and their microscopic structure is shown by plate V which illustrates for the first time by means of photography the exact structure of this peculiar plumage. These peculiar feathers are interesting under the microscope being long weak filaments with a few short lateral branches. They are gathered into a bundle at the tip of the new feather, which takes their place and they PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 99 adhere at its apex or at the apices of its barbs, especially about the head, for some time, after the youngster has left the nest. Their color is usually pale brown, gray or white, but unfortu- nately many of the specimens I have examined are young birds that have been dropped into alcohol without note having been made of the color when fresh. This " nest-down " or as it might most appropriately be called natal down represents a first stage of clothing in young birds even if it be scanty or suppressed. In a systematic scheme of plum- ages it must stand first although soon replaced by a second stage on which the name "first plumage" has unfortunately been fastened in all good faith. Without entering into the question of whether " down " that is not true down can be called first plum- age, I find it expedient, if not necessary, for the sake of uni- formity and clearness to bestow a new name on the second stage, reserving the numeral adjective " first " for more exact and im- portant application. Juvenal plumage is a term definite and readily understood as indicating the second plumage of a young bird which at this stage usually differs in structure much from that of the adult, and it is this very difference that is implied in the term I have selected. The juvenal stage succeeds to the natal and feather growth takes place over additional areas of skin bare during the natal stage of development. The juvenal feathers differ more or less in structure from those of adults, being, as a rule, weaker, softer and looser in texture, as shown by the photomicrograph (plate IV, fig. 1). During the early days of the newly-hatched chick, feather growth is comparatively slow, but shortly it proceeds with marvelous rapidity. A couple of weeks, more or less, accord- to the size of the species, suffices to develop a helpless birdling into a bold bundle of feathers ready to essay flight. The feathers first fully grown are the wing coverts, those of the body and top of head next appearing, while the remiges are a little later and the rectrices last of all. The flight-feathers which at first lie as bluish lines beneath the skin or barely protruding from it, develop evenly, all the quills remaining pulpy for a con - 100 DWIGHT siderable period after they are full length. The under wing coverts as well as the feathers of the carpo-metacarpal area on both the upper and under surfaces are among the latest feathers to appear in the wing tract, and the throat and sides of the head are often still bare when the rest of the body and head is well covered. When the next plumage, that of a third stage worn during the first autumn and winter, is assumed, it may be gained by a complete moult of the Juvenal plumage, but, perhaps, more fre- quently the wings and tail are retained, not to be renewed for a twelvemonth. The only feathers regularly retained at this time are the nine (or ten) primaries, their upper coverts and the six secondaries. The tertiaries are sometimes renewed, sometimes not, and the tail is irregular, usually following the example of the primaries. All other feathers, with occasional exceptions, are replaced by new, a moult which may properly be called the postjuvenal, beginning in many species, especially the Warblers, even before the flight feathers have reached functional length. In some species, however, the juvena) plumage is worn for a considerable period, even several months before any moult takes place. These birds lose all trace of the adherent feather sheaths indicating recent growth and are the ones that most frequently renew the whole plumage, including the wings and tail. Summed up there are two classes of young birds, viz., those that acquire the plumage of the first winter by a com- plete moult, and those that retain the quill feathers of the wings and the tail, losing all others of the Juvenal plumage. There are individual exceptions in both classes that may retain old feathers or series of feathers here and there of the Juvenal dress until the next moult, which may be within a few months or not for a twelvemonth, many species breeding in the plumage of the first winter. In some species the plumage following the Juvenal may be indistinguishable from that of the adult, in others dress may be assumed just before the first breeding season and n still others not till after this season. Beyond this po not possible, except in a very few cases, to follow the immature PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 101 bird which at one or the other of these three periods of moult becomes indistinguishable from the adult and may be so classed. It is well to grasp the idea that the flight-feathers may out- wear two or three sets of body feathers and a bird does not really attain full adult dress until the former are replaced. In most, if not all cases where mixed plumages are seen during the breeding season, they do not represent birds of different ages but illustrate individual variation at the first prenuptial moult. Unmixed plumages adults and young being of uniformly dif- ferent colors like the Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus) are presumptive evidence that no prenuptial moult occurs. I have occasionally seen birds still partly in immature dress after the moult at the end of their first breeding season as may be determined by left-over feathers, but these birds usually show a plumage so nearly of the adult type as to suggest that they are exceptions in which there has been some individual lack of vitality. Unfortunately we have no other available guide except plumage to determine whether a bird is one, two or more years old and moreover there is a great dearth of winter specimens from the tropics showing while fresh the changes produced by the prenuptial moult. Summed up, there are three periods of moult at any one of which a young bird may assume full adult plumage, the postjuvenal, the first pre- nuptial and the first postnuptial, and prior to each of them the plumage may be immature and made up of feathers which have grown at different periods. These successive plumages follow each other with the regularity of the seasons and will be more fully discussed under the following section. More light is needed on some species, but whether the immature dress requires one moult or two or three to convert it into adult plumage is im- material and does not alter one whit, the fact that it is lost and replaced by actual moult at definite periods. IV. SEQUENCE OF PLUMAGES AND MOULTS The relation between plumages and moults is so perfectly definite and at the same time has been so little comprehended 102 DWIGHT that only by a radical rearrangement and delimitation of the terms used may further confusion be avoided. The chief thing to bear in mind is that every species passes through a definite series of plumages and a definite series of moults, each plumage being succeeded either by a moult or the place of the moult may be taken by wear alone. There is no theory about this cardinal principle and there are ample facts to support it. Of many spe- cies, I have examined specimens taken every month in the year showing not only the sequence of plumages and moults but all of the intermediate steps by which the plumage has been ac- quired or modified. With an abundance of material there is not the slightest difficulty in explaining plumages, but in many species there are gaps which careful study of the feathers and the application of fundamental principles must be trusted to fill. For instance, when the Scarlet Tanagers (Piranga erytliro- melas) leave the vicinity of New York towards the end of Sep- tember, all of them are in the olive green body plumage of the female, the young males with similarly colored wings and tails, the adults with black wings and tails. When the males return in May all are in bright scarlet dress with black tails, but a certain number of them have worn brown wing quills. The red feathers examined under a glass are quite as fresh as the green ones seen in September. If the wings are examined, both the brown and the black quills will show wear, the black least as might be expected from their color. If the tails are examined those of the black-winged birds are slightly worn, those of the brown-winged fresh and new. It is a perfectly natural inference that the brown-winged birds are young males and that they have acquired the red body plumage and the black tail by a recent moult while the adults have not moulted the wings and tail, but merely assumed the red body plumage. Further evidence in support of this conclusion is afforded by patches of worn green feathers left over among the red, such feathers occurring most frequently in the brown-winged young birds and finally we sometimes find red feathers still invested with their scaly sheaths. The only gap left is a Tanager show- ing extensive moult, and it is safe to predict that such a speci- PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 103 men will some day be forthcoming from the tropics where the change from grcen to red probably takes place. Similar facts point to a similar moult in the Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Habia ludoviciana] which a winter specimen from Ecuador in the British Museum collection confirms, and I have seen one bird taken near New York still showing several rectrices partly grown. Again if we examine Baltimore Orioles (Icterus galbuld) when they reach us in May we shall find birds with black worn wings, wing coverts, tertiaries and tails . and others with brown worn wings while the rest of the plumage is fresh and new. The inference is a moult in young birds and none in adults and this is proved by two young winter birds from Central America, unfortunately without other data which show new growing feathers at the points where a moult regularly begins. These examples are only several among many that could be adduced to show upon what slender but conclusive evidence one must work. The only reason it is slender is because the number of specimens from southern latitudes is small, and when this deficiency is remedied, I am convinced the difficulties with which I have had to contend will vanish. We will then know, for in- stance, when it is that the young King-bird (Tyrannus tyrannus) exchanges the two outer rounded primaries for the emarginate ones with which it returns and when the young Barn Swallow (Chelidon crythrogastrd) assumes the attenuated lateral tail feathers so different from the ones worn when it leaves us in the autumn. (See plate II, figs. 18-21.) Probably no one claims nowadays that these new shapes are attained without growth of new feathers, and yet equally strange claims of color change without moult have been put forth when there were no speci- mens taken at the proper season to prove their absurdity. In order to show at a glance the relation that exists in the sequence of plumages and moults they are tabulated below in such form that they may be made applicable to any species. The terms employed have been chosen, so far as is compatible with conciseness, from those in common use. Some are neces- sarily new but I have selected all of them with the object of making antithesis as obvious as possible. 104 DWIGHT The first column contains the plumages in their natural se- quence and the second the moults which (unless suppressed) fol- low each of them. PLUMAGES MOULTS 1. Natal Postnatal 2. Juvenal Postjuvenal 3. First Winter First Prenuptial 4. First Nuptial First Postnuptial 5. Second or Adult Winter Second or Adult Prenuptial 6. Second or Adult Nuptial Second or Adult Postnuptial etc. etc. Just as soon as.a young bird becomes indistinguishable in plu- mage, from an adult, " first," " second" or " third" may be drop- ped and "adult" substituted, both for plumages and for moults, the plumages being thereafter " Adult Nuptial" and " Adult Winter" and the moults simply " Prenuptial" and " Postnuptial" as long as the bird lives. As a matter of fact in none of the Passerine species which I have studied are there more than six plumages and six moults, except in a few rare individual cases, be- fore a bird becomes indistinguishable from one that may have had twice as many. In most species the identity of old and young is lost much earlier, the rule being that young assume adult plumage never later than the moult at which they first renew the remiges and rectrices. Wear with its abrasion and fading often takes the place wholly or in part of a prenuptial moult, modifying in marked degree either the first winter or the adult winter dress. Consequently the plumage to which I would re- strict the name nuptial may be acquired by moult, by wear or by both, and it is not the true breeding plumage. The latter may be either a fresh nuptial or a worn nuptial, but as the dif- ferences produced by wear after the prenuptial moult are usually not very obvious, it would be inexpedient to try to draw too sharp a line between " nuptial" and " breeding," although recog- nizing a distinction. The breeding plumage, then, on which descriptions of species are based does not, in very many cases, represent the highest plumage of the species ; it may be a mix- PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 105 ture of several and all of them badly worn. For this reason I have chosen nuptial to represent a stage of plumage following immediately either the prenuptial moult or the time when it would naturally occur, if not omitted. In studying the plumages and moults in the natural order in which they follow each other one can hardly fail to be struck by the fact that in spite of many apparent contradictions they make up for each species a purposeful and harmonious whole and the series for any given species is always the same when proper allowance is made for age, sex and individual. STONE ('96) has been one of the few to grasp the idea of sequence, but he has not fully nor clearly developed it. Foreign observers have devoted much time to the study of feather development and feather colors and have even recognized " generations " of feathers, but there is still lack of definite information regarding the moults of the commonest species, and the relations between plumages and moults remains in many cases a matter for dispute. It is well worth one's while to take up each of the plumages in sequence. They represent separate stages or periods in a bird's life, however much they may blend with one another. The first two are peculiar to young birds before they assume feathers of the adult type (excepting the remiges and rectrices in some species). Later stages mark a winter plumage and a summer plumage alternating as long as the individual is alive. These stages make up what I have designated as the sequence of plumages and unless this idea of sequence is firmly fixed in mind no adequate conception of the beautiful symmetry which underlies the development of plumages will be gained. 1. Natal Plumage or Natal Down (plates III and V). Enough perhaps has already been said regarding this first stage, scanty and evanescent as the plumage is in Passerine species. It has been recognized as the " downy stage" of the Raptores, it clothes the " chick" of the Grouse and their allies, while "young in down" and other similar terms have been used in the groups just mentioned and in the multitudes of spe- cies known as the Water Birds. This "down," however, lacks the structure of true down feathers. In Passerine birds it is 106 DWIGHT usually brown or gray, is found at only a few points on the upper surface of the bird, fades rapidly and begins to be lost by a complete postnatal moult before the nest is abandoned. It persists but a few weeks at most and is last seen as waving fila- ments at the apices of the feathers which succeed it. 2. Juvenal Plumage (plate IV, fig. 1, and plate V). This second stage has also been explained earlier. It has gone by a number of names, and the succeeding plumage is very often confused with it. " Nestling " and " fledgling " are names that have currency, but the most generally accepted term in this country has been " first plumage." If it were not that a much better and more exact use of the numeral adjective " first " re- quires its use elsewhere, the term might stand, misnomer that it is, but I feel that it should be displaced by "Juvenal " to which the chief objection must be its novelty. The juvenal plumage has been a good deal neglected and comparatively few specimens have found their way into collec- tions until of late years. The most valuable contribution to the subject was made twenty years ago (BREWSTER, '78-'79) and only here and there since then we have heard more about it. Much of the juvenal plumage is acquired in Passerine species before the bird leaves the nest, not only directly dis- placing the natal down, but growing from an increased area of the skin. It is completely assumed in about three weeks at most. Males and females of most species are indistinguishable in this plumage unless the wing quills and tail are different in the two sexes. The body plumage of the male may be brighter or darker in a few cases, but as a rule the only difference is in the wings and tail. The body plumage is softer and the feathers less distinctly pennaceous than those of the adult while the rem- iges and rectrices although frequently appearing identical with adult feathers are regularly less pigmeiited and suffer more from wear probably because of their less compact margins. This plumage may resemble somewhat that of the adult although usually it is quite different in pattern and color. Young birds in this dress are frequently spotted or streaked below while the adults are immaculate and less often the reverse is the case. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 107 In many species, especially among the Warblers and Vireos, a moult begins at the usual points on the breast almost as soon as the birds leave the nest and the succeeding winter plumage is assumed usually without loss of wings or tail. In many other species, however, this plumage is worn for several weeks or even several months before the postjuvenal moult sets in, and such birds as a rule completely renew their plumage. Without speci- mens taken at just the proper time it is extremely easy to over- look the moult of the flight-feathers which often resemble very closely in pattern or color those which they replace. Most of the Swallows and Flycatchers and a few other species after wearing the juvenal plumage for a long period leave for the south with- out apparent renewal. This is indicated by specimens from the tropics which prove a later or midwinter postjuvenal moult at a period when other species have begun their prenuptial. Only occasionally parts of this plumage fail to be replaced, and are, of course, retained until the next occurring moult, becoming meanwhile worn and ragged. As a rule the primary coverts are regularly retained with the primaries, the greater coverts usually renewed, but sometimes retained as in the Thrushes and some others, the median and lesser coverts almost always renewed and the tertiaries sometimes renewed and sometimes not, even in the same species. The alulae are regularly renewed, but not in all cases. The moult of the remiges and rectrices depends upon the species, many retaining them for a whole year until the postnuptial moult takes place the following summer. All other feathers not already specified are regularly moulted. 3. First Winter Plumage (plate IV, fig. 2, plate VI, fig. 1). This is the plumage usually designated as " immature fall," "young in autumnal plumage," "young of the year," " horno- tine " and various other appellations with elastic meanings. It seems to me the name selected is most appropriate for this third stage to the exclusion of others, for the plumages of successive winters may then be called "second," "third," etc., if desirable, or "adult " take the place of these adjectives as soon as age characters are lost. The first winter plumage, always assumed by a more or less complete postjuvenal moult, differs little if 108 DWIGHT any in texture from that of the adult and in a number .of species adults and young cannot be told apart, except by osteo- logical characters. This plumage is acquired within about three weeks after leaving the nest in some species, the first signs ap- pearing as V-shaped patches on the breast. In other species which have a complete postjuvenal moult the process of acquisi- tion takes longer and does not begin for a considerable period after leaving the nest. Among the Passerine species of New York, at least, this plumage is fully assumed before the y6*ung birds migrate, except among the Swallows, the Flycatchers and, per- haps, a few others. Sometimes one may see a feather of the Juvenal plumage borne at the apex of a feather of this dress, and, rarely, even a filament of natal down will be found adhering in turn to the Juvenal feather. To what extent new feather papillae develop and where is of interest in all early stages, and the subject is perhaps not exhausted. The feathering in the first winter plumage is dense, a dozen layers or more covering the breast for instance, and the colors are usually bright and much " veiled " by the overlapping of the long feather tips, the barbs of which are almost always terminally of a paler or different color, the most frequent edgings being buff. The amount of this edging or tipping varies greatly and there is ap- parently always more of it in young birds than in adults of the second or third winters. It readily wears away and in some species striking changes are produced without moult by the time the breeding season arrives. Not only are the concealed colors brought out by the loss of the overlying feather tips, but the shapes of the feathers themselves are changed. This may be called a color change without moult, but there is a sharp di- viding line between this result of wear and the alleged color change ascribed to some sort of unknown cell activity within the feather itself. The first winter plumage is completely donned in some species in the vicinity of New York city, as early as the first of August, in others not before the middle of November, while the departed Swallows and Flycatchers are sometimes even later. It may be worn a full year without any moult occurring PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 109 as for example in the Song Sparrow (Melospiza fasciata], or Bluebird (Sialia sialis), or a prenuptial moult, usually partial sometimes complete, takes place evidently for the purpose of supplying a portion at least of the bright feathers of the adult. In the plumage of the first winter males and females may usually be told apart for the first time and the tendency is for males in this dress to resemble, although brighter in color, the adult fe- male in winter dress. There is however great individual varia- tion, some males assuming here and there few or many feathers fully adult in pattern and color. It is fair to suppose such birds to have unusual vitality and mere precocity must not be confused with what generally takes place. Then there is the other ex- treme where a bird fails to reach the standard and a deficiency of pigment or failure to moult the Juvenal feathers occurs ; and it requires a great many specimens to be sure of what the nor- mal acquisitions really are. As a general rule the depth of color in the wings and tails of young birds will average less than that of adults, and in some species this character becomes more pronounced the longer the plumage is worn. The increasing depth of color apparent in some species while they are assuming first winter plumage, is I think, largely due to superimposed layers of new feathers. The small size of the bill of young birds is a character dis- tinguishing them from adults for a long time and a deepening or change in its color is marked in some species. The color too of the iris is sometimes strikingly different in young birds and helps determine their age. The change during the winter from brown to red in the iris of the Red-eyed Vireo ( Vireo olivaceus) and from gray to white in the White-eyed Vireo, ( Vireo nove- boracemis) is only somewhat more striking than what occurs in many other species. Legs and feet also deepen in color. About nine out of ten birds in most collections are in first winter plumage, and it is one that ought to be thoroughly un- derstood. 4. First Nuptial Plumage (plate IV, fig. 3 ; plate VI, fig. 3 ; plate VII, fig. 4). This is a fourth stage representing the dress assumed by young or immature birds during their first 110 DWIGHT breeding season, and contrasting with the " second" and "third" (or adult) nuptial of successive breeding seasons. It may be simply the first winter plumage plus a certain amount of wear, it may be the result of a complete prenuptial moult or it may be the result of a partial prenuptial moult plus wear of the retained feathers. Consequently it is not infre- quently made up of feathers belonging to three diffferent stages, the old wings and tail of the Juvenal dress, part of the old body plumage of the first winter dress and new feathers of the first nuptial dress. The most confusing admixture of these different plumages may be seen in some species, individual variation and sex being also potent factors in producing combi- nations of feathers that furnish even to-day some very puzzling problems. Species that complete the postju venal moult before moving south and those that consummate their prenuptial moult in our latitude offer at the present time no problems at all, and when material illustrating the moults of species that undergo the process while in distant lands is obtained, I ven- ture to predict that problems will cease to exist. It is sugges- tive that theories have clustered chiefly about brightly colored species few of which attain adult dress without passing through a series of moults, the counterpart of which may be found among less conspicuous species. Bright adults taken at the same season" as young birds variously sprinkled with irregular patches of color have furnished a theme for endless argument, and assertions of "restoration" and " repigmentation." These irregular patches will be found to correspond in every case with the points in the feather tracts where the moult usually begins or in the series of feathers that ordinarily precede other series. There is some irregularity, of course, but these feathers will almost invariably be less worn than those adjacent. I find just such patches and sprinklings of feathers on birds of incon- spicuous plumage, and I can prove their growth at the pre- nuptial moult in many species of which I have large series and in some others from southern latitudes represented by only a few specimens. It would be difficult to say why some species pass their first breeding season in the plumage of the PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 111 first winter altered only by wear, while others closely allied whether specifically or by habit undergo a more or less complete prenuptial moult, but the fact is incontestable. It is unfortunate that we have so little material illustrating this moult which takes place in so many species while they are away in their southern haunts, their winter wanderings carrying some of them beyond the equator. The facts concerning the time of this moult are these. In the vicinity of New York, resident species and birds that winter begin to moult towards the end of March as exemplified by the Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronatd) or Ipswich Sparrow (Am- modramus princeps.) A little later such species as the Amer- ican Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) and White-throated Sparrow (Zonotriclda albicollis) begin a moult completed early in May. Many other species that do not winter very far to the south appear to moult in February or March sometimes arriving here with visible traces of recent feather-growth. The most difficult plumages to explain are those of birds which move south early in the autumn before the customary postjuvenal of young birds or the postnuptial of adults has taken place. It seems probable that in these species, which include some of the Swallows and Flycatchers, there is a late postnuptial moult of adults simul- taneous with a partial postjuvenal of young birds the latter in some cases shortly after passing through a complete or partial prenuptial moult. This is the usual sequence in species that moult while with us and a few specimens from far southern counties near the tropics show moult in mid-winter and in spring. The fact that new growth of feathers occurs during the winter in many species is beyond doubt the only question to be solved is, when ? That the postjuvenal and prenuptial seasons of moult overlap, although not in the same species, is proved by numerous specimens of Warblers I have seen which begin to assume their first nuptial dress as early as November and December (in Jamaica, West Indies) although January and February specimens are in more active moult. In some species the prenuptial moult appears to proceed very slowly and irregularly. 112 D WIGHT The prenuptial moult is certainly a most interesting subject and it is one upon which we have had very little light shed. Its purpose is double, to approximate the plumage of the young bird to that of the adult and to adorn the adult with his brightest colors. In females the prenuptial moult is either limited or even altogether suppressed, and a fresh complication arises in species- in which it occurs only in the young bird, not to be repeated a second year. Each species appears to have a definite type of moult although individual vigor and sex modify it and produce all sorts of combinations of plumage. Some species undergo a complete moult like the Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivortis), Long-billed Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris), or Sharp-tailed Sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutits) others acquire distal primaries and part of the body plumage like the Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyaned) or Short-billed Marsh Wren (Cistothorus stellaris); others renew the whole body plumage but not the wings or tail like many of the Warblers, or the American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis); and still others renew but a small area of the head and throat like the Chipping Sparrow (Spizella socialis) or Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmanwi). These are some of the classes into which the birds naturally fall but there is no hard and fast line between them. Ordinarily the anterior parts of the body are most frequently subject to moult, the posterior parts less and the flight-feathers least, but a few stray feathers are apt to develop on all of the body tracts at this moult in presumably vigorous individuals. The sprinkling of new feathers is well shown in such species as the Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra}, and is only less con- spicuous in the Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmaruni). From what I have said it is obvious that the first nuptial plumage is the most difficult of any to properly understand. It is the cul- mination of the rapid series of moults through which a young bird passes and in many species lands him in. full adult dress. When adults and young appear to be alike in plumage in the breeding season some clue to their age may often be found in the duller and more worn wings and tail retained from the Juvenal stage of the previous summer. The primary coverts are valuable keys PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 113 as well as any feathers retained elsewhere, but all other plum- age characters are unreliable. I can only suspect that freak plumages and albinism occur most often in young birds judging by a few that I have examined. When no prenuptial moult occurs the first nuptial plumage is the first winter plumage plus wear, and perhaps no more de- serves a new name than does the continuation of a street. There are, however, some advantages in changing the name in either case. Wear in many species effects striking color changes by loss of feather edgings or feather barbules, when concealed colors are brought into view or modified in intensity by con- trast. As these changes are varied and fully discussed under the species in which they occur they need not be particularized here. It must not be forgotten that wear is a constantly acting force, its effects being perhaps most noticeable in those species in which black areas are veiled by buff feather tips. The importance of understanding the first nuptial plumage has been I hope, sufficiently demonstrated and with full knowl- edge of its intricacies, there remains no peg on which to hang silly theories which are disproved by every established fact. 5. Second or Adult Winter Plumage (plate VII, figs. 1 and 3). This fifth stage known usually as the " adult autumnal" plumage is always the result of a complete first postnuptial moult, usually directly at the close of the breeding season and before migra- tion begins, except among the Swallows, Flycatchers and pos- sibly a few others that press south first. This plumage is often quite different from the first winter dress and even when practi- cally indistinguishable to superficial observation, the wings and tail are of a deeper color and the edgings richer and darker. Streakings will average broader and spots larger in the adult while veiling seems to diminish according to age, as shown by specimens in moult or retaining tell-tale feathers of the ojd plu- mage, but unfortunately age can seldom be determined after a bird is one year old. It is contrary to popular belief that birds acquire adult plumage within so brief a time, but all the evi- dence points that way. In many species young- and old are in- distinguishable in winter dress, as may be demonstrated beyond ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. Sci., XIII, Aug. 4, 1900 8. 114 DWIGHT doubt by the cranial character on which I would lay so much stress. The Purple Crackle (Quiscalus quisculd) and many of the Sparrows are examples. The prenuptial moult may oblit- erate distinctions that survive the postjuvenal moult, for instance in the Yellow Warbler (Dendroica this, the two proximal primaries being new. Female. As indicated above males and females in juvenal plumage are alike and both acquire adult dress at the post- juvenal moult, this being delayed perhaps, in some females, until the prenuptial moult. In later plumages the sexes are very similar, the females usually with less emargination. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 139 The difficulties of reaching positive conclusions from a small series is well illustrated by this species, especially as the age and sex of some specimens is open to doubt. Tyrannus tyrannus (Linn.). KINGBIRD. 1. NATAL DOWN. Mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including wings, dull clove-brown usually darkest on pileum, the feathers of nape and rump obscurely edged with cinnamon, wing coverts edged with pale buff including two indistinct wing bands, secondaries with yellowish white, primaries and tertiaries with dull white ; tail black, tipped with brownish white especially outer rectrices. Below, pure white, a grayish band tinged with buff across jugulum. Bill and feet dusky, becoming black. Thrfirst and second primaries are rounded, and without emargination (plate II, fig. 18) and no crown patch exists. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a late postju venal moult which is probably complete, so far as indicated by a few scanty facts. Specimens taken late in August and up to Sep- tember 1 6 show new growth of feathers scattered about the head, throat and back. The head and back evidently become darker, the pectoral band grayer and more diffused and a few yellowish feathers may appear on the crown but the birds seem to pass south before the moult is complete. Birds taken in Central America, unfortunately without dates, show that the species reaches the tropics without any moult of the flight feathers or of the wing coverts and often in full Juvenal plumage. It is an interesting problem whether the wings and tail are renewed at the end of the postjuvenal moult or at a prenuptial moult, the former conclusion being most probable- A bird from South America taken March 3 1 (which may pos- sibly be an adult) shows a recently completed moult the sheaths still .adhering to the new primaries. More winter material is much to be desired. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired probably by a partial prenuptial moult. This I believe is the true explanation of why birds return in spring in fresh plumage including the two outer emarginate primaries (the shape being indicated on plate II, fig. 19), a new white-tipped tail and the orange crown patch, 140 DWIGHT young and old being indistinguishable. April specimens from Georgia and Florida often show a few "pin feathers." Wear is marked in this species before the end of the breeding season less than four months later which is an argument in favor of a prenuptial moult, because the feathers seen in April, even if ac- quired late in the autumn, ought to be as much worn as those of August specimens. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult few traces of which appear before the species migrates southward late in August. Whether birds renew the flight-feathers on the journey or after reaching winter quarters, material does not show for the wear of flight-feathers in aerial species is so trifling that their study proves little positively. Perhaps one moult and probably two takes place during the six or seven months this species is absent, 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired, probably by a partial prenuptial moult. Mid-summer birds become paler and the feathers a good deal frayed. Female. The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male. In Juvenal plumage the sexes are alike ; at the post- ju venal or possibly prenuptial moult, the crown patch and one emarginate primary are acquired, the latter character distinguish- ing the sexes in later plumages. Some females, however, have two emarginate primaries, but these are regularly less narrowed than those of males. Tyrannus verticalis (Say.). ARKANSAS KINGBIRD 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Crown and nape ecru-drab obscurely vermiculated with paler edgings, back olive- buff, upper tail coverts pale clove-brown. Wings pale clove-brown with whitish edgings faintly tinged with yellowish buff. Tail dull black, tipped with pale brown, the outer webs of outer pair of rectrices white. Below, prim- rose-yellow, ashy on throat and white on chin, lores dusky. Bill and feet dull, brownish black in dried specimens. The first primary is not attenuated nor is the crown patch present. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a postjuvenal moult PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 141 which is possibly complete, young and old becoming indis- tinguishable. The head and throat are plumbeous, there is an orange crown-patch, the back is olive- green, the chin white, and elsewhere below canary-yellow prevails. The lores are duller than in juvenal dress. The first and third primaries are attenuated suddenly at their tips, the second less so. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired apparently by a partial prenuptial moult which involves some of the body plumage but not the wings nor tail. Western March and April specimens show a few " pin feathers." The new, greener ones on the back are mixed with the worn greyer ones of the winter dress which l s partly retained. The mid-tertiary is sometimes renewed. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnup- tial moult occurring in September in southern California. The plumbeous of the head and yellow of lower parts are rather richer in adults. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird. Female. The moults and plumages correspond to those of the male, the colors being a little duller and the crown patch smaller. There is usually only a trace of attenuation in the first primary and none in the others. In juvenal plumage the sexes are indistinguishable. Myiarchus crinitus (Linn.). CRESTED FLYCATCHER 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head and neck, dark olive brown, upper tail coverts cin- namon-rufous. Wings and tail clove-brown, edgings of the median and greater coverts, and inner webs of rectrices rich cinnamon-rufous, of the tertiaries very pale buff. Below, primrose-yellow, throat and breast ashy-gray, palest centrally on chin. Bill black. Feet sepia brown, black when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning by the middle of August, which involves the body plumage, wing-coverts and tertiaries (apparently), but not the rest of the wings nor the tail, young birds becoming prac- tically indistinguishable from adults. 142 DWIGHT Above, dull brownish olive-green, greener than in previous plumage, the feathers darker centrally, producing a streaked effect chiefly on the pileum ; upper tail coverts dark cinnamon-rufous ; wing covert edgings, including two wing- bands, grayish or yellowish-buff. Below, bright lemon-yellow, brighter than in previous dress, throat lores and auriculars ashy-gray. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, which is quite obvious, the edgings of the wing coverts and tertiaries fading to a dingy white and the whole plumage becoming paler. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning early in August and completed before the birds move south in September. Practically indistinguish- able from first winter, the colors often richer. ' 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, as in the young bird. Female, Moults and plumages correspond to those of the male, the colors often duller. Sayornis phcebe (Lath.). PHCEBE 1. NATAL DOWN. Mouse-gray 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult Above, including sides of head and neck, wings and tail, olive-brown, distinctly clove-brown on pileum and nape. Below, yellow-tinged white, breast, throat and sides of chin, brownish olive-gray. Greater and median coverts (i. e., wing bands) and rectrices tipped with cinnamon-rufous, secondaries and ter- tiaries, edged with brownish or yellowish white Bill and feet raw umber- brown, black when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postju venal moult beginning about mid-August which involves the body plumage, wing coverts and tertiaries, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Birds in Juvenal dress occur as late as the end of September. After moulting they are yellower below with pale grayish wing bands and practically indistinguishable from adults. Above, olive-brown, greener than in previous plumage, pileum nearly black, the olive of the upper parts encroaching on sides of chin, throat and flanks. Be. low, primrose-yellow, a grayish pectoral band very faintly indicated. The wing coverts are narrowly edged with yellowish white. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, the brown of the upper parts and the yellow below becoming paler. During PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 143 the breeding season the plumage becomes excessively worn and ragged, pale brown prevailing above, and below a dirty mottled white produced by exposure of the grayish bases of abraided feathers. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult, beginning after August I5th. Adults are per- haps a trifle darker than young birds, especially the remiges. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are alike and the moults correspond to those of the male. I have examined birds taken every month in the year, both males and females. Contopus borealis (Swains.). OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, together with sides of head the throat and flanks deep olive-brown, pileum, wings and tail deep clove-brown ; sides of rump, white ; wing coverts edged with ochraceous-buff, tertiaries tipped with brownish white, sides of rump and flanks white. Below, primrose-yellow, narrowed to a median line on the breast by olive-brown streaking on throat and sides. Bill black, the under mandible buff centrally. Feet bistre, black when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a late postjuvenal moult beginning in September which possibly is complete. I have seen no extra-limital specimens 'but I should expect to find them retaining the brown wing edgings. Pale wing bands are probably acquired at this moult when young birds become practically indistinguishable from adults. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired apparently by wear. Birds return from the south in fresh little worn plumage, the young birds with a dull clay-colored lower mandible. Old worn feathers may be found mixed with the new in some specimens, very strongly suggestive of a recent limited prenuptial moult. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult seldom begun until the birds have migrated south- ward in September. A specimen from Pinal County, Arizona, 144 D WIGHT September 28 (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., No. 29020), is still in much worn nuptial dress ; also a bird without date from Guate- mala (No. 42767). 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear or possibly by partial renewal of the body plumage. Female. The sexes are alike in plumages and moults. Contopus virens (Linn.). WOOD PEWEE 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult Above, including sides of head olive-brown, much darker on the pileum, the feathers of the crown and rump faintly edged with pale russet and those of the nape with ashy gray, producing a distinct collar. Wings and tail clove brown, wing coverts edged with ochraceous buff, at tips of median and greater coverts producing two wing bands. Below, pale primrose-yellow, sides of throat, flanks and an indistinct olive-gray pectoral band. Bill black, under mandible wood-brown dusky at tip and edges, paler in spring. Feet sepia, nearly black when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired probably by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning early in September. Resembles closely the previous dress, but grayish instead of brownish tinged above, the edgings and collar lost and the new wing- bands grayish. The. Juvenal plumage persists in specimens taken near New York city, September 30, in North Carolina October 5 and 17, and Guatemala is reached with brown wing bands as proved by an undated specimen (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., No. 42273). 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is never marked in this species. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult chiefly or wholly after the birds have migrated southward. A very few new body feathers begin to appear towards the end of August, and a worn adult from Guatemala, undated (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist, No. 42771), shows that migra- tion may precede moult in this species. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is in- significant even up to the end of the breeding season. Female. The sexes are alike in plumages and moults. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 145 Empidonax flaviventris (Baird). YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER 1. NATAL DOWN. Brownish olive -green. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Upper parts, sides of head and throat, an obscure pectoral band, and lesser wing coverts olive-green, the crown feathers centrally darker. Wings and tail deep olive-brown ; median and greater wing coverts edged with rich buff yellow forming two distinct wing bands, secondaries narrowly and tertiaries broadly edged with yellowish white. Below, sulphur-yellow, including the orbital ring. Bill black, the under mandible flesh. Feet dusky flesh-color. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a postju venal moult possibly complete after the birds migrate southward. Mid- August specimens begin to show moult, the upper parts becom- ing greener and the lower yellower, but others as late as Sep- tember 24 and a few without dates of capture from Guatemala and Mexico still bear the Juvenal dress with the brownish wing bands. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. Young birds are practically indistinguishable from adults, the wing bands of all early arrivals from the south being whitish, yellow tinged, and the individual feathers little worn indicating a late postjuve- nal moult. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult occurring probably late in the year after the birds have reached southern latitudes. A specimen from Tehuante- pec, Mexico, January 1st (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., No. 42940), shows actual moult in progress of the body plumage and wing coverts, the wings and tail being old and worn. This may, however, be a young bird. Another bird from Panama (No. 42946), without date, shows moult of the body plumage. The wing bands are new and faintly yellow in both, but they prove little except a midwinter moult. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired probably by wear alone after a late autumnal or midwinter acquisition of new plumage. Female. The sexes do not differ in plumage nor in moult. ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. Scr., XIII, August 27, 1900 10 146 DWIGHT Empidonax virescens (Vieill.). GREEN- CRESTED FLYCATCHER 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head and neck olive-green, the crown feathers darker centrally, the pileum not darker than the back. Wings and tail deep olive- brown, median and greater wing coverts edged with rich buff forming two wing bands, edgings of secondaries and tertiaries paler buff. Below, pale greenish sulphur-yellow, the chin white, a faint olive-gray pectoral band. Bill black, the lower mandible pinkish buff. Feet sepia, nearly black when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired apparently by an in- complete postjuvenal moult. Young and old pass south before moulting as indicated by birds taken near New York up to September 19. I have seen no specimens from southern latitudes. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. Light wing bands and greener plumage are acquired during the winter ab- sence. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult probably after the birds have reached winter quarters. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired probably by wear, which at all seasons seems to be insignificant. Female. The sexes are alike in plumages and moults. Empidonax traillii alnorum (Brewst.). ALDER FLYCATCHER 1. NATAL DOWN. Pale olive -brown. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head and lesser coverts olive-brown, pileum darker and in contrast (usually) with the back, the crown feathers darker still centrally. Wings and tail deep olive-brown, median and greater wing coverts edged with rich buff forming two distinct wing bands ; secondaries and tertiaries edged with pale buff. Below, dull white, usually tinged with pale sulphur-yellow on crissum and sides of abdomen ; an olive-gray wash on sides of breast and flanks and across jugulum where it forms an indistinct pectoral band slightly tinged with buff. Buffy orbital ring. Bill black, the lower mandible pinkish buff. Feet sepia, nearly black when older. Some specimens are wholly ashy every- where below without yellow tinge. Differs from E.JIaviventris and E. vires- c ens in being browner above, the head dark in contrast. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 147 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by an incomplete postju- venal moult. Birds became yellower below and greener above, but many, as shown by specimens taken near New York up to September 26, pass south in juvenal plumage. I have seen a few extra-limital specimens, without dates, from Central America. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired probably by wear, which tends to make the plumage paler and brings the dark cen- ters of the crown-feathers into prominence during the breed- ing season. The wing bands are buff-tinged as compared with those of E. minimus in corresponding plumage. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnup- tial moult after the birds have passed south as proved by Cen- tral American specimens. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired apparently by wear. Female. The sexes are alike and the moults identical. Empidonax minimus (Baird). LEAST FLYCATCHER 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnuptial moult. Above, including sides of head, olive-brown, greener on the back, a faint ashy gray collar. Wings and tail deep olive-brown, median and greater coverts edged with pale buff forming two wing bands, secondaries and tertiaries with dull white. Below, grayish white, a smoky gray pectoral band ; pale primrose-yellow on abdomen and crissum. Orbital ring dull white. Bill black, under mandible pinkish buff. Feet sepia, nearly black when older. The species in this plumage is not so green above as E. virescens, but browner and very like E. t. alnorum from which it may be differentiated by its grayer lower parts, somewhat paler wing bands and smaljer bill. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a postjuvenal moult, possibly complete, after the birds have migrated southward. Some specimens become greener above and yellower below be- fore they leave for the south late in August, but others reach southern latitudes in juvenal dress. A bird from Tehuantepec, Mexico (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist, No. 42957), on January 9, still retains the brown wing bands. 148 DWIGHT 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired probably by wear. Pale grayish wing bands are acquired, during the winter absence differences between young and old birds being lost. Old brown- ish wing coverts retained among the new are sometimes found, and the greener, fresher appearance of some of the feathers of the back suggests a possible partial renewal in spring. This species shows more wear than E. flaviventris. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnup- tial moult after the birds have passed south. Two specimens (Am. Mus. Nat Hist., Nos. 42957 and 42959) from Tehuantepec, Mexico, January 9 and 4 respectively, appear to be still in worn adult nuptial dress as compared with two (Nos. 66879 an< ^ 66877), March 7 and 26, from Yucatan in fresh plumage. It is perplexing however to find two birds (No. 66881, March 2, and 66878, March 1 2) from Yucatan in worn plumage with whitish wing bands. It is possible they are all young birds that originally had the wing bands very pale and they have faded to nearly white before the postjuvenal moult has begun. The difficulties of reaching definite conclusions are well exemplified by this species. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, which is in- conspicuous. Female. The sexes are alike in plumages and moults. ALAUDIDJE It is pleasant to turn from the puzzling Flycatchers to the Larks represented by the Horned Lark, a widely distributed species in North America and divided into numerous races. All these appear to moult the same, adults undergoing one annual moult and young birds assuming a plumage practically identical with that of adults by a complete postjuvenal moult. Wear takes the place of a prenuptial moult and produces marked effects. The veiled black of breast and head in the fall is brought into prominence in the spring by extensive loss of the buff feather edgings, while during the breeding season birds be- come extremely ragged and worn. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 149 Alauda arvensis Linn. SKYLARK 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. No specimen seen ; said to be tawny and spotted. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired probably by a partial (possibly complete) postju venal moult. Above, yellowish brown with darker streakings, the wings and tail with buff edg- ings. Below, dull white with tawny suffusion, streaked rather narrowly, with brownish black. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE evidently acquired by wear, the colors becoming paler. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Adults are less tawny and the edgings less pronounced than in young birds. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. It is somewhat presumptuous for me to attempt, from the mere handful of specimens I have examined, an explanation of the moults of this well-known European songster which has been introduced and become established near New York city, but I believe the material warrants the above conclusions. Otocoris alpestris (Linn.). HORNED LARK 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult and worn for a long time. Above, including sides of head and lesser wing coverts, clove-brown, mixed with sepia, dotted with buffy white. Wings deep sepia, quills and coverts edged with dull vinaceous cinnamon. Tail dull black, the middle pair of rectrices mottled and paler, edged with vinaceous-cinnamon, the outer ones with buffy white. Below, white, yellow-tinged, the chin flecked with clove brown, a pec- toral band wood-brown, streaked and spotted like the chin. Bill pinkish buff, darker at the tip, deep plumbeous when older. Feet raw umber- brown, black when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult occurring in August in Newfoundland. Unlike the previous plumage, unstreaked below, unspotted above. Above, vina- ceous buff, brightest on nape, vinaceous cinnamon on rump flanks and wing 150 DWIGHT coverts streaked on head and back with sepia. Forehead, lateral "horns," lores, auriculars and triangular breast patch black, veiled by overlapping pale buff or pinkish feather tips. Wings deep sepia, primaries much darker, edged with whitish, the rest of the wing feathers edged with vinaceous cinnamon. Tail brownish black, the outer rectrices edged with white, the middle pair paler, broadly edged with pinkish Isabella-color. Below, dull white, the chin, sides of head and forehead strongly suffused with lemon or canary-yellow, a buffy band across breast below the black patch, flecked with dusky spots. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, which brings the black areas into prominence. A number of spring speci- mens show a few growing feathers about the sides of the head and chin, but it is doubtful whether this slight renewal betokens a prenuptial moult. As the birds leave for their northern breeding grounds early in the spring the matter is worthy of further investigation. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult probably in August on the northern breeding grounds. Hardly distinguishable from first winter dress in many cases. The pectoral buffy band is less conspicuous and less spotted, and adults are perhaps pinker above. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. In Juvenal plumage females are indistinguishable from the males. In other plumages they lack the .black fore- head, of the male, being streaked instead, the breast patch is limited, the back is more streaked and the colors are duller. The moults are identical. Otocoris alpestris praticola Hensh. PRAIRIE HORNED LARK All plumages correspond to those of 0. alpestris, darker colors and lack of yellow being the chief differences aside from relative size. The Juvenal plumage is very dark brown above, spotted with brownish white, and white below, heavily spotted on the breast with dull black. In first winter and later plumages the white superciliary lines, perhaps faintly tinged with yellow, are a good diagnostic character. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 151 Otocoris alpestris leucolama (Coues). PALLID HORNED LARK The adult plumages correspond to those of 0. alpestris, paler colors and larger size being the principal differences. The Juvenal plumage is nearly black above, spotted with pale buff and similar below to 0. a. praticola. Pica pica hudsonica (Sab.). AMERICAN MAGPIE 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, and on throat, breast and crissum, dull black ; abdomen and feathers of hu- meral tracts white, the latter with buff or dusky tinge. Wings, including coverts, iridescent greens and blues, the latter chiefly on the secondaries and tertiaries, the primaries white except on outer edge. Tail iridescent or metallic purples, greens and blues. A bird of June 22d, from eastern Washington, is in full Juvenal dress, the tail one-half grown. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult which involves the body plumage but not the wings nor the tail. Young and old become practically indistinguishable. A metallic purplish, greenish and bluish dress is assumed, the white of the humeral tracts is more conspicuous and the rump becomes grayish white. The feathers of the throat are white basally. A Western specimen of August 1 8th is beginning the post- juvenal moult and one of September i8th is in full first winter plumage except an area of purpy feathers on the mid- throat. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is very inconspicuous as is commonly the case in species with iridescent plumage. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult and practically indistinguishable from first winter dress. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear ^as in the young bird. Female. The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male. 152 D WIGHT The Crows and Jays have but one moult annually, young birds assuming adult plumage except for the flight-feathers at the postjuvenal moult. Cyanocitta cristata (Linn.). BLUE JAY 1. NATAL DOWN. Pale mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Pileum, flax-flower blue separated from the blue-tinged white forehead and white superciliary line by a narrow black line. Nuchal collar continued across the throat as a U-shaped band, lores and postocular streak black. Back and lesser wing coverts mouse-gray, tinged with blue. Wings various shades of azure and China-blue, brightest on secondaries and tertiaries which are broadly tipped with white and narrowly barred with black. The greater coverts are obscurely barred and are terminally white, forming a single wing band. Tail centrally, China-blue, barred with black, the outer rectrices largely white. Throat white. Breast and abdomen laterally smoke-gray, centrally and on crissum, yellowish white. Bill brownish black. Feet raw umber- brown becoming black with age. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult early in August which involves the body plumage, the wing coverts, and apparently the tertiaries, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Young birds become practically indis- tinguishable from adults. Similar to the previous plumage but the blue of head, back and wing coverts now distinctly barred with black and much brighter, and the crest feathers longer. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is marked by the end of the breeding season, the blues becoming grayish and the white edgings diminished. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning the end of July. Not distinguishable from first winter dress. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, as in the young bird. Female. Plumages similar to those of the male, the colors duller, with less black and barring. Both sexes have identical moults. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 153 Perisoreus canadensis (Linn.). CANADA JAY 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Everywhere brownish slate-gray, darker on the crown, paler on the abdomen and crissum. The feathers are lighter basally and faintly tipped with brown produc- ing an obscurely mottled effect. Lores, region of eye and forehead dull black. Malar region whitish with a dull white spot anteriorly. Wings dull clove- brown with plumbeous edgings on secondaries and inner primaries, all the remiges tipped with grayish white, the greater coverts with smoke-gray. Tail slate-gray tipped with brownish white. Bill plumbeous. Feet brownish black. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postju venal moult in August which involves the body plumage but not the wings nor the tail. Several birds kindly loaned me by Mr. Wm. Brewster show different stages of the postjuvenal moult which is completed in Maine before the end of August. Old and young become practically indistinguishable. Unlike Juvenal dress. The back is brownish slate, neck whitish, crown and nape brownish black with a large brown-tinged white area on the forehead. Below, drab-gray, white on chin, throat, lores, auriculars, sides of neck and crissum. Above, dull black ; dusky beneath and behind the eye. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is in- conspicuous in the soft, loose-textured feathers. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. Female. In moults and plumages females are practically in- distinguishable from males. Corvus corax principalis Ridgw. NORTHERN RAVEN 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Everywhere dull lustreless brownish black, except wings and tail which have greenish and purplish reflections. Bill and feet black except when very young. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult which involves the body plumage and wing coverts, but not the remiges and rectrices. The glossy dress with the peculiar 154 DWIGHT separated throat feathers is assumed and young and old become indistinguishable. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, the plumage becoming somewhat brown late in the season. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult, beginning, as shown by Greenland specimens, early in July. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. Female. In plumages and moults the sexes are practically alike. Corvus americanus Aud. AMERICAN CROW 1. NATAL DOWN. Grayish clove-brown. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Body plumage dull brownish black, wings and tail glossy black with greenish and some purplish reflections. Bill and feet grayish black. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult in July which involves the body plumage and wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. The plumage be- comes lustrous greenish black everywhere, and young birds are practically indistinguishable from adults although averaging greener. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, the feathers becoming brownish and worn by the end of the breeding season. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning as early as the end of June, this bird being one of the earliest species to begin this moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress, but purplish rather than greenish black. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are alike in plumages and moults. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 155 Corvus ossifragus Wils. FISH CROW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Body plumage brownish black, wings and tail lustrous black with greenish reflec- tions. Bill and feet grayish black becoming jet black. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult in July which involves the body plumage and wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. The full greenish black glossy plumage, rather bluer than the last, is assumed, old and young becoming indistinguishable. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is not very obvious even late in the season. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Indistinguishable from first winter dress. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are alike in plumages and moults STURNHXE; Sturnus vulgaris Linn. STARLING 1. NATAL DOWN. Drab-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Everywhere, including wings and tail, brownish mouse-gray, the wings with fawn- colored edgings. Bill and feet pinkish buff. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired during August in New York city by a complete postjuvenal moult. Everywhere bottle or purplish green with metallic reflections, the feathers above with cinnamon terminal spots, smallest on the head, the feathers below with white spots. Wings and tail greenish black edged with cinnamon, the wing quills having a pale terminal spot bordered with black. Young and old become practically indistinguishable, the cin- namon spots and edgings averaging deeper in young birds. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. A large part 156 DWIGHT of the spotting is entirely lost and the shape of the feathers changed thereby. Wear involves more of the feathers than the terminal spot, their tips becoming lanceolate. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress ; the edgings narrower but deeper in color. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The moults and plumages are similar to those of the male, females being somewhat duller and more heavily spotted. ICTERID^l The peculiarities of moult in this Family will be explained under each species, most of them being subject to a complete postjuvenal moult thereby assuming plumage practically adult, like M. ater, S. magna, S. carolinus, Q. quiscula and its races. A complete semiannual or double moult is peculiar to D. oryzivorus, while /. spurius and /. galbula undergo a limited first prenuptial moult in winter which is not repeated a second year. Dolichonyx oryzivorus (Linn.). BOBOLINK 1. NATAL DOWN. Buff, (plate V, fig. 1) 2 . JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, dull brownish black, median crown stripe, superciliary line, nuchal band' and edgings of the other feathers of back and wings buff deepest on nape ; primaries, their coverts, secondaries and alulae tipped with grayish white. Be- low, rich buff paler on chin and faintly flecked on sides of throat with clove - brown. A dusky postocular streak. Bill pinkish buff, clay-color with dusky tip when older. Feet clay-color becoming deep Vandyke-brown. This plumage is worn but a short time and the postjuvenal moult is well advanced by the end of July as shown by four specimens in my collection. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult in July which involves the body plumage, tertiaries and wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 157 Similar to the previous plumage, but darker above and yellower below, a rich ochre or maize-yellow prevailing, palest on chin and abdomen, the sides of the breast and flanks and under tail coverts conspicuously streaked with dull black veiled by the overlapping feather edges. The relative size of the feathers of .this plumage and their pattern is shown on plate I, where the feathers of a September male are figured. They have been reproduced much darker than their pale brown color would indicate. There is some variation in the distribution of the black pattern of lateral feath- ers of the ventral tract in young birds and this may be seen on plate I, figs. 1-6, 19-22. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete pre- nuptial moult. Plumage almost wholly black, the body plumage veiled by long maize-yellow feather tips. The nape is rich ochre and the scapularies white, the inner plumbeous, both edged with olive-gray. The outer primary is edged with white, the two adjacent with maize-yellow, the tertiaries, greater coverts and interscapularies with wood-brown. Rump plumbeous, upper tail coverts white, both areas veiled with olive-gray or olive-buff. Tail tipped with olive-gray. Bill black. The terminal inch of the webs of the outer primaries is paler as if the black color had not extended so far, but the borders are, in May, less abraided than are many of these feathers when the birds pass southward in September. It would be safe to assume a prenuptial moult of the Bobolink from this fact alone and a bird taken March i, 1886 (Amer. Mus. Nat Hist., No. 32783), near Corumba, Brazil, on the Bolivian boundary, proves it, although this specimen is doubtless an adult. I have also seen several caged birds which have undergone a complete moult in the early summer. Spring birds reach New York about two months after this moult and the fugaceous yellowish feather tips have so worn away (see plate I, figs. 23-25, 28, 29) that the specimens are chiefly black, white and buff, except on the abdo- men, flanks and under tail coverts where the tips persist longest. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning the end of July. Similar to first winter plumage, usually whiter below especially on the chin and middle of the abdomen, and above with richer brown edgings especially of the tertiaries. The bill becomes clay colored or purplish. The 158 DWIGHT chief differential character is however the presence of a few black feathers, usually yellow tipped, irregularly scattered on the chin and breast. A specimen from Jamaica, West Indies, September 25th (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. No. 42134), is an extreme example with numerous black and mottled feathers, the black distributed irregularly, varying from shaft streaks to asymmetrical blotches. As these feathers all show wear similar to those adjacent, there can be no doubt that all of them grow at the postnuptial moult. I have seen a few autumnal adults, but they are excessively rare in collections and their rarity is largely responsible for the ignor- ance that has prevailed regarding the normal plumages of the Bobolink which conform to the ordinary laws of moult and are in no respect unique. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete pre- nuptial moult in midwinter. Differs inappreciably from first nuptial dress, but it is probable that (as in other species) the yellow edgings diminish with age. The classic Corumba bird mentioned above and discussed at p. 122 of the present article, was first described by CHAPMAN '90 and later figured in (Auk, X, 1893, pp. 309311, pi. vii.). It is completing a perfectly normal prenuptial moult, and seems to be an adult, because a few old black feathers of the adult winter plumage are present and the whiteness of the abdomen indicates the fading of feathers that are nearly white over this area in adults in the autumn. At all events the worn and faded feathers that remain on this specimen are exactly where the last traces of moult are found in a normal moult not only of this species but of all Passerine species examined and there is not the slightest evidence of the supposed color change to black without moult that has been alleged. Female. The plumages and probably the moults correspond to those of the male. In Juvenal and first winter plumage the sexes are indistinguishable. The first nuptial is no doubt ac- quired partially at least by a prenuptial moult, judging by wear and by a caged female examined when moulting the remiges, the buff being paler than in first winter dress. The adult winter plumage is practically indistinguishable from the first winter. The adult nuptial is similar to the first nuptial. A bird seen by PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 159 STONE ('96, p. 1 34), has assumed some black feathers on the lower parts doubtless at the prenuptial moult and is probably an un- usually vigorous bird approaching the plumage of the male as sometimes occurs in other species. Molothrus ater (Bodd.). COWBIRD 1. NATAL DOWN. Olive-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head and neck, wings and tail, dark olive-brown, the feathers edged with pale buff, whitish on the primaries. Below, dull white, buffy on throat, breast and flanks much streaked with olive-brown. Chin white or yellowish. Bill and feet raw umber-brown, darkening to black after postjuvenal moult. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult which begins about September first. Unlike the previous plumage, chiefly black instead of brown, young birds becoming practically indistinguishable from adults. Above and below, lustrous black with iridescent green and purple reflections. Head, nape and throat purplish clove-brown. Some birds show faint buffy edgings. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, which shows very little, and chiefly in the paler brown of the head. I have seen one specimen which retains a large part of the Juvenal plumage even to the wing quills and the brown feathers are ex- cessively worn as compared with the black ones, acquired at the postjuvenal moult. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in September. Adults are not distinguishable, as a rule, from young birds in first winter dress. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. In natal down and Juvenal plumage indistinguishable from the male. Females assume a mouse-gray first winter plum- age by a complete postjuvenal moult and this, modified by wear, is the first nuptial plumage. All later plumages are similarly mouse-gray with indistinct dusky streaks. 160 DWIGHT Agelaius phoeniceus (Linn.). RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 1. NATAL DOWN. Pale mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head, wings, tail, and lesser coverts (i. e., the so-called "shoulders") dull brownish black (no red at this stage), the feathers edged with buff, palest and narrowest on primaries, rectrices, head and rump, and richest on scapularies and secondaries. Below pinkish buff, ochraceous on the chin, thickly streaked (except on the chin) with brownish black. Obscure superciliary line ochraceous-buff. Bill and feet olive-brown, black when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult beginning towards the end of August. Resem- bles previous dress, the general effect being that of a brown streaked bird the black being heavily veiled by brown feather tips and mottled orange "shoulders" are acquired. Entire plumage, including wings and tail, greenish black much veiled with buffy and ferruginous edgings, palest below and faint or absent on primaries and rectrices. Lesser wing coverts ("shoulders") dull orpiment-orange each feather with subterminal bars or spots of black. Median coverts rich ochraceous buff usu- ally mottled with black subterminal areas chiefly on the inner webs, the shafts usually black. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is con- siderable birds becoming a dull brownish black by loss of the feather edgings and by fading. The mottled " shoulder patches " are characteristic of young birds, the amount of orange varying greatly. The wings and tail show marked wear. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning in mid-August, young and old becom- ing practically indistinguishable. Lustrous greenish black, feathers of head and back, greater wing coverts and ter- tiaries edged more or less (according to the individual) with buff and ferrugin- ous brown. Below, the edgings are paler or absent. The bright scarlet-ver- milion "shoulders" are acquired together with the rich ochraceous buff median coverts. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which pro- duces less marked effects than in the young birds. The ex- posed edges of the buff median coverts fade to a dull white. The more resistant nature of adult feathers is strikingly shown by PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 1(>1 this species, the worn and faded remiges and rectrices of young birds contrasting sharply with those of adults. l : cmalc. In natal down and Juvenal plumage females differ little from males, the Juvenal dress perhaps averaging browner above with less buff below and the chin narrowly streaked. The first winter plumage is acquired by a complete postjuvenal moult as in the male, from which the female now differs widely being brown and broadly streaked. The first winter plumage is hardly distinguishable from the adult winter and passes into the first nuptial by wear which produces a black and white streaked bird, brown above. A pinkish or salmon tinge is often found in females in any of these plumages especially about the chin and head and an orange or crimson tinge may show on the "shoulders" of the older birds. Sturnella magna (Linn.). MEADOW LARK 1. NATAL Dowx. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, clove-brown, the feathers broadly edged with buff palest on the nape, those of the back having double subapical spots of russet. Median crown stripe, and superciliary line cream- buff. Wings sepia-brown, the primaries and secondaries obscurely barred on the outer web with darker brown and edged with pale vinaceous cinnamon shading to white on the first primary, the tertiaries clove- brown broadly edged with buff and having a row of partly confluent vinaceous cinnamon spots on either side of their shafts producing a barred effect (the pat- tern of a tertiary of this plumage contrasted with one of the first winter dress is shown on plate II, figs. 15 and 16), the rest of the wing coverts obscurely mottled with light and dark browns and edged with buff, the alulae with white. The three outer pairs of rectrices are white with a faint dusky subapical shaft - streak, the next pair largely white and the others hair-brown confluently barred with clove-brown and whitish edged. Below, including "edge of wing" pale canary-yellow, nearly white on the chin, the sides of throat, breast, flanks, cris- sum and tibiae washed with pinkish buff, streaked and spotted with brownish black which forms a pectoral band. Bill and feet pinkish buff, the former becoming slaty, the latter dull clay color. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult beginning about September first after the Juvenal dress has been worn a long time, young birds and old becoming practically indistinguishable. ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. Sci., XIII, Aug. 28, 1900 n. 162 DWIGHT Above, similar to the previous plumage, but all the browns even to the wing and tail quills much darker, often black, and distinct barring rather than mottling, the rule. The feathers of the back have large single subapical spots of rich Mar's-brown crossed by two faint dusky bars, and the primary edgings are usually grayer. Below, a rich lemon -yellow (including the chin and a sup- raorbital dash) veiled with buff edgings and a black pectoral crescent is acquired completely veiled with deep buff and ashy edgings. The streakings below are heavier and darker, many of the feathers with subapical russet spots and the bufify wash on the sides is deeper and pinker. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is exces- sive by the end of the breeding season producing a dingy brown and white appearance above with yellow and black below. The subapical spots of the feathers of the back are almost en- tirely lost by abrasion and the same force scallops out the light portions of the tertiaries, wing coverts and tail. This is shown on plate II, figs. 16 and 17. Neither the yellow nor the black below fades very appreciably, but the shining denuded shafts of the feathers project far beyond the abraided barbs. The yellow seems even to be intensified by the loss of paler barbules. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in September. Usually indistinguishable from first winter dress. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. In natal down and Juvenal plumage the sexes are indistinguishable. Later the female differs only in slightly duller colors and a more restricted black area on the throat. The moults are exactly the same as in the male. Icterus spurius (Linn.). ORCHARD ORIOLE 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head and neck, pale grayish olive-green, buffy on rump. Below, pale sulphur-yellow. Wings pale clove-brown, the primaries and sec- ondaries narrowly edged with dull white, the median and greater wing coverts with pale buff forming two indistinct wing bands. Tail yellowish olive-green. Bill pinkish buff, becoming deep wood-brown, the upper mandible slaty. Feet olive-gray, blackish when older. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 163 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postju venal moult, beginning the end of July, which involves the body plumage and wing coverts, but not usually the rest of the wings nor the tail. Differs little from the previous plumage, a brighter olive-green above and canary - yellow below, the edgings of the wing coverts paler. An unfortunate dearth of specimens in this greenish plumage makes it impossible for me to say whether any precocious indi- viduals, perhaps of the first brood, acquire tails mottled with black or assume black or chestnut feathers about the wings or body. It is almost certain, judging by analogy of moult and by plumage that some do, as is the case apparently in other species. Observations made on caged birds by Dr. BACHMAN ('39) also point to this probability, for he states that a young bird of a first brood assumed the black throat by moult in November, and the full black and chestnut plumage the fol- lowing August, while a bird of a second brood assumed a new green plumage in January, the black throat the follow- ing August and the chestnut and black plumage in January, wholly by moult. This evidence, although the unreliable testi- mony of caged birds, is at least in confirmation of the sequence of the plumages and indicates that a year is sufficient for the acquisition of the adult dress. The only bird I have seen showing prenuptial moult is one taken in Nicaragua, February 23d (U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 91034), which has new black feathers coming in on the throat and sides of the head and green ones on the forehead and crown, as already referred to by Stone ('96, p. 137). There are a few old black feathers on the throat, but it seems likely that these, the worn mottled tail and a few chestnut feathers on the throat and under tail coverts may represent individual precocity in a pre- viously acquired first winter plumage, for the brown Juvenal primary coverts indicate a young bird. I have seen several autumnal birds in first winter dress with a few black feathers on the throat, although they had plain greenish tails. Without a better series of birds in first winter dress than is now available the relation of moults and plumages cannot be fully solved, but 164 DWIGHT that moult will explain everything, I have not the slightest doubt. In birds that suffer so great wear, it is well nigh impos- sible to estimate the age of a feather from the amount of abrasion, especially when the color is black. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which apparently involves chiefly the throat and head and perhaps the tail. The black throat is present in most spring specimens, in some it is lacking or represented by a few black feathers. Greenish tails are regularly found with such birds ; those with chestnut feathers have tails mottled with black, these signs of individual vigor or precocity going together and consid- erable individual variation being apparent. The bill becomes slate-gray. All of the plumage is so worn when the birds arrive from the south that it is impossible to estimate how long the in- dividual feathers have been subjected to wear, which seems to be considerable. The primary coverts, a key to young birds, are always brownish unless they have been partly renewed by black, probably at the postjuvenal moult. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult apparently after the birds have migrated south judging by the freshness of extra-limital specimens and the total absence of local specimens. Contrary to general belief it is likely that the chestnut and black plumage is assumed at this moult. Several specimens from Guatemala without other data show the end of a postnuptial moult from the greenish into the chestnut dress, some of the new feathers still with sheaths and the old worn greenish nuptial ones still in place among the au- riculars and elsewhere. Both the black and the chestnut feathers are broadly edged with greenish buff or brown, which probably diminishes in amount with age giving a less veiled appearance, in older adults. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear through which the edgings are largely lost. There is no prenuptial moult as in the young bird. The frequency of a few greenish feathers on breeding birds indicates their liability to be left over even at the first postnuptial moult which is usually so complete although it PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 165 is possible such feathers developed of a greenish color at this season. There is not the slightest reason for believing in an ab- normal color change without moult in this species even if I am wrong in concluding the greenish plumage is worn but one sum- mer. It may possibly be that no chestnut or black is assumed by any birds until the first postnuptial moult and the second winter plumage is still partly greenish with the mottled tails that give rise to the unwarrantable idea of color redistributing itself in old feathers, but until greenish autumnal adults (as determined by cranial characters) having black throats, mottled tails, and. chestnut scattered on the abdomen are forthcoming, there is no good reason for supposing that more than a twelve-month, as in other species, is required to attain adult dress. Female. The natal down and Juvenal plumage are identical with those of the male. Later the female undergoes the same moults as the male, the one prenuptial which occurs being very limited or even suppressed. Females always remain in a green- ish dress like the male first winter plumage or at most assume, when fully adult, a few black feathers on the throat. Icterus galbula (Linn.). BALTIMORE ORIOLE 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, olive-brown, slightly orange tinged, brightest on head and upper tail coverts. Wings clove-brown, the primaries narrowly, the tertiaries broadly edged with dull white, two wing bands at tips of greater and median coverts pale buff. A tertiary is figured on plate II, fig. 8. Tail chiefly gallstone-yellow, centrally much darker and brownish. Below, including " edge of wing " ochre-yellow, sometimes orange with ochraceous tinge, palest on chin and middle of abdomen, brightest on breast and crissum. Bill pinkish buff, becoming slate-gray with age. Feet olive-gray, black when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning early in July which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Similar to previous plumage but dull orange brown above and much brighter orange below, although lacking the black areas of the adult. The greater and median wing coverts become dull black, white tipped, the latter and the lesser coverts 166 DWIGHT orange tinged. There is much individual variation in the intensity of the orange everywhere. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves most of the plumage except only the primaries, their coverts, and the secondaries. The tide of moult often passes by wing coverts, alulae, tertiaries or in fact any feathers which often remain here and there worn and in sharp contrast to new feathers adjacent, and the outer wing coverts are frequently left over and sometimes a rectrix or two. The full orange and black body plumage is assumed at this moult, the tertiaries and wing coverts being broadly edged with white, and the black and yellow tail is acquired. The orange is usually paler than in adults and the black feathers of the back are generally edged with orange. There is a Panama bird (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., No. 41939) showing the prenuptial moult in progress on the back, forehead, occiput, sides of head and breast, throat and chin, upper and under tail coverts, the two central rectrices and the greater wing coverts ; and a Guatemala specimen (Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist.) also without date shows moult on the head. Birds in this dress may be distinguished from adults by the worn brownish primaries in contrast to the new black, white edged tertiaries. Plate II, figs. 9 and 10 shows the difference between a first nuptial tertiary which is new grown and an adult nuptial tertiary which is really a worn adult winter feather. Similar differences in the rectrix next to the middle pair are shown by figs. 11 and 12, a large amount of black belonging to the adult feather. I have seen one young bird in this plumage with the orange mostly replaced by blood-red which invades even the wing coverts and the black nape. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in July, the birds usually disappearing soon after. Two males in my collection (J. Dwight, Jr., No. 6883, August 26th, and No. 6885, September' 1 3th, Long Island, New York), are in fresh winter dress without trace of their recent moult. Different from first winter dress, jet black wing quills and central rectrices being assumed with rich orange and black body plum- age. The feathers of the back are narrowly edged with dull PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 167 orange (absent in older birds) which also suffuses the median and lesser coverts. The greater coverts, secondaries and terti- aries are broadly edged with white. The variable black area of the throat seems to increase in older birds. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear through which the white wing edgings are largely lost (see plate II, fig. 10). Yellow barbules are lost from the orange barbs so that the color is perhaps intensified in some cases. Female, The natal down and Juvenal plumage are the same as in the male and subsequent moults are the same but limited in extent at the first prenuptial so that little or no black is as- sumed on the chin, back and tail. The black on the chin of fe- males is always very restricted in extent. Scolecophagus carolinus (Mull.). RUSTY BLACKBIRD 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Whole plumage slate-color washed on back and throat with sepia-brown. Tail darker with greenish reflections. Tertiaries and wing coverts edged with Mar's- brown. Bill and feet seal-brown, black when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult beginning in eastern Canada, the end of July, young and old becoming practically indistinguishable. Everywhere lustrous greenish black more or less veiled above with Mar's-brown, below with wood -brown. The wings and tail are without edgings. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear through which the veiling is almost or completely lost, birds becoming entirely greenish or purplish black. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning the middle of July. Not appreciably different from first winter plumage, the veiling probably less the older a bird grows. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female, The natal down and Juvenal plumage are the same as in the male. By a complete postjuvenal moult the first winter 168 DWIGHT plumage is assumed which is very like the Juvenal but with much Mar's-brown above chiefly on the head and strongly washed below with wood-brown, these colors edging slaty feathers ; the lores and auriculars are dull black in contrast. The first nuptial plumage is acquired by wear and later plum- ages vary little from the first winter. Quiscalus quiscula (Linn.). PURPLE CRACKLE 1. NATAL DOWN. Pale sepia-brown. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Whole plumage dull clove-brown, the body feathers often very faintly edged with paler brown. Tail darker with purplish tints. Bill and feet sepia-brown, black when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult early in August. The iridescent black dress is acquired, old and young becoming indistinguishable. Some birds assume metallic green heads and some blue, while the backs are of all colors and patterns so that age can have nothing to do with the varied colors of this species. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which pro- duces no noticeable effect as is regularly the case with iridescent plumages. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning the first of August. Indistinguishable from first winter. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. In Juvenal dress the female is perhaps paler below than is the male and usually indistinctly streaked. There is a complete postjuvenal moult and later plumages differ from the male only in being much duller and browner with few metallic reflections. They also show more wear. Quiscalus quiscula seneus (Ridgw.). BRONZED CRACKLE Plumages and moults correspond to those of Q. quiscula, the two forms in natal down and Juvenal plumage being practically PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 169 indistinguishable. The bronzed back is assumed at the post- juvenal moult, old and young becoming indistinguishable. FRINGILLID^I The types of moult in this large Family are almost as numer- ous as the species. Many moult twice every year, the prenup- tial being complete in at least one species, A. caudacutus, and partial in many, producing a large variety of curiously mixed plumages. P.. domesticus, A. s. passerinus, A. licnslowi (prob- ably), A. inaritimns, C. grammacus, M. fasciata, C. cardinalis and probably some others undergo a complete postjuvenal moult more or less regularly. Several species pass their first breeding season in the immature dress assumed at the postjuvenal moult, exchanging it for the full adult dress at the first postnuptial moult. The peculiarities of moult and wear, which in some species pro- duce most startling changes in their apparent color and in the shape of the feathers, will be discussed under the respective species. The apparent brightening of color in some of the Finches and the Crossbills is also explained under each species. Coccothraustes vespertinus (Coop.). EVENING GROSBEAK 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, pale bistre, greenish tinged on back, wood brown on rump and forehead. Wings black narrowly edged with white ; the tertiaries pale drab, their inner borders dull black ; two or three inner secondaries terminally dull white with dingy black apical blotches ; inner greater coverts dull white on outer webs and edged with canary-yellow. Tail black. Below, pale cinnamon or wood-brown, merging into canary-yellow on throat and chin. Rictal and submalar streaks dusky. " Lining of wings " canary-yellow. Under tail coverts white. Bill and feet in dried specimen dull brown. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult in August in British Columbia which involves the body plumage but not the wings nor the tail. The wing coverts are renewed but not usually the tertiaries. Bright olive-yellow washed with rich olive-brown, deepest about the head ; crown and nape black, forehead, superciliary stripe, rump and under tail coverts 170 D WIGHT lemon-yellow. Young may be distinguished usually by the dusky inner margins of the tertiaries but differ very little from adults. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which removes much of the wing edgings. Browner more worn remiges and especially primary coverts with distinct edgings distinguish young birds. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Differs little from first winter dress, but fewer edgings, and blacker primaries with their coverts and the ter- tiaries white. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. Female. The moults and plumages correspond to those of the male but the colors and markings are quite different. The sexes are similar in Juvenal plumage. In first winter dress females are deep mouse-gray about the head, paler on the back and grayish wood-brown on the rump. The primaries have a white spot at their bases and the secondaries and tertiaries are wholly drab-gray with dull black on the inner webs. The tail has the inner webs of all the rectrices white and the upper tail coverts have white spots. The first nuptial plumage is assumed by wear and the adult winter dress by a complete moult, this plumage being rather grayer than that of the first winter. Pinicola enucleator (Linn.). PINE GROSBEAK 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult Above, bistre, tinged on crown and rump with dull ochre-yellow. Wings and tail clove-brown with pale buff edgings sometimes whitish especially on tertiaries and tail. Wing bands indistinct, pale buff. Below, hair-brown or drab, washed, especially on breast and sides, with ochraceous, the feather edgings wood- brown. Bill and feet dusky pinkish buff becoming darker with age. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning early in September in eastern Canada which involves the body plumage and wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Above, chiefly pale olive-brown, sometimes with reddish or yellowish tinge veiled with smoke-gray edgings, the crown, auriculars, rump and upper tail PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 171 coverts ochre to gallstone-yellow, often orange, the feathers dark centrally, usually a sprinkling of brick-red feathers and sometimes the yellows completely replaced by red, occasionally carmine. Below smoke-gray, the breast and throat usually with some red and yellow not very pronounced. Wing coverts tipped with white forming two distinct bands the lesser coverts plumbeous and ochre tinged. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, apparently brightening and assuming a golden sheen, this optical effect be- ing due to loss of barbules, a similar loss taking place in Car- podacus purpurcus, under which species a full explanation is given. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. The pinkish plumage is assumed and young and old become indistinguishable. The back is clove-brown with olive-gray edgings, elsewhere geranium-red, the wing bands and even primary edgings tinged with geranium-pink. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird, which apparently intensifies the color by a gradual loss of the distal barbules of each feather. Female. Plumages and moults are similar to those of the male. In Juvenal plumage the sexes are practically indistin- guishable. In first winter plumage duller than the correspond- ing dress of the male ; above, olive-brown with smoke-gray edgings, the crown and rump ochre or dull olive-yellow, entirely smoke-gray below. The first nuptial plumage is acquired by wear. The adult winter plumage is similar to male first winter, but duller with only a tinge of red at most on crown, rump or breast. The adult nuptial plumage is acquired by wear. Passer domesticus (Linn.). ENGLISH SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. Mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, hair-brown somewhat buffy, wings and tail slightly darker, and streaked broadly with clove-brown on the back ; secondaries, tertiaries and wing coverts edged with wood-brown. Below, mouse-gray darkest across jugulum and on the sides, the chin and mid-abdomen nearly white. A dusky postocular stripe. Bill and feet pinkish buff, the former becoming dusky and black before spring, and the latter sepia-brown. 172 DWIGHT 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postju ve- nal moult beginning the end of August. Unlike previous plumage, the black chin and throat patch being assumed. Pileum, rump and upper tail coverts smoke-gray, the feathers brownish edged and dusky basally. The back streaked with black each feather partly Mar's-brown and edged with buff. Below, dull white tinged with French-gray on throat and sides, the feather tips with buffy wash, the shafts faintly grayish ; the chin and throat, loral and postocular stripe, black veiled with grayish or buffy edgings ; sides of chin and throat and mid-abdomen nearly white ; auriculars olive gray ; posterior part of superciliary line, postauricular and nuchal regions chestnut veiled with buff edgings. Wings and tail dull black edged with pale cinnamon, rich chestnut on the greater and lesser coverts, the median coverts white, buff edged forming a wing band. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which brings the blacks, chestnuts and grays into prominence by loss of the veiling feather edgings, and the buff wash is lost. The wing bands, sides of throat and abdomen become noticeably whiter. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning the end of August. Differs very little from first winter dress, the black of the throat usually more ex- tensive and the buff less evident. The crown is usually grayer and the median coverts whiter. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. In natal down and Juvenal plumage females are in- distinguishable from males. The first winter plumage is acquired by a complete moult, and is similar above to that of the male, more washed with buff below and without the black throat and chest- nut postauricular patches. The first nuptial plumage is acquired by wear, the buff being largely lost and later plumages differ very little from each other, the only renewal being at the post- nuptial moult. It would be interesting to know whether this species on its "native heath" goes through the same sequence of plumages and moults although there is no reason for supposing them to have been modified through acclimatization since it was imported into this country. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 173 Carpodacus purpureus (Gmel.). PURPLE FINCH 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Plate IV, fig. 1 shows a juvenal plumage crown feather. Above, wood-brown, broadly streaked with olive-brown and showing whitish streaks if the feathers be disarranged so as to expose a lighter portion. Below, dull white streaked with paler olive-brown, least on the chin, throat and middle of abdomen and crissum, the last two areas often unmarked. An indistinct whitish . superciliary line. Wings and tail deep olive-brown, edged with pale buff deepest and broadest on tertiaries and wing coverts. Bill and feet pinkish buff, sepia-brown when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning the end of August, which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Differs in general effect very little from the last, but the streaks are bolder, the brown usually with a greenish yellow tinge merging into the buffy edgings. Plate IV, fig". 2 shows a crown feather of this plumage newly grown ; fig. 3, a similar feather after about eight months of wear. When to apply the term first nuptial to this feather is a matter not easy to determine. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear through which most of the buffy tints are lost, the edgings becoming whitish. Males are brown streaked and indistinguishable from females in most cases. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning early in August all males assuming the pink plumage. Above, pale geranium-red (often carmine or brick-red), hoary on the pileum and nape, the feathers of the back with dusky shaft lines and broad greenish buff edgings. Below, a hoary geranium-pink blending into white on abdomen and crissum, the flanks buffy with a few dusky streaks. Wings and tail clove-brown the edgings tinged with pale brick-red. Young and old now become practically indistinguishable. Plate VII, fig. 1 represents a crown feather of this plumage already showing wear which finally produces a feather like that seen as fig. 2, the adult nuptial dress. 174 DWIGHT 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which pro- duces a plumage largely bright rosy carmine decidedly brighter to the eye than the winter dress. The explanation of this evi- dent color change is, however, very simple. There is no pig- mentary change, the brightening being wholly an optical delu- sion. Under a glass of even moderate power it will be seen that the whitish barbules of the reddish feathers of the winter dress especially of the head and throat have worn away, leaving the resistant carmine barbs bare and glistening. The remaining bar- bules show as hoary spots and in winter plumage, of course, the whole effect is hoary. This explanation, although at variance with that offered by other writers is unquestionably the correct one, and plate VII, figs. 1 and 2 show the change unmistaka- bly. The bases of the feathers of this species are dusky, and often show when the plumage is much worn or even disarranged. Wear is considerable by the end of the breeding season and loss of edgings helps intensify the reddish tints. In captivity pink adults assume golden or bronzed feathers at their first moult, never reassuming the pink dress. It is prob- able that some ingredient of their food when in the wild state is lacking and a deficiency of pigment results. Female. In natal down, juvenal, first winter and first nuptial plumages indistinguishable from the male and later plumages are brown streaked like the immature male. The moults cor- respond to those of the male. Loxia curvirostra minor (Brehm). AMERICAN CROSSBILL 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult Above, streaked with olive-brown, the feathers with whitish edgings, an olive-green tinge on the back and pale buff on the rump. Wings and tail clove-brown the feathers faintly edged with pale buff sometimes greenish tinged. Below, dull grayish white thickly streaked with olive-brown. Bill and feet olive-gray, black when older. The mandibles do not cross at first but in about three weeks deflect as they grow to the right or left indifferently. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult which involves the body plumage but neither the wings PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 175 nor the tail. Birds in considerably worn ju venal dress taken in New Brunswick, Canada, June 29th, July 2ist and July 23d, show a few new feathers of this plumage. Everywhere a mottled mixture of bright yellows, greens and reds, the fonrer pre- dominating and the reds dull, but individual variation is great. The colors are brightest on the head, rump, throat and sides of abdomen. The posterior part of the abdomen and under tail coverts may be red tinged or yellowish or they may fail to moult and remain brown streaked. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is marked by midsummer producing through loss of grayish bar- bules a brightening of the whole plumage, as already explained under Carpodacus purpureus. A worn reddish breast feather of this plumage is shown on plate VII, fig. 4. In a year the feather (fig. 3) which actually grew beside this one would also lose its barbules and appear a brighter red, like fig. 4. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in September. The brick-red body plumage with vermilion rump is acquired at this moult as shown by a speci- men taken in New Brunswick, Canada, October i6th which has renewed about three quarter of the mottled dress. Plate VII, fig. 3, represents a new feather that had not lost its sheath and was situated next to the worn one represented by fig. 4. It seems probable that an entirely red plumage is not always fully acquired until the second postnuptial moult. A reddish tinge is observable in the faint edgings of wings and tail. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which through loss of barbules produces coppery and rosy reflections, to the eye, brighter than those of the previous plumage. Female. In natal down and Juvenal plumage indistinguish- able from males. The first winter plumage acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult which does not include the wings nor the tail is olive-buff indistinctly mottled or streaked with olive brown ; the rump bright olive-yellow. The first nuptial plum- age is acquired by wear producing little change. The adult winter plumage varies little from the first winter, the rump per- haps brighter and the breast tinged with bright olive-yellow. Old birds sometimes show dull red tints on these areas, but the 176 D WIGHT brightest adults are greenish yellow as compared with the dullest young males which are orange tinged. Of 68 specimens of both sexes in my collection, the upper mandible crosses to the right in 38 and to the left in 30. Loxia leucoptera Gmel. WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Whole plumage dull grayish white thickly streaked with clove-brown, the feather edgings grayish, but buffy on back, rump and abdomen. Wings and tail dull black, the primaries, secondaries and tertiaries narrowly, the tertiaries and wing coverts broadly, edged with buffy white forming two distinct wing bands at tips of greater and median coverts. Bill and feet brownish black. This description is taken from two females in my collection secured in eastern Canada, June 2pth and July i6th. The birds are decidedly blacker than L. c. minor -in corresponding plumage. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult, probably in September, which involves the body plumage, but neither the wings nor the tail. The head, back, rump, throat and breast are varying shades of chrome-yellow with an occasional dash of dull red, the scapularies and upper tail coverts black. Lores, orbital region and forehead dull black. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which to the eye brightens the yellow by loss of the barbules of the feathers. The mouse-gray basal portion of the body feathers is somewhat in evidence. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. It is likely nearly all young birds assume the full red adult plumage at this moult. Rosy or hoary brick or geranium-red, the wings, tail and scapularies black. Wing bands and tertiary edgings white. Abdomen smoke-gray and under tail coverts dull white, rose tinged, both streaked with clove-brown. The colors are much pinker than those of L. c. minor in corresponding dress and the white wing bands distinctive. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, which, to the eye, brightens the rosy tints considerably by loss of the barbules PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 177 from a part of each barb. The general effect is that of a rosy bird mottled with whitish spots. Female. In natal down and Juvenal plumage indistinguish- able from the male, no doubt, as is the case in allied species. The first winter plumage, acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult, not involving the wings nor the tail, is olive-buff, similar to L. c. minor, from which it may easily be distinguished by the wing bands, and besides it is more distinctly mottled and streaked with deeper olive-brown. The first nuptial is simply the previous plumage modified by wear. The adult winter plumage is, of course, acquired by a complete postnuptial moult, and shows a certain amount of yellow scattered through it, which is somewhat brightened by wear becoming the adult nuptial plumage. Females never become pink. * Acanthis linaria (Linn.). REDPOLL 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, streaked with sepia and clove-brown with whitish edgings ; rump paler but also streaked. Wings and tail clove brown with whitish or buffy edgings ; the coverts, wing bands and tertiaries edged with pale cinnamon. Below dull white streaked with clove-brown and washed with buff on throat and sides. Bill and feet of dry skin dull ochre. Description from a specimen taken in Labrador, August 2/th. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial post- juvenal moult late in August, which apparently involves the body plumage and wing coverts and not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Above, wood-brown, sides of head and rump paler, streaked with olive-brown, the feather edgings often whitish. Crown dull crimson, usually coppery. Wings and tail deep olive-brown, the feathers with whitish edgings. Below white, washed with buff on throat, sides and flanks, streaked laterally and on under tail coverts with olive-brown. A dull brownish black chin spot. Some young birds may assume a few rosy breast feathers, but they are characteristic of adults. ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. Sci., Sept. 7, 1900 12. 178 DWIGHT 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, through which much of the buff is lost, the birds becoming darker and whiter with the crown spot a trifle brighter to the eye, due to loss of the grayish barbules of the red barbs. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. The geranium-pink or rosy feathers of the breast and rump are assumed. Otherwise similar to first winter dress. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear through which the rosy feathers appear brighter like the crown partly by loss of barbules and partly by loss of the whitish edgings. Female. The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male, but the crown spot is duller and smaller, often bronzed, and rosy bfeast feathers are seldom acquired. Acanthis linaria rostrata (Coues). GREATER REDPOLL The plumages and moults of this race correspond to those of A. linaria, the subspecific characters prevailing even in the juve- nal plumage, the colors darker and the streaking somewhat heavier. The adults are large, with large bills and very white rumps, sometimes with rosy tints everywhere. Carduelis carduelis (Linn.). EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH The limited number of specimens examined of this introduced species, now well established in Central Park, New York City, forbids positive conclusions. I have not seen the juvenal plumage, nor do I know the extent of the postju venal moult, which undoubtedly takes place. Adults evidently have but one moult annually, the postnuptial, and I believe the brighten- ing of the red frontlet in spring is due to the loss of the fuzzy barbules from brighter colored barbs. Descriptions from text- books are unsatisfactory in solving the problems of moult, but they seem to indicate the usual sequence of plumages and moults in this species. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 179 Spinus tristis (Linn.). AMERICAN GOLDFINCH 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above wood-brown, grayer on crown, yellowish on forehead. Below, including sides of head primrose-yellow brightest on chin, washed on sides and flanks and across the throat with deep buff. Wings and tail dull black whitish edged ; secondaries, tertiaries, and wing coverts including two wing bands edged with ochraceous buff the outer greater coverts usually partly white. Bill and feet pinkish buff, becoming dusky with age. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning late in September which involves the body plumage but not the wings nor the tail. Similar to previous plumage but a deeper brown above and the yellow below re- placed (except on the chin which is a brighter yellow) by pale olive-gray, darkest on the throat and washed with wood-brown on the sides. . The crissum and middle of the abdomen are white. Dull black, brownish or yellowish edged lesser coverts (the "shoulders") distinguish young birds from adults which have them bright yellow, the black of the wings and tail is besides less intense, the wing bands are browner and the chin duller yellow. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult during April and early May which involves the entire body plumage but neither the wings nor the tail. The bright canary and black dress is assumed, old and young distinguish- able only by the brownish "shoulders," and the duller and more worn wings and tail of the young bird. It is interesting to note that the black wings and tail are assumed with the Juvenal plumage, the black crown at the prenuptial moult. The effects of wear are marked, for the white edgings due to fading are lost by abrasion before the end of the summer so that the edges of the tertiaries and secondaries become scalloped out, and very little if any white remains when the postnuptial moult occurs. This is illustrated by plate II, figs. 4 and 5. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning about the middle of September. Similar to first winter but a richer deeper brown above, the crown, throat and sides of breast more distinctly yellow, the edgings of the wings and tail (which are jet black) paler and most important of all the " shoulders " bright canary-yellow instead of brown. Young and old now become indistinguishable. 180 DWIGHT 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves, as in the young bird, the whole body plu- mage but not the wings nor the tail. Distinguishable from first nuptial chiefly by the yellow "shoulders." Female. Females have plumages and moults exactly corre- sponding to the males, but the plumages are regularly much duller and the prenuptial moults much less extensive. The wings and tail are browner and there is no black upon the crown. I have a large series of this species taken every month in the year including many specimens showing both sexes in various stages of the double moult they regularly undergo. Spinus pinus (Wils.). PINE SISKIN 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, olive-brown with buff tinged, or yellowish feather edgings and streaked with clove-brown. Wings and tail deep olive-brown, basal portion of the remiges and rectrices canary-yellow, the edgings of the primaries and secondaries paler yellow, their tips whitish, the edgings of the rectrices faintly olive-yellow, the wing coverts edged with ochraceous-buff forming two wing bands, the ter- tiaries broadly edged with buff. Below primrose-yellow, palest on chin, thickly streaked with clove-brown. Bill and feet pinkish buff, dusky when older. This plumage is worn a long time, probably two months, the postjuvenal moult beginning early in August as shown by a specimen from eastern Canada, August 8th. It becomes con- siderably worn and the buffy tints as well as the yellow below are nearly lost before the moult begins. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult in August in eastern Canada which involves the body plumage but not the wings nor the tail. - Differs very little from the previous plumage, birds being a paler brown above and altogether without the yellow tinge below. They are dull white below with a faint buffy tinge anteriorly and laterally and streaked with olive-brown ; the buffy wing coverts rapidly fade to dull white. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which pro- duces a dingy white, brown-streaked bird. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 181 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnup- tial moult in August. Differs very little from first winter dress. The wings and tail will average darker with more yellow and the wing coverts have less buff and often a tinge of yellow. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. Females have plumages and moults corresponding to those of the males. They are indistinguishable from them in natal down and Juvenal plumage except that the extent and in- tensity of the yellow in the wings and tail is less in most speci- mens in juvenal dress. In later plumages this difference holds and besides the birds are usually less heavily streaked and paler than the males. Plectrophenax nivalis (Linn.). SNOWFLAKE 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head mouse-gray streaked faintly on the head, more broadly on the back with dull black. Wings dull black ashy edged, second- aries, basal part of primaries and wing coverts pure white, the tertiaries broadly edged with Prout's-brown. Tail chiefly white, the central rectrices wholly clove-brown the others merely edged with it terminally. Below, dull white, the throat, breast and sides mouse-gray, a brownish wash in the flanks. Bill pin- kish flesh, feet dull black. This description is taken from Greenland specimens. White primary coverts terminally dusky distinguish young males from adults, in which they are wholly white. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postju venal moult early in August in Greenland which involves the body plumage, but apparently not the wings nor the tail. Above, wood-brown often russet tinged, darker on the crown, completely veiling the black basal portions of the dorsal feathers and the white portions of those of the head. Below pure white, a jugular band and the sides russet, its extremi- ties and the auriculars Vandyke-brown. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired chiefly by wear which produces during the breeding season a plumage almost wholly 182 DWIGHT black and white. The feather edgings of the back are grad- ually lost down to the black area, the individual feathers thereby becoming sagittate instead of rounded, while abrasion and fad- ing- remove the browns that conceal the white. I do not find S3 that the black area of any feather corresponds, except approxi- mately, to the points where the bar'bules of adjacent barbs last cross as figured by CHAPMAN ('96) and STONE ('96, pp. 118- 119). I am inclined rather to believe that chemical disintegra- tion proceeds faster in the less pigmented extremities of the barbs which certainly are not provided with heavier barbules at the point where the feather tips cease to break away. Besides wear, there is some renewal of feathers on the chin, throat and sides of the head during February and March, as in many other species, but this perhaps scarcely deserves to be called a moult. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquirecVin Greenland by a com- plete postnuptial moult late in July and in August. The wings and tail are usually blacker than in first winter dress, the edg- ings richer with less brown and more gray, the tertiaries edged with a deeper brown, the primary coverts wholly white ; else- where the brown is paler especially on the crown and jugular band. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired chiefly by wear and partly by moult as in the young bird. Plumage wholly black and white. Female. In Juvenal plumage the female is similar to the male, but with less white on the wings and tail, the greater coverts brown, the primary coverts wholly dusky, and the sec- ondaries with dusky edgings. Subsequent plumages and moults correspond to those of the male. The wings and tail are regu- larly duller, and the white of the wing restricted and mixed with dull black. The chief differential character is found in the feathers of the head and nape which are dull brownish black basal ly. In winter plumages this black is veiled with rich brown, but wear produces a streaked appearance in nuptial plumages. The jugular band is usually faint in females. The characters given distinguish females in any plumage from males, whether adults or young birds. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 183 Calcarius lapponicus (Linn.). LAPLAND LONGSPUR 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head rich buff or clay-color streaked heavily with black. Wings and tail deep clove-brown, tertiaries and greater coverts edged with Mar's-brown, white tipped, lesser coverts with white, primaries and tail with pale cinnamon, outer rectrices terminally bufFy white. Below, dull white, washed with buff across the throat ; the chin, throat and sides streaked with black. Bill and feet of dried skin dusky clay-color. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning in Greenland early in August which involves the body plumage, part of the wing coverts and not the rest of wings nor the tail. Young and old become practically indis- tinguishable in many cases. Similar to the previous plumage. Above, wood-brown and cinnamon streaked with clove-brown, the nape and sides of (neck chestnut concealed by wood -brown edgings ; lesser coverts edged with wood-brown. Median crown stripe super- ciliary line and anterior auriculars buff, posterior auriculars black. Below, white, the feathers everywhere dusky basally, the sides of chin and a crescentic area on the throat jet black veiled almost completely by long white edgings ; the sides and flanks streaked with black. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult beginning in March in the United States which involves the anterior parts of the head, chin and throat. The black feathers of these areas and the creamy white ones of the sides of the head are acquired by moult contrasting with the chestnut collar which is assumed by loss of feather edgings. This moult does not usually extend to the posterior portion of the black throat patch where old black feathers with partly worn-off edg- ings are regularly found. Wear produces a distinctly black and white streaked appearance above with the collar clear chest- nut as if unveiled. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in August. Practically indistinguishable in many cases from first winter dress, but the black on the chin and throat is more extensive, and the colors richer and deeper, especially the wing edgings. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird. 184 D WIGHT Female. The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male, but the black throat patch is never so extensive and usually merely outlined with dull black streaks. The juvenal plumage is indistinguishable from that of the male. The first winter plumage is much veiled and streaked above with clove and cinnamon brown, the nape vinaceous ; below it is white ob- scurely black on the sides of the chin and with a small throat patch, the sides and flanks black streaked. The first nuptial plumage is chiefly the result of wear, a few white feathers being acquired by moult on the chin. The adult winter plumage is like the first winter dress with perhaps more black on the throat. Calcarius ornatus (Towns.). CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above clove-brown, the feathers edged with dull white and wood-brown producing a streaked appearance. Wings, sepia-brown, the primaries terminally dusky, the coverts edged with white forming a band at tips of the greater, which with the tertiaries, secondaries and middle rectrices are edged with pale cinnamon, the primaries with buff; tail largely white, the outer rectrices with only a terminal shaft line of sepia. Bill and feet dusky pinkish buff, becoming darker. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult which involves the body plumage, lesser wing coverts and usually not more of the wings nor the tail. Similar to previous plumage. Above, sepia edged with pale wood-brown concealing black feathers on the crown and chestnut ones on the nape and sides of neck; a partly streaked effect elsewhere. Lesser wing coverts black veiled with whitish edgings. Below, throat and breast black much veiled with buffy white edgings, the chin, flanks and crissum white tinged with buff. Auriculars wood- brown, the posterior ones concealing black ; superciliary line and lores whitish. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult in March which involves chiefly the head and throat. The chin, auriculars and lores are renewed by moult, becoming clay-colored and also part of the black area on the throat and forehead, the rest of it becoming black by loss of the feather edgings. The black portion of the auriculars and the chestnut collar is exposed by wear, the superciliary line becoming whiter, PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 185 the abdomen paler and the back more distinctly streaked by the same influence. There are few species in which the same color, black, is produced by moult and by wear, but this one illustrates it beautifully and the lines of demarcation between old and new feathers vary according to the individual. When only part of the chin is renewed by moult, the clay-color may be divided from the black by a white band of worn faded feathers. Young and old become practically indistinguishable. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Differs from the first winter dress chiefly in the larger areas of black, which often include the chin, and in the richer darker colors especially wing edgings. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird. Female. The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male from which the female is first distinguishable in first winter plumage which is plain wood-brown streaked everywhere with clove-brown, the wing coverts and tertiaries with whitish edgings. The prenuptial moult is limited and in later plumages very little if any of the black throat of the male is acquired. Poocsetes gramineus (GmeL). VESPER SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head, wings and tail clove-brown, the effect, streaked owing to the body feathers and wing coverts being dark centrally, bordered with buffy, grayish and whitish edgings. The edgings of the tertiaries and the lesser coverts ("shoulders") are Mar's-brown, those of the greater coverts paler and the feathers tipped with white, those of the secondaries still paler, those of the outer primaries and rectrices dull white ; the outer rectrix largely white. Below, clingy white streaked with clove-brown, heaviest on the jugulum, merely flecked on chin and crissum. Feet and bill pinkish buff darkening little with age. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning the latter half of August which involves the body plumage but not the wings nor the tail, young becoming practically indistinguishable from adults. 186 DWIGHT Similar to the previous plumage. Above, sepia-brown streaked with clove-brown and tinged with walnut. Below, dull white, clearer on the chin, washed on throat and sides with pinkish buff and streaked broadly on throat and sides with clove-brown, walnut tinged and veiled with whitish or buffy edgings ; the chin flecked ; the breast, abdomen and crissum white. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is marked and produces a brown-streaked plumage. The buffs and browns are largely lost. A few new feathers may be assumed about the chin in spring, but there is no evidence of a moult. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning in mid-August. Practically indistin- guishable from first winter dress, sometimes paler below, the tertiary edgings rather darker. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are practically alike in all plumages, although the colors will average duller in the female, and the moults are the same. Ammodramus princeps (Mayn.). IPSWICH SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, buff, palest on the back, streaked narrowly on. the pileum, nape and rump, and broadly on the back with deep clove-brown. Below, pale yellowish buff, palest on chin, abdomen and crissum ; narrowly streaked on sides of throat, across jugulum, on sides, flanks and thighs with clove-brown. Wings and tail clove-brown the quills and coverts with whitish or pale cinnamon edgings, be- coming russet on the tertiaries the proximal one white edged. Bill and feet pinkish buff, the former becoming dusky, the latter slightly browner with age. This description is based upon nine specimens in my collection taken on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, in July and August. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult in August which involves the body plumage, and ap- parently the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail, young and old becoming practically indistinguishable. Similar to the previous plumage. Above, chiefly drab-gray which edges feathers clove-brown centrally bordered by a zone of Vandyke-brown so that the streak- ing above is suffused. The nape and median crown stripe are yellowish. The PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 187 edgings of the wing coverts, secondaries and tertiaries are of a vinaceous cin- namon which rapidly fades. Below, white, buff tinged on sides of head, across throat and on sides, streaked on sides of chin, across jugulum and on sides and flanks with russet bordered by clove-brown which is veiled by overlapping whitish feather edgings. Superciliary line ashy gray. No yellow above the eye. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves the head, throat, and part of the breast, and a few stray feathers of the other tracts but neither the wings nor the tail. The chin and throat become whiter, the streakings on them darker and the yellow of the superciliary line is ac- quired. Elsewhere the buffy tints fade out and the streakings become more prominent owing to the abrasion which exposes the darker colors beneath the veiling. The prenuptial moult begins in February lasting through March in the vicinity of New York city, young birds and old becoming practically indistin- guishable. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in August. Indistinguishable with certainty from first winter dress but usually grayer or more hoary above, the russet deeper on trie wings and everywhere less suffused with buff. Some specimens are tinged with yellow above the eye. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are practically indistinguishable although females will average rather browner and duller ; and the moults are identical, the prenuptial of the female however more limited than that of the male. Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna (Wils.). SAVANNA SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Similar in pattern and coloration to A. princeps, but everywhere darker. Above clay-color or deep buff prevails with dark streaking, darkest on pileum ; the wing feather edgings are darker than those of princeps the secondaries and ter- tiaries being walnut-brown. Below, and to a certain extent above, and about the head, a buff suffusion replaces the paler yellowish tints of princeps. 188 DWIGHT 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning early in August, which involves the body plum- age, and the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Young and old become practically indistinguishable, the young usually with more buff tints. Similar to A. princeps, but dark brown 'instead of gray prevailing above, the crown, back and wing edgings much darker. Below with more buff on the throat and about the head, the streakings decidedly broader and blacker. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult in March and April which involves the head, throat, breast, often the anterior part of the back, the tertiaries and stray feathers elsewhere even on the thighs, the abdomen, the lumbar tracts and the tail coverts, but not the remiges nor rectrices. The bufify winter tints are replaced by grayish ones and the yellow of the superciliary line is acquired. Wear is soon marked. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in August. Differs little from first winter plum- age, the buffiness less pronounced and the tertiary edgings a deeper brown. Superciliary line sometimes tinged with yellow. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenup- tial moult as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are practically indistinguishable, although usually, the yellow of the superciliary line is less bright in the female and there is more buffy suffusion. Ammodramus savannarum passerinus (Wils.). GRASSHOPPER SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, mottled and streaked with olive-brown, the edgings of the nape and median crown stripe grayish, those of the back and rump buffy, the scapularies tipped with spots of russet. Wings and tail olive-brown, edged with wood-brown or pale cinnamon, the wing coverts and tertiaries tipped with white. The central rectrices have a peculiar fused barring along the shafts. Below, white, streaked across the jugulum and faintly on the sides with olive-brown. Edge of wing white or faintly yellow. Bill and feet pinkish buff, the former becoming dusky, the latter deep brown when' older, and dull ochre-yellow in dried skins. (Plate II, fig. 1, shows a new tertiary of this plumage.) PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 189 This plumage is worn a long time and is much frayed and faded when the postju venal moult begins about the middle of August. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult in August. The pattern of nearly all the feathers is changed from that of the Juvenal plumage, the streaking of the pectoral band being lost, the barring of the tail replaced by uniform brown, and the plain brown tertiaries acquiring apical sepia-brown spots. (Plate II, fig. 2, shows a tertiary of this plumage and fig. 3 the effect of wear upon it. ) The feathers of the back are black with apical chestnut spots edged with pearl-gray ; the nape lacks most of the black, and the pileum most of the gray, of the previous plumage. The median crown stripe and the edgings of the tertiaries and wing coverts are rich buff, of the wing quills and tail olive-gray, the bend of the wing bright lemon. The wings and tail are darker. Below, including sides of head and superciliary line, rich buff, deepest on jugulum, very obscurely streaked with pale cinnamon, the middle of the abdomen pure white. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult at the south in April, which involves chiefly the chin, sides of head and crown and a few scattering feathers of the other tracts ; but not the wings nor the tail. The yellow superciliary" spot is acquired. Wear is more marked than is the slight moult, which perhaps does not deserve the name, fading removing a large part of the buff tints and abrasion fraying the feathers, so that by the end of the breeding season even the terminal spots of the tertiaries become gouged out as shown on plater II, fig. 3. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Differs veiy little from first winter dress, the buff less obvious and the colors deeper. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired apparently by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are practically indistinguishable and have corresponding moults and plumages. Ammodramus henslowii (Aud.). HENSLOW'S SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. Smoke-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above clay -color, streaked on head and back with black, the feathers with rounded 190 DWIGHT central spots bordered with the clay-color. Wings and tail clove-brown edged with clay-color, secondaries and tertiaries with russet, alulae with white. Be- low, faint primrose-yellow, buffy on chin and throat, unstieaked or an occas- sional streak at sides of throat. Bill and feet of dried skin raw umber brown sometimes dusky and paler in spring specimens. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult so far as may be judged from limited material for comparison. Pileum and nape yellowish olive-buff, lateral crown stripes and flecking of nape black ; back chestnut, streaked with black the edgings pearl gray ; rump tawny olive veiling black streaks. Below, dull w r hite washed on sides of head, breast, flanks and on crissum with clay-color, a jugular band of narrow black streaks which extend broader on the flanks. Orbital ring pearl-gray. Wings and tail darker than in previous plumage, the edgings largely russet or chestnut, the alulae edged with drab. The tail is darker, the dusky stripes along the shafts bordered with chestnut. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired probably by a partial prenuptial moult confined chiefly to the head and chin. In species so much affected by wear it is not easy to be sure of a moult without specimens which actually show it. The freshness of many feathers in spring indicate it. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter, usually whiter below, of a greener tint about the head and the edgings of the back grayer. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired probably by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are practically indistinguishable, and the moults correspond. Ammodramus caudacutus (Gmel.). SHARP-TAILED SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. Grayish wood-brown. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Everywhere rich buff brightest on superciliary and malar stripes and on jugulum ; the back broadly, the jugulum and sides narrowly streaked with clove-brown. Crown and wings nearly black, wing coverts and tertiaries broadly edged with ochraceous buff, the secondaries with russet, the primaries and their coverts with greenish tinged olive-gray, the alulae with white. Tail olive-brown with PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 191 clove-brown shaft streaks and indistinct barring. Auriculars dusky. Bill and feet pinkish buff the former becoming dusky, the latter sepia-brown with age. This plumage is worn from June to September when the post- ju venal moult takes place in worn and faded birds. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult during September and early October which involves almost the entire plumage except the primaries, their coverts, and the secondaries, and apparently these also in some vigorous individuals. Unlike the previous plumage ; the upper parts resembling A. mantnius. Above, dull brownish olive-green, an orange tinged patch on the nape, the feathers of the back edged with pearl and cinereous gray, the crown rich sepia faintly streaked with clove-brown, an indistinct median stripe cinereous gray. The tertiaries are edged with buff, the secondaries and greater coverts with russet, the lesser coverts with olive-yellow ; the edge of the wing is bright lemon-yellow. The new tail has more olive and is less barred than the old. Below, dull white washed on chin, across jugulum and on sides, flanks and crissum with ochra- ceous buff, superciliary and malar stripes deeper buff; streaked on jugulum, sides and crissum with clove-brown veiled by overlapping feather edgings. Auriculars cinereous. The buff everywhere fades rapidly and abrasion is soon marked bringing the throat streaking into prominence. Birds become much grayer above and much whiter below by fading and by actual loss of the veiling feather tips. Several albinistic speci- mens in my collection are in this plumage mottled with white. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete prenup- tial moult which occurs in March and April. I have seen sev- eral specimens with the remiges partly grown, but this is usually accomplished before the birds reach us although many show renewal in the body feathers. A careful examination under the glass shows that birds in May are in as fresh plumage even to the wings and tail as when they leave us late in October and November and it would be safe to infer a moult even if there were no actual proof of it. Wear soon produces a faded ragged bird dull brown above and dingy white below with dull streaks, only the superciliary and malar stripes showing any buff. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning late in August. Practically indistin- guishable from first winter dress the colors averaging richer. 192 DWIGHT 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete pre- nuptial moult as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are practically indistinguishable and the moults identical. Ammodramus caudacutus nelsoni Allen. NELSON'S SPARROW Ammodramus caudacutus subvirgatus Dwight. ACADIAN SHARP-TAILED SPARROW The plumages and moults of these two races correspond ex- actly to those of A. caudacutus. I have indicated their differences of plumage in another paper (Auk, XIII, 1896, pp. 271-278) and need only add that all these birds undoubtedly have two complete moults every year, judging by a large amount of ma- terial illustrating all plumages except the natal and Juvenal of A. c. nelsoni which is unknown in collections. Ammodramus maritimus (Wils.). SEASIDE SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head and the tail, olive-brown narrowly streaked on pileum, nape and upper tail coverts and more broadly on the back with clove- brown. Wings dull black, primaries edged with olive-gray, secondaries with russet, coverts and tertiaries with buff, alulae with white. Below, dull white washed with buff on sides of chin, on jugulum, along the flanks and on crissum and narrowly streaked on jugulum and along the sides with clove- brown. The supraloral space is greenish. Bill and feet pinkish flesh, the former becoming slaty and the latter sepia-brown. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult beginning the latter part of August when the juvenal plumage has become worn and faded as a result of fully two months' wear. Young and old become indistinguishable. Unlike the previous plumage, less definitely streaked. Above, including sides of head, wings and tail olive-green, pileum and back cinereous from the olive and pearl-gray edgings, median crown stripe pure cinereous gray bordered by two lateral stripes of olive-green obscurely streaked with black. The primaries are edged with olive-green, the outer with white, the secondaries, tertiaries and greater coverts with rich russet, the lesser with olive-yellow, the alulae with whi'e. The edge of the wing is bright lemon and a yellow spot is acquired in PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 193 the supraloral space, the superciliary line greenish. Below, dull white washed across jugulum, on sides and crissum with buff, and broadly and rather indis- tinctly streaked (except on chin and mid-abdomen which are pure white) with olive-gray. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. The plumage of these birds when they reach the latitude of New York in May is already ragged, and by the end of the breeding season the feathers are in shreds, the plumage becoming a dingy brown above and a mottled gray below the only distinctive markings being a dirty white chin and yellow supraloral spots. The tat- tered condition of this species illustrates how unfortunate it is to base specific descriptions on breeding plumages. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning in mid-August. The fresh plumage assumed is in sharp contrast to the ragged one doffed and differs very little from first winter except in the richness of the tints, being a trifle darker and grayer with less buff. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. It is rather surprising that a species living in the same environment as A. caudacutus and suffering equally from abrasion due to coarse marsh grasses and reeds should have but one moult in the year, while the latter has two. Female. The plumages and moults are identical, the colors .averaging somewhat duller. Chondestes grammacus (Say). LARK SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, deep olive-brown, including wings and tail, the feathers edged with pale buff and dull white, producing a streaked effect on the back and head ; the greater coverts are edged with buff, the primaries and secondaries with pale vinaceous cinnamon, an area of this color at the bases of the primaries forming a spot beneath their coverts ; the rectrices broadly tipped with white. Below, dull white, the chin, throat, breast and sides flecked and streaked with deep olive-brown. Superciliary stripes pale buff flecked with dull black ; suborbital region white ; loral and rictal streaks and posterior auriculars black ; anterior auriculars sepia-brown. Bill and feet pinkish buff, the upper mandible be- coming dusky, the lower, and the feet dull clay-color. ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. Sci., XIII, Sept. 7, 1900 13 194 DWIGHT 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult beginning in Kansas the middle of July, young and old becoming practically indistinguishable. Similar to previous plumage, but unstreaked below. Above, wood-brown, streaked with black, the pileum laterally chestnut, anteriorly black, divided by a buff median stripe, palest anteriorly. Wings and tail deep clove-brown, with cin- namon edgings deepest on the tertiaries, palest on the indistinct wing bands. Below, white, washed with wood-brown on sides, flanks and crissum, the sides of the chin and a central spot on the throat, with rictal and loral streaks, black ; auriculars largely chestnut ; malar, suborbital and superciliary stripes white, the latter buff tinged. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult in March which involves the anterior parts of the head, the chin and throat. This renewal supplies fresh feathers similar to those they replace and the line of demarcation is obvious on the throat by contrast of the clear white feathers next the old, and only less obvious on the head. The chestnut of the auricu- lars seems to be richer and the superciliary line whiter. Wear, which is marked in this species, removes much of the wing edg- ings, and the spot at the base of the primaries fades where un- protected by their coverts. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnup- tial moult in July in Kansas. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress, the colors, especially of edgings, averaging deeper. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird. As all available spring specimens appear to show fresh feathers, semiannual moult in both old and young is the natural inference. Female. The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male. The Juvenal plumage is indistinguishable from the male. The first winter plumage is rather duller and the au- riculars less distinctly chestnut. In later plumages the sexes are practically alike. Zonotrichia leucophrys (Forst). WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 195 Similar to Z. albicollis but with paler brown on the lateral crown stripes, paler edg- ings, lack of chestnut and less heavily streaked below with duller black. Above sepia-brown streaked with black the edgings of the back pale buff, the central crown stripe and indistinct superciliary lines dingy white. Below, grayish white, faintly washed with wood-brown on breast, sides and crissum- streaked on throat, breast, sides and flanks with dull black. Wings and tail deep olive-brown edged with Mar's-brown, the coverts and inner tertiary tipped with pale buff. Auriculars grayish. Feet clay-color and bill slaty in dried skin. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult, probably in August on its breeding grounds, which ap- parently involves the body plumage and the wing coverts partly but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Above bistre, this effect from broad Vandyke-brown stripes which are chestnut lat- erally and bordered with wood-brown ; median crown stripe wood- brown bor- dered by burnt-umber stripes. (A few black feathers on the crown stripes are occasionally acquired. ) Wing coverts and tertiaries clove-brown edged with Vandyke -brown or russet and tipped with yellowish white forming two wing bands. Below, including sides of neck pale smoke gray nearly white on chin and abdomen and washed on flanks and crissum with wood-brown. Auriculars wood-brown. Indistinct superciliary line dull buffy gray. The bill is pinkish buff, drying darker. The feet dull flesh color. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult beginning the end of March which involves chiefly the head and chin and a few scattering feathers elsewhere. The black and white crown is assumed which soon shows nearly as much wear as the rest of the plumage. This becomes grayer and the stripes clearer. Old and young become practically indis- tinguishable. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Differs from first winter dress in having a black and white crown, lacking buff about the auriculars and being everywhere grayer and scarcely different from nuptial dress. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired apparently by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird. This dress differs so very little from the adult winter that perhaps there is no regular prenuptial moult in adults ; but occasional new feathers are to be found and unless more material proves the contrary there is reason for believing in the moult. Female. The female has corresponding plumages and moults and is practically indistinguishable from the male in all plum- 196 D WIGHT ages, acquiring the black and white crown at the first prenuptial mo ult. Zonotrichia albicollis (Gmel.). WHITE-THROATED SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. Pale clove-brown. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, chestnut-brown, darkest on the head, streaked with dull black, median line and superciliary line olive-gray buff tinged, the feathers of the back edged with buff. Wings and tail deep olive-brown, the coverts and tertiaries chestnut edged and buff tipped, the secondaries and rectrices edged with paler brown, the primaries with brownish white ; edge of wing white. Below, dull white, washed with buff on throat and sides and thickly streaked with clove-brown, the whiter chin merely flecked, the abdomen and crissum unmarked. Bill slaty brown, feet pinkish buff, both darker when older. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult, beginning in eastern Canada early in August, which in- volves the body plumage and wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Unlike previous plumage except above. The back is more broadly striped and edged with buff, the crown nearly black divided by a dull brownish or olive- gray median line. Superciliary line dull white buff tinged, lemon-yellow an- teriorly ; edge of wing pale yellow. Below, the chin is pure white with black rictal and submalar streaks, the throat and breast ashy gray obscurely vermicu- lated with clove-brown, a darker concealed central breast spot. Abdomen white, the flanks and crissum washed with wood-brown and duskily streaked. The more precocious young birds become indistinguishable from adults, and tlgere is great individual variation among them, the whiteness of the chin patch, the grayness of the throat, and the black and white of the crown showing all degrees of in- tensity. As a rule, however, young birds are browner with duller crown stripes and less purely gray breasts. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult during April which involves more or less of the body plumage, but usually confined chiefly to the head, throat and breast and not involving the wings and tail. The black crown and the postocular streak with pure white median and supercil- iary stripes and bright yellow supraloral spot are acquired above ; the white chin bordered by clear cinereous gray being the chief feature below. The breast spot and vermiculation are lost if in- PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 197 volved by the moult, but frequently they are not reached, nor is the posterior part of the crown nor the back and rump in most cases. In some birds the moult seems to be almost wholly sup- pressed and they breed in worn autumnal dress. Young and old as a rule now become practically indistinguishable. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in August. Differs from first winter in being of a clearer gray on the throat with less buff and the vermiculations more obscure, the crown and superciliary stripes whiter. The breast spot is less obvious. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves the same areas as in the young bird, and produces a similar plumage richer with age and grayer on the throat. As all spring specimens show signs of moult it is prob- ably that both old and young moult twice a year. It is impos- sible to tell them apart in every case in the spring, and hence the difficulty in affirming a double moult after the first year. Female. The plumages and moults of the female correspond to those of the male. In Juvenal plumage males and females are indistinguishable ; in first winter plumage females usually have much paler brown crown stripes, the gray of the breast brownish and streaked rather than vermiculated. The pre- nuptial moult may be almost wholly suppressed in young birds or so extensive that they assume the same first nuptial plumage as the male. Older, the sexes are practically indistinguishable, females probably averaging duller in general color. Spizella monticola (GmeL). TREE SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, streaked with sepia and clove-brown with tinges of chestnut on crown and back. Wings and tail, deep olive-brown edged with grayish white, the coverts and tertiaries with pale buff. Below dull white, grayish on the throat, yellow- ish on abdomen and crissum, the sides washed with pale cinnamon, streaked (except on abdomen and crissum) with dull black. Bill and feet dull sepia- brown in dried specimens. Description from a bird taken August 3 I st in Labrador. 198 DWIGHT 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postju venal moult in August in Labrador which involves the body plumage but apparently not the wings nor the tail, young and old becom- ing indistinguishable. Pileum chestnut, faintly edged in median line with buff, feathers of back black bordered with zone of chestnut, the edgings rich buff, rump Isabella- color, often grayish. White wing bands, the greater coverts and tertiaries ( white tipped) are edged with chestnut, the lesser wing coverts wholly olive-gray. Below, dull white, the chin, throat, breast, sides of head and neck and super- ciliary line pale French-gray, the sides washed with wood-brown, a conspicuous clove-brown central breast spot. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, the burl edgings of the back becoming grayish and the chestnut every- where slightly paler. New feathers regularly grow on the chin in March but apparently not in the other tracts and their ap- pearance indicates, as in some other species, renewal rather than moult, for they are very few in numbers. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult and indistinguishable from first winter dress. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are indistinguishable and the moults are the same. Spizella socialis (Wils.). CHIPPING SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. Mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, wood-brown, grayish on nape and rump, heavily streaked with dull black, faintly tinged on scapularies and crown with chestnut. Wings and tail dull black, rectrices and primaries ashy edged, the secondaries and tertiaries chestnut edged, wing coverts and tertiaries terminally edged with buff. Ill-defined superciliary stripe, dull grayish white spotted with black. Auriculars wood- brown. Dusky loral and postocular streak. Below, white, streaked except on abdomen and crissum, with dull black. Bill and feet pinkish buff, the former growing dusky and the latter wood -brown with age. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning the middle of August, which involves the body plumage, and the wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 199 Similar above to the previous plumage, but with the chestnut crown veiled with buff edgings and narrowly streaked with black. Below, uniform grayish white, un- streaked, washed with buff on throat and sides. Superciliary line dull white buff tinged. Loral, postocular and indistinct submalar streaks black. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult in March and April, which involves chiefly the forehead, crown, sides of head, chin and throat, little else of the body plumage, and not the wings nor the tail. The chestnut crown, bordered by the white superciliary lines, the white chin and the adjacent cinereous gray are acquired by moult, abrasion bringing the streaking of the back into prominence, the buff and chestnut everywhere paler from gradual fading. Young and old become practically indistinguishable. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning in mid-August. Indistinguishable in many cases from first winter dress, the tertiaries usually chestnut edged to their tips, not buff, the greater coverts more often white tipped, less buff about the head ; the grays and chestnuts gen- erally richer, and somewhat less streaking on the crown. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenup- tial moult as in the young bird. The line of demarcation be- tween old and new feathers can be made out in all birds in the spring and summer, and all the new crown feathers are chestnut without the terminal black spot characteristic of the winter plumage, therefore, the prenuptial moult must occur regularly in adults as well as young. Female. The sexes are practically alike in all plumages, and the moults are similar, the prenuptial being more limited. The first winter plumage is usually more washed below with brown, the chin with more dusky edgings and the crown is less dis- tinctly chestnut and more streaked, these streaks more frequently remaining posteriorly than in the male after the prenuptial moult. Spizella pusilla (Wils.). FIELD SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. Mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. 200 DWIGHT Resembles S. soa'atis, but the crown practically unstreaked and the streaking below duller and restricted to throat and sides ; the loral and postocular streaks are lacking, the wing edgings are richer and deeper ; and the lower parts are washed with pale buff or brown. The orbital ring is not conspicuous. The upper mandible is usually paler than in S. socialis. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult, beginning early in September, which involves the body plumage, and the wing coverts but not usually the rest of the wings nor the tail, although the middle pair of rectrices is oc- casionally renewed. Old and young becoming practically indis- tinguishable. Above, including auriculars, walnut-brown, a faint grayish median crown stripe, the back streaked with black, the edgings buff or pale cinnamon ; rump hair- brown. Orbital region and sides of neck ashy, the orbital ring conspicuously buff. Below dull white, jugular band and sides washed with pale cinnamon. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. All the cinnamon below is lost except a faint pectoral band, the sides of the head and neck become clear ashy, and the upper parts bright hazel with whitish edgings on the back, the wing bands white. There is some renewal of feathers on the chin in April but apparently not enough to deserve the name of a moult. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning late in August. Practically indistin- guishable from first winter. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male, the sexes being practically indistinguishable. Junco hyemalis (Linn.). SLATE-COLORED JUNCO 1. NATAL DOWN. Slate-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, drab, plumbeous on crown ; sides of head and nape streaked with dull black, the feathers especially of the back edged with bistre. Wings and tail slaty black edged with olive-gray, the tertiaries and wing coverts with dull cinnamon, the greater coverts tipped with buff Two outer rectrices pure white. Feet pinkish buff, dusky when older. Bill dusky pinkish buff, flesh-color when older and in dried specimens becoming dull ochre-yellow. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 201 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult in August and September, which involves the body plum- age and the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Above, including wing coverts, sides of head, throat, breast and sides slaty gray, darkest on the crown and veiled with bistre edgings, especially on the back, more faintly with paler brown or ashy gray on the throat. Abdomen and cris- sum pure white, sometimes faintly washed with vinaceous cinnamon. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear through which the brown and ashy edgings are finally lost, birds becoming ragged but not much faded by the end of the breeding season. A few new feathers are acquired on the chin early in April, but no regular moult is indicated. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning the middle of August. Practically in- distinguishable from first winter, but the tertiaries usually edged with gray instead of faded cinnamon, the wings and tail blacker and showing everywhere fewer brown edgings. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in first nuptial from which practically indistinguishable. Female. In natal down and Juvenal plumage not distinguish- able from the male. The moults are the same. The first winter plumage is similar to that of the male, but the gray much paler and everywhere the plumage more veiled with brown. The adult winter plumage is grayer than the first winter dress and resembles the young male at like season, but is much browner with the gray paler. Melospiza fasciata (Gmel.). SONG SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. Sepia-brown. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Resembles Z. albicollis, but lacks chestnut above, paler on crown and less streaked below. Above, including sides of head, wood-brown or sepia broadly striped on back, nar- rowly on crown, nape and rump with dull black, the feathers centrally black with a narrow zone of walnut and wood-brown and grayish edgings. Indistinct median crown and superciliary stripes dull olive-gray with dusky shaft streaks. 202 DWIGHT Rictal and submalar streaks black ; orbital ring buff. Wings dull black with walnut edgings, the wing coverts and tertiaries buff tipped. Tail olive-brown broadly edged with walnut and indistinctly barred. Below, dull white washed with pale or yellowish buff deepest on the throat and flanks and streaked on sides of chin, throat, breast and sides with dull black. Feet and bill pinkish flesh, becoming dusky with age, the lower mandible remaining partly flesh-color. Twenty-seven specimens in this plumage show a good deal of individual variation in the yellowness of the lower parts and the amount of streaking. This plumage is worn several months and fades considerably. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial, sometimes complete, postjuvenal moult during August, September and October which involves the body plumage and the tail and very often, part at least, of the remiges. The renewal of five or six outer primaries occurs in nearly all young birds of this species and is very likely characteristic of the first brood. Tlrs fact throws light on the moult of the Indigo Bunting (Passcrina cyctnca) and some others which have this peculiarity. The secondaries are rarely found in moult, the terti'aries, alulae and wing coverts regularly so. I have a series of eighty-one birds at this stage, besides the twenty-seven in Juvenal dress, showing all stages of the postjuvenal moult. With a few specimens only the renewal of primaries, secondaries and even of rectrices, might easily be overlooked as the new feathers are nearly of the same pattern and color as the old and not in contrast as with the Indigo Bunt- ing. My large series shows that the postjuvenal moult begins in some birds, presumably those of first broods, by the middle of August while others may show no signs of moult before the last of September. The middle of September will find the former in full first winter dress, while the latter will still show new feather growth late in October or even November. It is worth noting that the whole period of moult does not cover much over two months in the great majority of cases. This plumage resembles the previous, but is whiter below and richer in chestnut streakings both above and below. The lateral crown stripes are distinct with black streaks, the median and superciliary stripes distinctly olive-gray. Below, white washed with pale vinaceous cinnamon on sides of head, across jugulum and on sides, and streaked, except on chin and mid-abdomen, with clove-brown bordered with chestnut, the streaks becoming confluent at sides of chin and on mid- throat forming three nearly black spots. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 203 Old and young become absolutely indistinguishable in most cases, young birds with the wing edgings perhaps a trifle duller and with a yellowish tinge. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired 'by wear which is marked and by the end of the breeding season the birds are in tatters. The buff is lost and the streaking below comes out in strong contrast on a white ground. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning usually about the middle of August and completed before the end of September. Old and young can- not be told apart with any certainty, adults however with wing edgings that may perhaps average darker and browner and the throat markings blacker. My series of twenty-three moulting adults shows that age can only be determined with certainty by osteological characters. t 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird with the same results. Females. The sexes are practically alike and the moults identical. In first winter plumage females are apt to be more washed with brown or to have a yellowish cast when compared with males in like dress. Females average later in their moult than males. I have one taken September 22d that has little more than begun the postnuptial moult. Melospiza lincolnii (Aud.). LINCOLN'S SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Similar to M. fasciafa, the wings and tail, especially the edgings and the crown, a little darker ; but not so dark as M. georgiana and the chin faintly streaked. Above, wood-brown the crown Mar's-brown divided by an indistinct dull olive- gray median line, streaked with black. Wings and tail black edged chiefly with Mar's-brown, the wing coverts and tertiaries with wood-brown. Below, white faintly yellow tinged, washed with pale buff" across throat and on sides, flanks and crissum, and streaked with black except on the abdomen, the chin also flecked. Superciliary stripe indistinct and dull olive-gray with dusky shaft streaks. Bill and feet pinkish buff becoming dusky and drying to a dull clay- color, the upper mandible slaty. 204 DWIGHT The description is from two specimens secured by me in New Brunswick, Canada, July I2th, with tails about one-third grown. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult in August in eastern Canada which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Extremely like the previous plumage but with a greenish tinge above, the edgings and median crown stripe paler. Below, whiter, the throat band deep pinkish buff, a like tint on the malar bands which are bordered by black rictal and submalar streaks, the sides, flanks and crissum grayer buff. The streaking s below are narrow and black, merely flecking the white chin and not reaching the white of the breast and abdomen. The superciliary line is deep olive-buff extending on the sides of the neck. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which produces very little effect. Birds become slightly grayer and of a paler brown above and the streakings below are a little more promi- nent, the buff fading a little. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in August. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress, the tertiary edgings perhaps darker and all the colors richer. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are practically indistinguishable in all plumages, and the moults are the same in both sexes. Melospiza georgiana (Lath.). SWAMP SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. Sepia-brown. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Similar to M. fasdata but darker especially on the crown, more washed with buff below and more narrowly streaked with deeper black on the throat. Above, cinnamon-brown, dull chestnut on the crown, streaked with black. No ob- vious median crown stripe. Superciliary line olive-gray duskily spotted. Wings and tail black, edged largely with chestnut, the wing coverts and ter- tiaries paler. Below, dull yellowish white washed with deep buff on sides of chin, across jugulum, on sides, flanks and crissum and narrowly streaked with black except on the chin and mid-abdomen. Bill and feet pinkish buff, the former becoming dusky, the latter sepia-brown. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 205 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning the end of August which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts, but usually not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Above, similar to the previous plumage, the back and the lateral crown stripes show- ing more chestnut ; a grayish nuchal band. Below, unlike previous plumage, grayish white, cinereous on throat obscurely streaked with a darker gray, washed on the flanks and often on the breast with olivaceous wood-brown ob- scurely streaked or spotted with clove-brown. Rictal and submalar streaks black bordering a grayish or yellow tinged chin. Superciliary line clear olive-gray or yellow tinged ; postocular streak black ; auriculars bistre. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves chiefly the crown, chin and throat, but not the wings nor the tail. The amount of renewal varies accord- ing to individual, and may be quite extensive ; a few feathers of most of the body tracts are usually renewed. Early April specimens from the south show the prenuptial moult in progress. The chestnut cap with black forehead, white chin, and clear cin- ereous gray of the throat, sides of head and neck are assumed, and a nearly complete renewal is indicated in some cases judg- ing by the freshness of the feather borders. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in August and September. Practically indistin- guishable in many cases from first winter, but usually with more chestnut on the crown, the superciliary line and sides of neck a clearer darker gray, the chin not yellow tinged but white and a grayer cast of plumage everywhere perceptible. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenup- tial moult as in the young bird. It seems to me that unless the crown feathers are renewed by moult, more specimens would show the black terminal spot which on feathers of the winter plumage reaches to the forking of the first pair of barbs. It is not an easy point to determine in species showing great wear, although the line of demarcation between areas of old and new feathers is usually marked. Female. The sexes are practically indistinguishable in all plumages, but the female is usually duller and browner, the crown with less chestnut and more streaked especially in the autumn. The prenuptial moult is more limited. 206 DWIGHT Passer ella iliaca (Merr.). Fox SPARROW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired no doubt by a complete post- natal moult. I have been unable to obtain any specimens at this stage, but judging by P. iliaca unalaschensis the plumage probably resembles the first winter dress, being browner with paler edgings and more streaks above, and darker with heavier dusky streaking below. The wings and tail (as seen in the next plumage) are clove-brown with walnut-brown edgings, the wing coverts probably with more buff than in first winter plumage. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postju venal moult which involves the body plumage and wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Above, olive-brown, streaked broadly with burnt-umber, the wing coverts walnut- brown, darker on inner webs and tipped faintly with pale buff. Below white, the sides of the chin, the breast, the sides and flanks broadly streaked with walnut-brown, the streaks coalescing on the sides of the chin and mid-throat ; the anterior part of the abdomen with dusky spots. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which produces slight changes. A few new feathers are usually acquired about the chin in March, possibly the beginning of a more extensive moult. My latest spring specimen is April 8th. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are alike and the moults correspond al- though females may average duller in colors. Pipilo erythrophthalmus (Linn.). TOWHEE 1. NATAL DOWN. Pale clove-brown. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head, cinnamon-brown (often darker) somewhat ob- scurely striped, broadly on the back, more narrowly on the crown, with deep PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 207 olive-brown. Wings dull black, the primaries with edgings and a patch at their bases white, the tertiaries with broad edgings of buff and walnut-brown, the innermost white edged, the wing coverts with buff or pale cinnamon edg- ings. Tail deeper black than the wings, the three outer rectrices with sub- terminal areas of white. Below, dull white, strongly washed with buff or pale yellow, cinnamon tinged on breast, flanks and crissum, and streaked on the throat and sides with dull black. Bill and feet pinkish buff, the former becom- ing slaty black, the latter dusky sepia-brown. Iris, sepia-brown becoming deep red during the winter. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult, beginning the middle of August, which involves the body plumage, the wing coverts, the tertiaries and the tail but not the primaries, their coverts, and the secondaries. Young and old become almost indistinguishable except by the browner primary coverts of the young birds. Whole head, throat, breast, back, rump, wing coverts and tertiaries jet black ; ab- domen pure white, the sides and flanks rich chestnut, the crissum cinnamon. The upper tail coverts are usually edged with cinnamon and the back sometimes has obscure Vandyke-brown edgings. The tertiary endings are pale buff with walnut, those of the inner tertiary nearly white. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is marked by the end of the breeding season producing a ragged plumage, but the black areas do not fade perceptibly and the chestnut flanks fade but very little. The brown primary coverts are the distin- guishing feature of young birds. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning early in August. Differs from first winter dress chiefly in the blacker wings, especially the primary coverts and deeper wing edgings. Old and young now become indistinguishable. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear and differ- ing from first nuptial by black instead of brown primary coverts. A few feathers may be assumed by moult on the chin and else- where, but they are insignificant in numbers. Female. In juvenal plumage olive- brown wings and tail re- place the black ones of the male. The first winter plumage, acquired by a moult of similar extent to that of the male, differs in having the head, back, throat and breast, brown instead of black. Adult and young females cannot be distinguished in this 208 , DWIGHT plumage. The first nuptial is acquired by wear and the adult winter by a complete postnuptial moult. Subsequent plumages do not differ, females never assuming the black areas of the male. Cardinalis cardinalis (Linn.) CARDINAL 1. NATAL Down. Mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, sepia-brown, wings darker and suffused with dull dragon's-blood and brick- red, the tail, crest and forehead largely brick-red, traces of black on lores and chin. Below wood-brown, cinnamon tinged on throat, sides and flanks. Bill and feet pinkish buff assuming when dry a dusky clay-color. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult beginning about the middle of August. The scarlet plumage, practically indistinguishable from the adult, is assumed, but it is usually much veiled with olive-gray. The bill assumes the reddish color of the adult later. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which produces little difference in the color except that the red is more prominent through loss of the gray edgings. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress, but with less veiling, and a reddish bill. Female. The moults and plumages correspond to those of the male, but after the Juvenal plumage, in which the sexes are alike, is put aside, females are distinguishable by their brown- ish dress brightened with dull red. The black of the head is always dull. Habia ludoviciana (Linn.). ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK 1. NATAL Dow^. White. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of the head, olive-brown with cinnamon and whitish edgings. Wings and tail darker, a white area at the base of the primaries, the rectrices faintly buff tipped, the coverts edged with buff forming two nearly white wing bands. Below, pure white usually a few olive-brown streaks on the sides of the chin and throat. Broad superciliary lines and central crown stripe white, buffy tinged. The edge of the wing is of a pale rose-pink ; under wing coverts duller, salmon tinged. Bill and feet pinkish buff becoming dusky. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NE^W YORK 209 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning the middle of August, which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Above, raw umber streaked with clove-brown darkest on the pileum which has a central buff stripe, the feathers white at their bases. Below, ochraceous buff, white on chin and abdomen, streaked on throat, breast and sides with clove- brown ; a geranium-pink area on the jugulum veiled with ochraceous buff. Auriculars sepia bordered with clove-brown. Superciliary stripe and suborbital region white, tinged with buff, the lores grayish buff. The under wing coverts bright geranium-pink, those of the edge of the wing black spotted, the lesser coverts or " shoulders " with a carmine tinge. Two wing bands buff. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult, late in the winter as indicated by South American speci- mens, which involves the body plumage, the tertiaries, most of the wing coverts and the tail, leaving often only the brown and worn primaries, their coverts and the secondaries. Above, including sides of the head and neck, wing coverts, tertiaries and tail, black the body feathers with broad buff or wood-brown edgings, the coverts and tertiaries tipped with white, the three outer rectrices with large white terminal spots. The throat has a large geranium-red or pale crimson patch extending into the chin and down the middle] of the throat. Less vigorous individuals may assume a body plumage largely veiled with brown, a small area of crimson, and only stray rectrices or wing coverts here and there are replaced by black ones. The individual variation is great and all sorts of mixed plumages may be seen, the brown, worn wings and other left- over feathers showing such specimens to be young birds. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult early in August. Easily distinguishable from first winter dress by the jet black wings and tail. Adults are less veiled, the brown deeper and the carmine more extensive often cov- ering the whole throat and breast and invading the abdomen and the crown. A few black spots laterally replace the streaking of the young bird. The wing edgings are whiter than those of the first winter dress. Young and old become practically indistin- guishable except that some of the less vigorous individuals may be deficient in depth of color. ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. Sci., XIII, Oct. i, 1900 14. 210 DWIGHT i 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves the body plumage but not the wings nor the tail. Distinguishable from first nuptial by the black wings and worn tail. The retained tertiaries and secondaries -become much worn and the terminal spots are gradually lost often leav- ing gaps in their place. Female. The female is streaked with brown and possesses salmon-colored or cadmium-yellow under wing coverts in all plumages. In first winter plumage, lacking the pink throat of the male ; the under wing coverts, regularly cadmium-yellow. The nuptial plumages are acquired by wear alone or by a very limited prenuptial moult. Guiraca caerulea (Linn.). BLUE GROSBEAK 1. NATAL DOWN. Brownish mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, bistre, grayish on the rump, russet tinged on the pileum, the feathers with wood-brown or russet edgings. Wings and tail dull clove-brown, with wood- brown edgings, two indistinct wing bands and narrow tipping of the tail buff. Below rich clay-color, pale buff on the chin, abdomen and crissum. Bill and feet dusky pinkish buff becoming darker 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult, beginning early in August, which involves body plumage and wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Similar to the previous plumage the browns everywhere darker and richer especially noticeable on the median wing coverts which become deep hazel, the crissum which becomes cinnamon or dusky-streaked and the lores which are dull sepia- brown. Further material may show that a few blue feathers are as- sumed by some young males, at this moult. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves a variable amount of the brown body plumage and wing coverts, the tail wholly or in part and ap- parently the outer primaries in some cases. A mixture of brown and blue results, the key to the age of a specimen being the re- tained brown primary coverts. The moult must occur in mid- winter judging by the worn condition of spring specimens. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 211 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. The full blue plumage is assumed, veiled with cinnamon feather tips on the head and back, a deeper band across the throat, these edgings very pale elsewhere below. The wings are black with blue edgings, those of the lesser and median coverts rich chestnut, of the greater coverts paler, of the tertiaries still paler ; the tail darker than the wings and with deeper blue edgings, the outer pair of rectrices narrowly tipped with white. The lores are black. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear through which the veiling is usually wholly lost, birds becoming almost com- pletely blue except the wings and tail. The prenuptial moult of the first year is evidently not repeated. Female. The plumages and moults correspond but the female never acquires much blue, remaining in a brown plumage like the male first winter. In first winter plumage the female is pale cinnamon-brown darkest on the head and palest below and on the rump ; the wings and tail deep olive-brown ; the wing bands pale chestnut, the one at tips of greater coverts paler. The first nuptial plumage, assumed almost wholly by wear, is paler, the brown fading. The adult winter plumage usually shows a bluish tint in the wing edgings, the wings and tail being darker than in first winter dress. More mature birds may show blue feathers on the rump, crown, sides of head, sides of throat and across the jugulum but do not often acquire a plumage as bright as that of the male in first nuptial plumage. Passerina cyanea (Linn.). INDIGO BUNTING 1. NATAL DOWN. Brownish mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head, dark sepia-brown, wings darker, the primaries and secondaries edged with pale wood-brown, the coverts and tertiaries with pale cinnamon. Tail pale clove-brown, more or less faintly edged with greenish or glaucous blue. Below, dull white, washed with raw umber-brown on breast, sides and crissum and narrowly streaked with sepia on the breast and sides. Bill and feet pinkish buff, the former becoming dusky, the latter dull black with age. 212 DWIGHT 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning late in August which involves the body plum- age, the 'wing coverts, sometimes the tail and sometimes five or six distal primaries. Similar to previous plumage but with very indistinct streaking and whiter below, and not so brown above. Above, bistre often washed with Mars-brown, the rump and upper tail coverts often dull blue, brown edged, the wing coverts edged with cinnamon or russet, the lesser often with a bluish tinge, the others nearly black, blue tinged. Below, dull white, washed on breast, sides and crissum with wood-brown, often russet tinged and indistinctly streaked with olive-gray. The renewal of the tail and primaries is a fact shown by several specimens in moult and can probably be laid to individual preco- city of southern-bred birds. Mr. Wm. Palmer has loaned me two young birds (Nos. 3283, Sept. i/th, and 3655, Oct. 2d) taken at Washington, D. C., both showing a postjuvenal moult in the rem- iges and rectrices nearly completed, and I have seen a few other similar birds. Dull blue feathers veiled with brown edgings are found spar- ingly on the chin and throats of some specimens, these birds also showing precocity by bluer wing coverts. At this moult the tail and part of the flight feathers sometimes acquire their blue edgings, although this renewal is apt to be deferred till late in the winter. A similar moult takes place in some Song Sparrows (J/. fasciatd) but never deferred till winter. A new body feather and a worn one of this plumage are figured (plate VI, figs. 1 and 2) as they appear under the microscope, but owing to difficulties in reproduction, fig". 2 does not resemble fig. 1 as closely as the feathers themselves resemble each other. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult chiefly in February and March which involves a varying number of body feathers, the tail, five or six of the distal primaries sometimes all (but not their coverts except in some cases the first), most of the wing coverts, the tertiaries and perhaps a stray secondary, less often all of them. Two specimens (U. S. Nat. Mus., Nos. 107844 and 107845) taken March nth in the Bahamas shows actual moult of the body plumage, coverts, pri- maries and tail, the brown primary coverts remaining, and a num- ber of other specimens (many unfortunately without dates on PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 213 the labels) from Central and South America and the West Indies, show abundantly the growth of new feathers, at the prenuptial moult, when the greatest complications of plumage regularly arise, not only in this species but in many others. In precocious individuals the renewal may be nearly complete except usually the primary coverts, secondaries and abdominal feathers and there is an almost unbroken series to individuals that have only renewed a feather here and there. This moult produces a variety of birds, all with brown primary coverts, some specimens being as bright blue as are adults; usually, the new blue body feathers, un- worn and of peculiarly slender barbs sometimes white tipped, are mixed in with the bleached much abraded feathers of the first win- ter plumage. One of them is figured on plate VI, fig". 3. Abra- sion of the lower parts brings into view the dull blue or gray bases of the old feathers, the buff edgings of which become faded and nearly white. Two kinds of blue feathers are therefore found not only here but on the rump and head, one bright and riew the other dull and worn. The renewal of the wing coverts is very often incomplete and a mixture of blue and brown results. The most surprising renewal is that of the distal primaries with- out their primary c&verts, four to six being renewed sometimes asymmetrically in the two wings by quills that have blue edgings of various depth of color in contrast to the older and more worn ones adjacent. Five or six seems to be the usual number replaced, and their color is regularly darker than the old ones. A new black tail edged with blue is assumed unless it has already been acquired at the postjuvenal moult. Dull white feathers fre- quently appear on the chin. The bill becomes slaty. It is natural to assume that birds which acquired new wings and tail in the autumn are the worn duller specimens we find in May, while the brighter less worn birds are those which have acquired these feathers at a more recent date. Both classes show recent growth of the blue body feathers, and the slenderness of the barbs of nuptial feathers as compared with the blunter ones of the winter dress ought effectually to dispose of the superfluous idea that color change without moult can take place in this species. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. 214 DWIGHT Strikingly different from first winter dress in the depth and richness of the brown and the marked blueness of the wings and tail. Above, Mars- or mummy- brown .conceals the dull blue bases of the feathers except where these are less broadly tipped as on the rump and upper tail coverts. Below, the brown is paler and chiefly on the breast and sides, veiling bases that are cerulean-blue. The chin, abdomen and crissum are almost white displaying better the con- cealed blue. The wings and tail are black, edged with blue, the tertiaries and coverts with Mars-brown, and the lesser coverts are almost wholly bright blue, the others tinged with a darker shade ; the primary coverts are black, edged w T ith blue which is apparently pale in the less precocious birds and deeper in those more vigorous. Adults and young become practically indistinguishable. The birds with the brighter wing edgings are probably birds more than one year old or possibly more vigorous individuals. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves most of the body plumage, part of the wing coverts and tertiaries, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. The less vigorous birds retain old worn wing coverts or stray feathers scattered especially on the abdomen and crissum, else- where assuming a greenish blue plumage purplish on the head. The structure of these feathers differs from those assumed at the postnuptial moult as may be seen under the microscope, but does not differ from those acquired at the first prenuptial moult (see plate VI, fig. 3). The blue of the head is always deeper than elsewhere, and the feathers of the lores and interramal space are black. Wear of adult birds has very likely given rise to the idea of a color change without moult, as they do become preceptibly bluer in a cage from gradual loss of the brown autumnal edg- ings which conceal the blue beneath. Female. The plumages and moults of the female correspond to those of the male, the prenuptial moult, especially the first, ap- parently limited or sometimes suppressed. In Juvenal plumage practically indistinguishable from the male, but with little or no greenish or bluish tint in the tail. In first winter plumage browner than the male and lacking the blue tinge usually pres- ent. In first nuptial plumage (which is in many cases appar- ently the result of wear) a greenish tail and few greenish edged primaries are assumed together with a few whitish feathers be- low. In adult winter plumage, similar to first winter, but PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 215 with the wings and tail greenish edged, and lower parts less ob- viously streaked. The adult nuptial plumage is attained chiefly by wear. It is scarcely necessary to add there is not the slightest evi- dence of the color change without moult that has been claimed in this species. I have examined large series which show the tran- sition stages from one plumage to another and such evidence of an abnormal color change as has hitherto been offered does not accord with the simple facts. Passerina ciris (Linn.). PAINTED BUNTING 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, olive-brown. Wings dull clove-brown with sage-green edgings, brownish on the coverts. Tail dull olive-green. Below, pale grayish drab washed with buff most marked posteriorly. Orbital ring pale buff. Bill umber-brown, the upper mandible darker. Feet dark sepia in dried specimens. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a postju venal moult which seems to be complete, one specimen from South Carolina taken October 1 3th being in this dress. Above, bright olive-green or oil-green. Wings and tail deeper brown than in juvenal dress, the coverts wholly oil-green and the remiges and rectrices edged with a slightly paler shade. Below, olive-yellow becoming maize-yellow posteriorly and dull lemon anteriorly. Orbital ring lemon-yellow. Judging by spring specimens the individual variation is con- siderable, some being yellower and some greener, a few acquire a blue feather or two about the head and others even a few reddish feathers below. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. Young males at this stage resemble the average adult female but may usually be distinguished from them by browner more worn primary coverts which do not show greenish edgings and are possibly the retained juvenal coverts. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. The brilliant colors of this species are assumed 216 DWIGHT by both young and old, but it is probable that year-old birds do not acquire remiges and coverts wholly claret tinged like adults. This accounts for the green feathers mixed with the others in many specimens in which all the feathers are equally worn. The claret and the greenish remiges and the body plumage are equally fresh in November birds. The claret tinged tail is first assumed at this moult. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. It is prob- able that all birds with stray green remiges are birds of the second nuptial stage, those with all of the remiges claret tinged of the third nuptial. The primary coverts are usually claret tinged at both stages and unlike the brown ones of the first nuptial period. The full adult dress is certainly assumed at the second post- nuptial moult and in some cases, if not many, probably at the first. Female. -The moults and plumages correspond to those of the male. In Juvenal plumage the wings and tail are duller ; in first winter dress, relative dullness prevails but the sexes scarcely differ, and the first nuptial assumed by wear is characterized by worn brown primary coverts as in the male. At the first post- nuptial moult females assume bright green edged remiges, rectrices and primary coverts and are even greener above and yellower below than males in first winter dress. At the second postnuptial moult or later ones birds tend toward the plumage of the male developing blue or dull red feathers where brighter areas occur in the male. It follows that many males cannot be certainly distinguished from females by plumage characters, but the absence of mixed plumages of old and new feathers, as found in Passerina cyanea, disproves any semiannual moult as in the latter species. Spiza americana (Gmel.). DICKCISSEL 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, clay- color, a few broad dull black stripes on the back, the crown bordered laterally with obscure black stripes. Wings and tail dull black, the primaries PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 217 and rectriees with whitish, the secondaries with cinnamon, the tertiaries and coverts (including two paler wing bands) with clay-colored edgings. Below, cream-buff, clay- colored across throat, on sides and crissum. Superciliary stripe ochraceous buff, auriculars sepia-brown ; lores, rictal and submalar stripes dusky. Bill and feet pale pinkish buff becoming dusky with age. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postju venal moult beginning in Kansas early in July which involves the body plumage, wing coverts, and tertiaries, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Similar to previous plumage. Above, including auriculars sepia or wood-brown narrowly and obscurely streaked on the pileum and broadly on the back with black ; the tertiaries edged with cinnamon ; the wing coverts almost entirely cinnamon-rufous or rich russet. Below, the chin and abdomen pale buff, the throat, sides and crissum deep wood-brown with obscure narrow black streaks, two more distinct streaks bordering the chin laterally. Superciliary and malar stripes and usually the jugulum dull ochre-yellow sometimes brighter, " edge of the wing " lemon-yellow; lores and subocular streak grayish. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult in March and early April in Texas which involves the head, throat and breast, but not the rest of the body nor the wings and tail. The grayish pileum tinged anteriorly with yellow, the plum- beous auriculars and bright lemon of the superciliary and malar stripes and of the breast and mid-abdomen, the white chin and the black throat patch are acquired by moult, the browns of the winter dress becoming gray from marked wear. The amount of black and of yellow is variable ; I have seen two specimens with the throat patch Mars-brown. Young and old become practically indistinguishable. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Differs from first winter chiefly in possessing a veiled black throat patch smaller than in nuptial dress. Adults have more yellow and richer grayer wing edgings than young birds. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird. Female. The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male. In Juvenal plumage females are indistinguishable 218 DWIGHT from males. The first nuptial is acquired by a limited prenup- tial moult. In subsequent plumages the throat remains pale brown with lateral black chin streaks without the black patch of the male and the colors elsewhere are regularly duller. Calamospiza melanocorys (Stejn.) LARK BUNTING. 1. NATAL DOWN. Mouse-gray.' 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, clove-brown, the feathers with broad wood-brown edgings which are darker on the crown and rump and form an indistinct median stripe on the crown. Wings deep olive-brown, the outer primaries usually dull black, everywhere rather broadly edged with white, including the secondaries and the primary coverts ; the greater coverts largely pinkish buff, forming a broad wing band. Tail dull black tipped with white spots, the outer pair of rectrices edged with white, the the others with cinnamon. Below, white, tinged with cream-buff and streaked, except on the abdomen, with dull clove-brown. Auriculars and lores dusky. Bill and feet in dried .specimen, clay-color. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult which involves the body plumage and wing coverts, but not the remiges nor rectrices. Above, olive-brown with darker streakings. Below, white, streaked with clove- brown, least on crissum, abdomen and throat, but the streaks aggregating into a blotch on the breast. The chin dull black, entirely veiled with broad white edgings. The greater coverts pale cinnamon forming a broad wing band. The tertiaries and other wing coverts are edged with deep cinnamon. Some young birds become indistinguishable from adults. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult in April in Arizona which involves most of the body plu- mage, tertiaries and wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. The jet-black dress is assumed, relieved by white bands on the wings. Browner and more worn remiges with traces of the edgings partly worn off distinguish young birds from old, this feature being especially marked among the pri- mary coverts. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult occurring during September in Mexico. The wings and tail are much blacker than the first winter dress and lack almost wholly the edgings of this period. The PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 219 edgings of the throat are less extensive and consequently the chin is distinctly black, the color extending to the breast more or less. The wing bands are a deeper cinnamon and so too the edgings of the tertiaries. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves most of the body plumage as in the young bird from which it may be distinguished by the blacker remiges and rectrices with absence of edgings. Female. The moults and plumages correspond to those of the male. Practically indistinguishable from the male in Juvenal and in first winter plumage, although rather duller, and with narrower wing bands. All later plumages resemble that of the male in first winter dress, but some of the older birds are much blacker and with broader streakings. TANAGRIDJE The Tanagers are peculiar in their moults as might be ex- pected with such highly colored birds. P. erytkromelas acquires the full red plumage at the first prenuptial moult, goes back to a greenish dress at the postnuptial and continues to. undergo a semi-annual moult regularly from green to red in spring and from red to green in fall. P. ludoviciana also moults twice every year. P. rubra, on the other hand, has but one prenuptial moult, a mere scattering of red feathers very often, and afterwards con- tinues in the red plumage renewed only at the postnuptial moult. Piranga ludoviciana (Wils.). LOUISIANA TANAGER 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, yellowish green obscurely streaked. Wings and tail dull black, edged with olive-yellow, forming on the coverts two wing bands. Below, pale yel- low with dusky streaks on the breast, similar to the young of other Tanagers. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult, in July in California, which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. 220 DWIGHT Differs from previous plumage in being unstreaked and brighter colored. Above, olive-yellow, brownish on the back, the wing bands strongly tinged with lemon-yellow, the one at tips of greater coverts palest. Below, clear lemon- yellow, a slight orange tinge often on forehead and chin. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves most of the body plumage, tail, wing coverts and tertiaries. The coverts as in other species are ir- regularly renewed, the brown worn primaries, their coverts, the alulae and secondaries in contrast to the new coverts and tertiaries which are black, edged with canary-yellow and white respectively. The back is black with smoke-gray edgings and the rest of the plumage canary-yellow of variable depth accord- ing to individual variation, the forehead and chin more or less bright with cadmium-orange. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult and similar to first winter dress but of a richer yel- low with jet-black wings and tail, the back black, with bright olive-green edgings, the head and chin usually more deeply tinged with orange, sometimes with dusky edgings on sides of the chin and jugulum. Young and old become indistinguishable. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves the same body areas as in the young bird but not the wings nor the tail, consequently old and young may be told apart during the breeding season by the brown wings of the young bird, black ones of the old. An undated specimen from Orizaba, Mexico (Coll. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist, No. 40842) shows new nuptial feathers pushing from their sheaths on the crown, throat and back, the wings proving it to be an adult. Female. The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male. The Juvenal dress is practically indistinguishable from that of the male. The first winter plumage is rather duller, being browner above and paler below. The first nuptial plu- mage is acquired by a very limited prenuptial moult, such wing coverts as are acquired being duller than those of the male and the few orange-tinged feathers paler, the whole bird paler and grayish. The adult winter plumage is brighter than the first winter, and in adult nuptial plumage a few orange feathers may appear acquired by prenuptial moult. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 221 Piranga erythomelas Vieill. SCARLET TANAGER 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, olive-yellow, including sides of head and neck, the back greener with dusky edgings. Wings and tail dull brownish black, the secondaries, wing coverts* tertiaries and rectrices edged with olive-yellow, whitish on the tertiaries and primaries. Below, dull white, sulphur-yellow on the abdomen and crissum, broadly streaked on the breast and sides with grayish olive-brown. Bill, , pinkish buff, slate-black when older. Feet pinkish olive-gray, dusky when older. Differs from P. ludoviciana in the crown being darker and lacking distinct wing bands. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning the middle of August which involves the body plumage, and the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Differs from previous plumage chiefly in being unstreaked. Above, including sides of head deep olive-yellow or pale olive-green. Below, citron-yellow. The wing coverts are jet-black edged with olive-yellow, but frequently only a part of them are renewed. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult probably in March and April which involves the body plumage, wing coverts, tertiaries and the tail but not the primaries, their coverts, the secondaries and usually not the alulae. The body plumage becomes scarlet vermilion vaiying in intensity sometimes pale or mixed with orange, usually paler but often indistinguishable from the adult. The tibiae become black and red often retaining a few old greenish feathers. Black tertiaries and black wing coverts without edgings are assumed in sharp contrast to the worn brown flight feathers which mark adults in nuptial dress. It is not unusual for only a part of the wing coverts or tertiaries to be renewed and as a freak, scarlet coverts are occasionally assumed. Greenish feathers of the first winter dress left over are comparatively infrequent on the body, the moult usually being quite complete. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning early in August. Year-old as well as adult birds acquire jet-black wings and tail which distinguish them from first winter birds, and usually the yellow green is deeper. 222 DWIGHT 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves the same body areas as in the young bird from which easily distinguishable by the completely black wings. The greater wing coverts are not renewed as at the first prenup- tial moult. The tails show some wear as compared with those of young birds. The vermilion body plumage will probably average deeper. Female. The plumages and moults of the female apparently correspond to those of the male, but the color is greenish at all seasons. In natal down and Juvenal plumage the sexes are indis- tinguishable. In first winter plumage the female is greener with less yellow and duller than the male and without black wing coverts. The first nuptial plumage is yellowish and so fresh that a prenuptial moult is indicated, probably more limited than that of the male. At the postnuptial moult an orange tinged adult winter plumage is acquired and sometimes black wing coverts appear, seen in the adult nuptial plumage in which only the body feathers are renewed by a limited prenuptial moult. Piranga rubra (Linn.). SUMMER TANAGER 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, ruddy or yellow tinged sepia-brown with darker edgings and feather centres producing a faintly streaked appearance. Wings deep olive-brown with olive- yellow or greenish edgings, usually reddish tinged on the outer primaries, the coverts duller, the tertiaries paler. Tail bright olive-green or olive-yellow often reddish tinged basally, the shafts sepia-brown. Below, dull white tinged with sulphur-yellow on abdomen and crissum, distinctly and broadly streaked on the throat, breast and sides with deep olive-brown. Bill and feet pinkish buff be- coming dusky clay-color, the feet darker. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning in the South early in July which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Unlike previous plumage, unstreaked. Above pale olive-green with a strong orange tinge, reddish in many specimens. Below chrome-yellow often strongly tinged with orange especially on the crissum and "edge of the wings." The wing coverts are edged with olive-green strongly tinged with yellow or orange accord- ing to individual vitality. The orbital ring is usually chrome-yellow or paler. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 223 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves portions of the body plumage, wing coverts, tertiaries and the tail. There is an unusual amount of individual variation in the extent of this moult accentuated by the contrast of the new vermilion or poppy-red feathers among the old green- ish or yellow ones. Some birds become entirely red except for the old greenish primaries, their coverts and the secondaries and there are all sorts of intermediates ranging down to those with a mere sprinkling of red feathers. The central quills only of the. tail may be renewed, sometimes only part of the tertiaries and wing coverts, but in every case it is easy to see that the process of moult has stopped at points where the checking of its normal advance would produce the varied plumages found. The fresh- ness of the red feathers compared with the green ones is also easily demonstrable. I have also seen two undated specimens, one from Guatemala, showing red feathers still in their sheaths here and there among the brown ones. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in August. The full red plumage including the wings and tail is acquired at this moult. It will be observed that this species does not revert to the greenish dress of the first winter like P. erythomelas. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is not very perceptible even on close examination of the feathers. The color of breeding birds is pinkish or geranium-red when com- pared with P. erythomelas. There appears to be no second pre- nuptial moult in this species. Female. The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male, but the plumage remains similar to that of the male in first winter and the first and only prenuptial moult is mostly suppressed. Adult females may be red tinged, but regularly they are even yellower than the male in first winter dress. HIRUNDINID.E The Swallows, like the Flycatchers, afford in their moulting, some problems that existing material scarcely suffices to solve, 224 DWIGHT for with the exception of T. bicolor, they migrate southward in the autumn before acquiring their winter dress, so that a mere handful among hundreds of specimens examined, show signs of moult before they have passed beyond the borders of the United States. A few specimens from Mexico and Central America show that both adults and young birds reach these countries in worn nuptial and worn Juvenal plumages respectively and two or three more afford evidence of a mid-winter moult, the occurrence of which has been previously affirmed by other observers. From these meagre facts and from the study of the feathers, which, on account of the metallic colors and the aerial habits of the Swallows, show little evidence of wear, we may not draw positive conclusions, but two at least may be reached with considerable certainty. The first is that adult Swallows undergo a complete postnuptial moult late in the fall, either while on their southward journey or at its conclusion ; and the second is that young Swallows undergo a complete postjuvenal moult (or prenuptial perhaps in point of time) later than the postnuptial of the adult. More specimens are needed to fix the limits of these two moults, but I am of opinion that mid-winter birds in moult will all prove to be young ones. It may perhaps be expedient to call this a prenuptial moult and consider the postjuvenal sup- pressed, but this is only a matter of convenience and would not alter the facts nor disturb my scheme of plumages and moults which has been devised so as to give clear expression to the facts. These may be found discussed under each species, and I hope a much larger fund of material may accumulate within a few years now that I have pointed out the deficiencies in that at present available for study. Progne subis (Linn.). PURPLE MARTIN 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including wings and tail, sooty or clove-brown, the forehead and a nuchal band grayish, the feathers of the head and back indistinctly dull steel- blue. Feathers of the wings with very narrow whitish edgings. Below, white, mouse-gray on chin, throat, breast, sides and tibine, the feathers of the chin, PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 225 lower breast and abdomen with narrow dusky shaft streaks. Bill and feet brownish black. This plumage is worn a long time and is still retained when the birds leave for the south early in September. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired probably by a complete postjuvenal moult. Similar to the previous plumage but darker, the throat browner while scattered patches of steel-blue feathers are acquired. A specimen (U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 1 22944, $ , Au- gust 3d, Maryland), which from the date might be a year-old bird, has partly renewed two proximal primaries, an outer rectrix and some of the body plumage. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired apparently by wear alone. It is impossible to estimate just when the feathers of this plumage are assumed, because all the Swallows show very little wear owing to their habits and to the structure of their feathers. The immature mixed blue and gray plumage is peculiar to the first breeding season. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult after the species has departed south. A specimen in my collection (J. Dwight, Jr., No. 560, S , Connecticut, Au- gust 1 6th) shows the proximal primary of each wing just sprout- ing and a bird, perhaps P. s. hesperia (U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 128306, cT, September I3th, Nicaragua) has renewed two proxi- mal primaries and a few body feathers. The steel-blue plumage is assumed and old and young become indistinguishable. A white patch is exposed if the posterior feathers of the humeral tracts be disarranged. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which pro- duces practically no effect on the previous dress even late in the summer. Florida specimens of March I ith to I4th are in fresh plumage but show no direct evidence of recent moult. Female. The female has similar plumages and moults, but is always duller than the male, lacking most of the steel-blue above and all of it below. In juvenal plumage the gray collar is much browner than that of the adult female and the under tail coverts are grayish white with dusky shaft streaks instead of ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. Sci., Oct. i, 1900 15. 226 DWIGHT smoke-gray with whitish edgings. The lines on the breast are broader. Later plumages are alike but females show more wear than males. Petrochelidon lunifrons (Say). CLIFF SWALLOW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2 . JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including wings and tail clove-brown, the pileum and back greenish with obscure metallic reflections, each feather edged with drab, a nuchal band drab ; the whole rump and usually the forehead (on which are often scattered a few white feathers), cinnamon. The tertiaries are broadly and some of the wing coverts narrowly edged with cinnamon. Below, dull white, strongly washed on the throat, sides, and crissum with vinaceous cinnamon ; the chin and forepart of the throat showing a curious mixture of white, dull black and cinnamon-rufous feathers, sometimes one color and sometimes the other pre- dominating, the white perhaps entirely absent and replaced by black. Lores and auriculars dull black. Feet dull sepia. Bill dull black. This plumage is worn for some time, part of the edgings being lost and it is not replaced before the birds depart southward the end of August or early in September. Several specimens from Central America still retaining this plumage, are dated Oc- tober 20th. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired probably by a complete postjuvenal moult in the winter habitat so far as may be estimated from the changes found in the plumage on the return of the species in May. Wear is somewhat evident even in the wings and tail although the resistant metallic feathers show little of it. At all events the glossy blue of the head and back and the rich chestnut of the chin and auriculars with the black throat spot are acquired. The breast and throat feathers now have shaft streaks and the cinnamon crescent on the forehead is con- spicuous. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired, in all probability, wholly by wear. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult after the species has departed south. Evidently indistinguishable from the first winter dress. An adult female (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., No. 40264) in worn nuptial dress, taken PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 227 in Brazil and without other data, retains only two old primaries, the others and part of the body plumage being in process of growth at the usual points. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. Female. The sexes are practically alike, although the female usually has less black on the chin, and the moults are undoubt- edly similar. Chelidon erythrogastra (Bodd.). BARN SWALLOW 1. NATAL DOWN. Smoke-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, dull iridescent green (less often blue), browner on the pileum, the fore- head russet and a faint nuchal band grayish. Wings and tail dull greenish black, rectrices with large subterminal white spots, the outer pair with broad, rotinded apices reaching less than one inch beyond the central pair. (See plate II, fig. 20.) Below, pale cinnamon often vinaceous, the chin and throat much deeper and russet tinged, a broad incomplete slate-black band across the jugulum. Lores and auriculars dull black. Feet sepia. Bill dusky except a pinkish lower mandible, wholly black when older. This plumage is still worn, its pink tinge somewhat lost when the birds leave for the south about the end of August. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired probably by a complete postjuvenal moult. It is evident, as with the other species of Swallows, a com- plete moult occurs before this species returns to our latitude in the spring. Two specimens from South America, taken in Feb- ruary, show primaries and tails with adherent sheaths and fresh body plumage, but it is impossible to say whether they are adults or young birds ; and two others from Corumba, on the boundary between Brazil and Bolivia, March 23d (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist, Nos. 31 164 and 31 166), are also in fresh new plum- age. The new attenuated lateral rectrices (plate II, fig. 21) extend fully one and one-quarter inches beyond the middle pair. Greenish wings are acquired together with the metallic purplish feathers of the jugular band. The chin and throat become chestnut and the lower parts darker cinnamon. Old and young become indistinguishable. 228 DWIGHT 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired apparently by wear which produces little effect on the iridescent feathers, or possibly by a complete prenuptial moult (if the postju venal is considered as suppressed), as indicated by the specimens to which reference has just been made. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult, after departure for the south. Probably indis- tinguishable from first winter dress although I have seen no birds identified as adults after the postnuptial moult. A speci- men (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., No. 28100, 9, October 3d, Ari- zona) is still in worn nuptial dress. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE evidently acquired by wear. Female. The sexes are practically indistinguishable in all plumages, although the female in nuptial dress is often if not regularly much paler below than the male. Tachycineta bicolor (Vieill.). TREE SWALLOW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head and neck, wings and tail sooty brown the tertiaries slaty with faint grayish edgings. Below, pure white, a very faint incomplete sooty collar on the jugulum. Lores dull black. Bill dull black. Feet pink- ish buff becoming dusky with age. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postju ve- nal moult beginning late in August and extending into October, as shown by large series, young and old becoming practically indistinguishable. Unlike previous plumage. Above, iridescent green, sometimes with steely blue re- flections. Wings and tail deep bottle-green slightly iridescent, the tertiaries broadly tipped with white. Below, pure white slightly smoky gray on the sides. A tertiary of this plumage is figured on plate II, fig. 6, and the effect of wear may be seen by fig. 7. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear only obvious in the entire loss of the white tips of the tertiaries, one of which is figured on plate II, fig. 7. The wings become a trifle browner as the summer advances. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 229 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning the middle of August. Practically indis- tinguishable from first winter dress, possessing the same white tipped tertiaries, but usually the head and back show blue rather than green metallic reflections. This is the only one of our Swallows that completes its moult before migrating southward. It breeds early and moults early as compared with the others. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear through which the white tips of the tertiaries are lost as in young birds, speci- mens thus becoming wholly steel-blue above. Female. The female has corresponding plumages and moults, but is usually duller with less iridescence and browner wings and tail until the adult winter plumage is assumed which is usually indistinguishable from that of the male. Clivicola riparia (Linn.). BANK SWALLOW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head, brownish mouse-gray, most of the feathers edged with pale drab. Wings and tail dull brownish black, the wing coverts and tertiaries edged with pale cinnamon, the rectrices with grayish white. The tail is rounded, only slightly forked and without the indistinctly barred or "watered" effect usual in the adult. Below, white, a broad pectoral band mouse-gray, or dull clove-brown with cinnamon edgings, the chin tinged with cinnamon, and flecked with faint dusky dots. Lores dull black. Bill dull black. Feet sepia becoming black. Birds migrate southward in this plumage before September, some of the edgings having been lost by wear. A specimen from Tehuantepec, Mexico, October 1 3th, still retains this dress. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired probably by a com- plete postjuvenal moult. The new tail is more deeply forked and is indistinctly barred. The chin is pure white without spots and the collar is darker. Young and old evidently be- come indistinguishable. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired evidently by wear, which is very marked in this species as compared with the Swallows of iridescent plumage. The wings and tail are darker 230 DWIGHT than those of the Juvenal plumage, and this points to their having been completely renewed during the winter absence. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. This dress is assumed after the birds have moved southward in the autumn. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. Female. The sexes are indistinguishable in all plumages, and the moults are probably identical. Stelgidopteryx serripennis (Aud.). ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, deep sepia-brown, edged with cinnamon-rufous. Wings and tail clove-brown, the coverts, secondaries and tertiaries edged with cinnamon-rufous. The outer edge of the first primary is without hooklets and therefore not rough to the touch. Below, dull white, the breast and throat vinaceous cinnamon. Bill and feet dusky flesh- color, becoming black. There is some fading and loss of feather edgings before the birds leave us in the autumn. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult after the birds have migrated southward in Sep- tember, or very likely while they move leisurely along in flocks. One young female (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., No. 71520, October 24th, Key West, Florida), shows six new primaries partly grown in each wing and a few new body feathers. Judging by spring specimens taken in May the plumage when fresh must be deep sepia-brown, darker on the pileum, with dusky shaft streaks and slightly paler, indistinct edgings. Wings and tail darker than in Juvenal dress, males acquiring the saw-toothed outer primary. Below dull white with a brownish mouse-gray pec- toral band. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is much more marked than in Swallows having iridescent plumage. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE* acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult after the birds have migrated southward. An PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 231 adult male (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist, No, 53251, September 2Oth, Arizona), has just begun the postnuptial moult, having renewed three primaries of each wing and a few of the body feathers. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. Female. The sexes are practically alike and the moults, no doubt, correspond. The first primary is usually less distinctly rough-edged. AMPELID^E Both species of Waxwings moult in the same way, having only a single annual moult, young birds assuming their body plumage by a postjuvenal moult which is partial. Ampelis garrulus Linn. BOHEMIAN WAXWING 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including lesser and median coverts, grayish hair-brown tending below to heavy streaking on breast and abdomen which are grayish white centrally. Crissum pale vinaceous cinnamon. Chin grayish with obscure dusky spotting and bordered by dusky lateral lines. Lores and circumocular region black. Wings dull black, the secondaries and primary coverts broadly tipped with white, the inner primaries tipped with primrose-yellow on the outer web, the outer two or three with white. The secondaries usually have about four waxy, vermilion appendages, smaller and fewer than in adults. The crown feathers are lengthened into an insignificant crest. Tail drab-gray, black subterminally with a narrower terminal band of canary-yellow. Bill and feet black. The wing pattern, much grayer tints and cinnamon crissum distinguish young birds from those of A. cedrorum in correspond- ing plumage. The description is from two birds taken on the Yukon River, N. W. T., and kindly loaned me by Dr. L. B. Bishop. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult which involves the body plumage and wing coverts, but not the remiges nor rectrices. Everywhere rich drab, grayer below and on rump, fawn-color about the head. A large black chin patch, the black extending to lores and forehead and bor- dered everywhere by rich walnut-brown. 232 DWIGHT 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is not marked. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Adults are somewhat grayer than young birds, the primaries are edged with bright lemon-yellow and tipped with white so as to form a sort of a terminal L and the waxy appendages are more numerous, larger and better formed. Young and old become indistinguishable. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. Females. The moults and plumages correspond to those of the male. In Juvenal dress the spots on the primaries are paler than in the male and often wholly white, and the appendages few or none. The black chin patch of later plumages is apt to be smaller and duller than that of the male and the appendages fewer, with paler spots on the primaries. Ampelis cedrorum (Vieill.). CEDAR WAXWING 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including sides of head and wing coverts, olive-brown. Below, paler with darker broad fused stripes on the throat, breast, sides and flanks, the chin paler, the abdomen and crissum dull white often yellow or buff tinged. A crest not well marked is found on the crown. Anterior frontal feathers, lores and partial orbital ring dull black ; posterior quadrant of orbital ring, submalar streak and narrow superciliary line white or pale buff. Chin bordered laterally by dull black. Wings and tail slate-black, the primaries ashy edged, occasionally some of the secondaries tipped with bright vermilion wax-like appendages, the tail terminated with a lemon-yellow band, the rectrices also occasionally but ipfrequently tipped with similar red appendages. Bill and feet sepia, becoming black. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning in September which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Similar to previous plumage, but the brown much paler and the streaking absent. Above, including sides of head and throat silky drab merging into plumbeous gray on the rump and paling on the crown where the feathers are basally white. The crest marked. The abdomen and flanks are pale canary-yellow ; the crissum white. Chin black merging into the brown throat. Narrow submalar stripe and part of orbital ring white. Forehead at nostrils, lores, superciliary stripe and part of orbital ring black. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 233 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which scarcely shows in the soft, silky plumage till late in the autumn when fading becomes apparent. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult usually begun in September. Practically indis- tinguishable from first winter dress, the red wing appendages perhaps more frequent. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are practically alike in plumages and moults, but the female usually has less black on the chin and the wax-like tips probably less frequently develop. LANIID.E Our two Shrikes appear to moult the same, apparently having a semiannual renewal in both young and old birds. Young acquire full adult body plumage at the first prenuptial moult, retaining the immature remiges until the first postnuptial. Lanius borealis Vieill. NORTHERN SHRIKE 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, brownish mouse-gray with indistinct dusky vermiculations, especially on the rump. Wings black, a white area at bases of the primaries ; the coverts, tertia- ries and secondaries edged with wood-brown, or pale cinnamon mottled from irregular extension of the color, and similar tipping on the rectrices which are black, the lateral ones largely white. Below mouse-gray, nearly white on mid- abdomen, indistinctly vermiculated, more marked on sides and crissum. Bar though eye dull clove-brown ; lores grayish. Bill and feet dusky wood-brown in dried skin. Description from a bird taken in Labrador. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult which involves the body plumage, and wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Above, French gray washed with brownish gray, the rump grayish white. Lesser coverts cinereous gray, the median black, the retained greater coverts dull black 234 DWIGHT buff tipped. Below grayish white with distinct dusky vermiculations except on the chin, abdomen and crissum. Tail black, the three outer rectrices with much white. Lores grayish. Bar through eye dusky. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult in March which involves the anterior part of the head, chin and throat. A whiter chin and black lores are acquired, young and old becoming practically indistinguishable. A good deal of the vermiculation is lost by wear of the feather edges. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Differs from first winter in having a white wing band on the greater coverts, the tertiaries and secondaries with white edgings, the wings and tail jet-black, including all the coverts. The back is grayer without the brownish tint of the young bird. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired apparently by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird. Female. The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male. Usually browner, especially the wings and tail and with a brown transocular bar until the adult winter plumage is assumed. Lanius ludovicianus (Linn.). LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, drab-gray, faintly vermiculated and with pale buff edgings ; rump slightly paler. Wings and tail black, a white area at the bases of the primaries, the coverts and tertiaries buff tipped, palest on the tertiaries ; the outer rectrices largely white, the central ones buff, with terminal mottling. Lores, orbital region and auriculars dull black. Below, dull white on chin, abdomen and crissum, washed on breast and sides with very pale buff or drab, vermiculated with dusky subterminal bands on each feather. Bill and feet dusky becoming black. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial post] u venal moult in September and October, which involves the body plumage, tertiaries, wing coverts and tail, but not the rest of the wings. Similar to previous plumage but grayer above and the vermiculations absent or very indistinct on the breast. Above, plumbeous gray, paler on rump, the posterior scapularies white. Wings and tail black except for the brown juvenal pri- PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK ' 235 maries, secondaries and primary coverts, the lesser coverts plumbeous, white tips to the new tertiaries and white terminal spots on the lateral rectrices. Be- low, dull white with dusky vermiculations sometimes faintly indicated. A broad, black bar through the eye. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult in February and March, which involves chiefly the chin, throat and head, and a few scattering feathers elsewhere, but neither the wings nor the tail. The whiter throat is the most marked change produced. The wings and tail have become brownish and show considerable wear. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete' post- nuptial moult in September. Practically indistinguishable from the first winter dress, but the wings and tail will average blacker. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are practically alike in all plumages, but the black bar through the eye is usually duller in females, and brownish until renewed at the first prenuptial moult. VIREONID^. The Vireos all have a single annual moult, and in arboreal species suffer very little from wear. V. noveboracensis is peculiar in having a complete postjuvenal moult, although I am not sure this occurs in all specimens. Young birds become practically indistinguishable from adults at the postjuvenal moult although they do not assume adult wings and tail as a rule until the first postnuptial. Vireo olivaceus (Linn.). RED-EYED VIREO 1. NATAL DOWN. Pale drab-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including lesser wing coverts, drab. Wings and tail olive-brown, edged with bright olive-green, brightest on the secondaries and tertiaries. Below, silky white, faintly tinged on the sides and crissum with primrose-yellow. Superciliary stripe dull white ; lores and postocular streak dusky. Bill and feet pinkish buff, becoming slaty. Iris walnut-brown. 236 DWIGHT 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial post- ju venal moult in August and September which involves the body plumage, the wing coverts (often the tertiaries) but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Similar to the previous plumage but olive-green replaces the drab and a gray cap is as- sumed. Above, including sides of neck and edgings of wing coverts and auricu- lars olive-green, the pileum slate-gray bordered by two lateral dull black stripes. Superciliary line broad, grayish or buffy white. Transocular streak dusky. Below, grayish white faintly washed on the sides with olive-green and on the crissum with primrose -yellow. In plumage young and old are practically indistinguishable in the autumn, but the iris of young birds is brown while they remain with us. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is scarcely appreciable owing to the soft long-barbed feathers and the habits of the species. Some fading is apparent late in the season. The iris becomes dull red before the birds return in the spring. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter except by the red iris but possibly will average richer olive-green above with a grayer pileum, and less washed with buff below. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are alike in plumages and moults, the females in winter dress often browner and duller than the males. Vireo philadelphicus (Cass.). PHILADELPHIA VIREO 1. NATAL DOWN. Pale drab-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Similar to V. olivaceus and V. gilvus, but darker above and distinctly yellow below. Above, wood-brown, darker and olive tinged on the back and wing coverts. Wings and tail clove-brown with olive-green edgings. Below primrose-yellow, auriculars, orbital ring, and superciliary stripe buff-yellow. Lores and postocular streak dusky. Feet pinkish buff, drying to dusky wood-brown. Bill pale bistre, the under mandible pinkish, drying to a yellowish raw umber-brown. When older the bill dusky and feet slaty. Iris deep hazel -brown. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 237 moult beginning the end of July which involves the body plum- age and wing^coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail, young and old becoming practically indistinguishable. Similiar to the previous plumage but greener with a grayer crown, and brighter yellow below. Above, dull olive-green, slate-gray on the pileum. Below pale canary- yellow, whiter on middle of abdomen. Sides of head pale greenish or grayish buff, superciliary stripe paler ; transocular streak dusky. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. The back fades a little and becomes grayer, the yellow below, paler. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress, the yellow below usually paler with a larger area of white on the abdomen. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are alike and the moults are the same. Vireo gilvus (Vieill.). WARBLING VIREO 1. NATAL DOWN. Pale wood-brown. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Similar to V. philadelphicus but paler. Above wood-brown, very pale on pileum and nape, darker and faintly tinged with olive on the back. Wings and tail pale clove-brown edged with dull olive-green. Below, white, the crissum tinged with pale primrose-yellow. Auriculars, orbital ring and superciliary line white. Bill and feet pinkish buff, becoming dusky and slate-gray re- spectively when older. Iris deep hazel -brown. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning early in August which involves the body plum- age and the wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail, young and old becoming practically indistinguishable. Similar to the previous plumage but greener above. Above, grayish olive-brown, the pileum mouse-gray. Below, buffy white, palest on chin and abdomen, washed on the sides and flanks with greenish primrose-yellow. Superciliary line, suborbital region and orbital ring very pale buff. A dusky transocular streak. Auriculars drab. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is slight. The whole plumage becomes paler below and grayer above, the buff tints being lost. 238 DWIGHT 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter, but with less buff in some cases. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are alike and the moults are identical. Vireo flavifrons Vieill. YELLOW-THROATED VIREO 1. NATAL DOWN. Drab. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, smoke-gray. Wings and tail black, edged with olive-gray, the secondaries and tertiaries with olive-green (the two mner tertiaries white edged), the greater and median coverts with dull white forming two wing bands. Below, silky white, the chin, throat and sides of head pale canary-yellow, the orbital ring, ocular region and superciliary stripe still paler. Bill and feet pinkish buff becoming dusky and slate-gray when older. Iris deep hazel-brown. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postju ve- nal moult in August, which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail, young and old becoming practically indistinguishable. Similar to previous plumage but greener above. Above, including auriculars and sides of neck, bright olive-green, scapularies and rump, olive-gray. The lesser wing coverts are edged with dull olive-green, the median and greater with pure white, forming two broad wing bands. Below, bright canary-yellow ex- tending to orbital region and superciliary stripe ; abdomen and crissum white, the flanks faintly washed with olive-gray. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear, the olive above fading a little, the yellow below hardly at all. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult, and practically indistinguishable from first winter dress, the wing edgings, especially of the lesser coverts and of the scapularies grayer. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The sexes and moults are alike. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW. YORK 239 Vireo solitarius (Wils.). BLUE-HEADED VIREO 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, drab, tinged with green, pileum and auriculars drab-gray. Wings and tail clove-brown edged with olive-green, the tertiaries with white, two wing bands at the tips of the median and greater coverts white, yellow tinged. The outer rectrices partly white. Below, pure white, tinged on flanks and crissum with primrose-yellow. Obscure superciliary stripe, loral and orbital regions white ; a dusky anteorbital streak. Bill and feet pinkish buff, the former becoming slaty, the latter plumbeous gray. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial post- juvenal moult in August which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Young and old become practically indistinguishable. Similar to the previous plumage but greener above and with a gray cap. Above, olive-green (often mixed with gray), the pileum, nape, sides of head and tibiae slate-gray. Below, pure white, strongly washed on the sides and flanks with olive-yellow mixed with gray. Lores and orbital region conspicuously white. Orbital ring interrupted anteriorly by deep slate-gray. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which pro- duces little effect, the back becoming a shade grayer. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress, the gray above clearer and where the orbital ring is inter- rupted, darker. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The female is apt to be duller especially in first winter plumage, the head browner and with a buffy wash below ; but many birds are indistinguishable from males. The moults are identical. Vireo solitarius plumbeus (Coues.). PLUMBEOUS VIREO This remarkably distinct subspecies, characterized by extreme paleness in all plumages, enjoys the same sequence of plumages and of moults as V. solitarius. In northern Mexico and in Ari- 240 DWIGHT zona the Juvenal dress is acquired chiefly during July. The postnuptial moult is completed early in August as indicated by several adults. Vireo noveboracensis (Gmel.). WHITE-EYED VIREO 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, dull brownish olive-green. Wings and tail deep olive-brown edged with bright olive-green, the tertiaries with pale buff, the greater and median coverts with straw-yellow forming two distinct wing bands. Below, dull grayish white, buffy on the throat, strongly washed on the sides and crissum with sul- phur-yellow (sometimes buffy). Auriculars pale ecru-drab ; supraloral and orbital regions pale canary -yellow, a dusky loral streak. Bill pinkish buff, be- coming dusky ; feet paler, becoming plumbeous gray. Iris mouse-gray, be- coming white by the following spring. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- juvenal moult beginning about the middle of August. The juvenal dress is worn much longer than that of the other Vireos, becoming rapidly ragged from the thicket-loving habits of the species and thus probably its complete renewal is a necessity. Differs very little from the previous plumage. The olive -green is brighter above, markedly edged on the pileum and neck with smoke-gray contrasting with the back. The wings and tail are darker, the edgings of the wing coverts and tertiaries pale straw-yellow. The throat is grayer and the yellow wash of the sides brighter and greener. Young and old become practically indistinguishable except by the gray iris of the young bird. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is marked. The back becomes browner, and the gray is confined to the neck, but the yellow below shows little change. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress, but the yellow about the head is apt to be richer and the gray clearer. The iris is white. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are alike in all plumages and the moults are the same. PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 241 MNIOTILTID.E Many of our Warblers undergo a semi-annual moult which is often extensive at the time of the prenuptial moult. 5. ruticilla is perhaps unique among them in having a limited first prenuptial moult which is apparently not repeated, although I suspect a similar peculiarity may be found to prevail among several others. The prenuptial period of moult seems to be a protracted one, be- ginning even in November and extending into May. As most of the species are in the tropics at this time we do not know much about the changes in plumage except as we may judge from somewhat worn specimens when they reach us in the spring, and from a few extra-limital specimens. The types of moult are numerous in this large family, but with one possible exception (Ictcria virens) the remiges and rectrices are retained until the first postnuptial moult. The renewal at the prenuptial moult varies greatly in amount and when confined to a few feathers of the head and chin is very difficult to determine. As a ,rule adult winter plumages and adult nuptial plumages are not very different. The Juvenal plumage is quickly replaced by the first winter which is apt to resemble closely the female adult winter dress. In many species the first prenuptial moult renders old and young practically indistinguishable although such feath- ers of the old plumage as remain throw much light upon the age of doubtful specimens. Great confusion has existed as to the first winter or " immature " plumage of many species and still less has been known of the adult winter dress. Mniotilta varia (Linn.). BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER 1. NATAL DOWN. Mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, wood-brown streaked with dull olive-brown, the upper tail coverts dusky ; median crown and superciliary stripe dingy white. Wings and tail dull black, edged chiefly with ashy gray, the tertiaries (except the proximal which is entirely black) broadly edged with white, buff tinged on the middle one Two buffy white wing bands at tips of greater and median wing coverts. The outer two rectrices with terminal white blotches of variable extent on the inner webs. ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. Sci., XIII, Oct. 17, 1900 16. 242 DWIGHT Below, dull white, washed on the throat and sides with wood-brown, obscurely streaked, on throat, breast, sides and crissum with dull grayish black. Bill and feet pinkish buff, becoming dusky with age. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult beginning early in July which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Similar to previous plumage but whiter and definitely streaked. Above, striped in black and white, the upper tail coverts black broadly edged with white ; median crown and superciliary stripe pure white. The wing bands white. Below, pure white streaked with bluish black on sides of breast, flanks and crissum, the black veiled by overlapping white edgings ; the chin, throat, breast and ab- domen unmarked.. Postocular stripe black ; the white feathers of the sides of the head tipped with black. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult which involves a large part of the body plumage except posteriorly, but not the wings nor the tail. The black streaks of the chin and throat are acquired, veiled with white, and the loral, subocular and auricular regions become jet-black. The brown primaiy coverts distinguish young birds and the chin is less often solidly black than in adults. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning the first of July. Differs from first winter dress in having the chin and throat heavily streaked with irreg- ular chains of black spots veiled with white edgings, the wings and tail blacker and the edgings a brighter gray. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by a partial prenuptial moult as in the young bird from which the blacker primary cov- erts and sometimes solidly black chin will serve to distinguish it. A specimen (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.,. No. 50374, February i8th, Tehuantepec, Mexico), evidently an adult, shows renewal on the chin ; also an undated bird (Am. Mus., No. 39634, Yucatan). Female. The female has corresponding plumages and moults, the first prenuptial moult often very limited or suppressed. In juvenal dress the wings and tail are usually browner with duller edgings and the streaking below obscure. In first winter plu- mage the streakings are dull and obscure everywhere, a brown wash conspicuous on the flanks and sides of the throat. The first nuptial plumage is gained chiefly by wear through which PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 243 the brown tints are largely lost, the general color becoming whiter and the streaks more distinct. The adult winter plum- age is rather less brown than the female first winter, the streak- ings less obscure and the wings and tail darker. The adult nuptial plumage, acquired partly by moult, is indistinguishable with certainty from the first nuptial. Protonotaria citrea (Bodd.). PROTHONOTARY WARBLER 1. NATAL DOWN. Brownish mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, dull brownish olive-green, yellowish on the back ; in very young birds a strong wash of Vandyke-brown prevailing which fades to gray. Wings and tail slate-black, edged chiefly with plumbeous gray, the tertiaries (and some- times the other quill feathers) with olive-green ; the coverts edged with yellow- ish or greenish wood-brown palest at their tips. The rectrices are largely white. Below, wood-brown, primrose-yellow on abdomen and crissum, rapidly fading to brownish gray and white. Bill and feet pinkish buff becoming black. Twelve specimens of various ages in my collection show remarkable variations' in the depth of the brown. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult in July which involves the body plumage and the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Young and old become practically indistinguishable. Entirely different from the previous plumage. Chiefly of a bright lemon-yellow deepest on the crown, olive-yellow on the back merging into white on abdo- men and crissum and into piumoeous gray on rump and upper tail coverts. Wing coverts plumbeous gray edged with olive-green which color also veils the yellow crown. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which produces very little apparent effect except by loss of some of the edgings. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress, but the wings and tail usually blacker and the edgings clear bluish plumbeous gray especially noticeable on the primary coverts. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear and indistin- guishable from the first nuptial. 244 D WIGHT Female. The sexes are alike, although the female is apt to be of a paler yellow and the moults correspond. Helinaia swainsonii Aud. SWAINSON'S WARBLER 1. NATAL DOWN. No specimen seen. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Above, including wing coverts, pale cinnamon-brown. Below, paler cinnamon. Wings and tail olive- brown edged with olive-green. Crown with two indistinct lateral stripes pale brownish gray. A dusky transocular streak. Bill and feet pale pinkish buff. Scarcely differs from Helmitherus vermivorus but rather paler. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult which involves the body plumage and wing coverts but not the remiges nor rectrices. Young and old become prac- tically indistinguishable. Above, bistre, greener on the back. Below, yellowish white, shading to olive-buff on sides and flanks. Superciliary line indistinctly white ; a dusky line through the eye. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear. The head becomes Mars-brown in contrast to the olive back, and below the plumage is somewhat paler. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The moults and plumages correspond to those of the male, and females are hardly distinguishable except by a duller line through the eye. Helmitherus vermivorus (GmeL). WORM-EATING WARBLER 1. NATAL DOWN. Brownish mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Whole body plumage and the wing coverts cinnamon, palest on the abdomen. Wings and tail olive-brown edged with olive-green. Two indistinct lateral PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 245 crown stripes brownish mouse-gray. A transocular streak dusky. Bill and feet pinkish buff remaining quite pale later. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult, beginning early in July, which involves the body plumage and wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Young and old become practically indistinguishable. Resembles the previous plumage. Above, grayish olive-green, the lateral crown stripes and the postocular streak black, the median stripe and the superciliary lines pale buff-yellow or deep cream-color. Below, cream- color washed on the throat with buff-yellow and on the flanks with olive-buff. 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which is not obvious, the tints fading slightly. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult beginning about the first of July. Adults are in- distinguishable from young birds although sometimes paler. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. The sexes are alike in all plumages and the moults are identical. Helminthophila pinus (Linn.). BLUE-WINGED WARBLER 1. NATAL DOWN. Mouse-gray. 2. JUVENAL PLUMAGE acquired by a complete postnatal moult. Entire body plumage olive-yellow darkest on the back and throat. Wings and tail slate-gray largely edged with plumbeous gray, the tertiaries and coverts with olive-yellow ; the greater and median coverts tipped with white, yellow tinged. Rectrices largely white. Lores dusky. Bill and feet pinkish buff becoming dusky. 3. FIRST WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a partial postjuvenal moult, beginning early in July, which involves the body plum- age and wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the tail, young and old becoming practically indistinguishable. Similar to the previous plumage. Above, bright olive-green, lemon- yellow on the crown veiled by greenish tips. Below, bright lemon-yellow, the crissum white or merely tinged with yellow. Transocular streak black. Wing coverts plum- beous gray, edged with olive-green, the greater and median tipped with white, yellow tinged, forming two broad wing bands. 246 DWIGHT 4. FIRST NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear which produces little change except to expose the concealed yellow of the crown by loss of the greenish feather tips. 5. ADULT WINTER PLUMAGE acquired by a complete post- nuptial moult in July. Practically indistinguishable from first winter dress, the yellow of the crown rather more conspicuous and the yellow below a trifle deeper. 6. ADULT NUPTIAL PLUMAGE acquired by wear as in the young bird. Female. Indistinguishable from the male in Juvenal plumage ; in later plumages distinguished by the duller black of the trans- ocular streak and by very little yellow on the crown. I am able to throw little additional light on the supposed hy- brids H. leucobronchialis and H. lawrencei. Of two specimens in my collection from the same brood and fed by a typical H. pinusone (No. 4434, 9 , June 28th, New Jersey) is in the Juvenal dress of this species with many new yellow feathers of the first winter plumage appearing, the other (No. 4433, 3 Miiller, J. W. von '53 Ueber den Farbenwechsel der Vogel Journ. /. Orn., I. 1853. pp. 327-338 Miiller, J. W. von '55 Des changements qui s'operent dans la coloration des oiseaux Rev, et Mag. de Zool., ser. 2, VII. 1855. pp. 113-121, 161167 Miiller, K.* '78 Beobachtung uber den Federwechsel der Stubenvogel Zool. Gart., XIX. 1878. pp. 317-318 ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. Sci., XIII, Oct. 31, 1900 22. 342 DWIGHT Shufeldt, R. W. '90 Notes upon Coccothraustes vespertina as a cagebird Auk, VII. 1890. pp. 93-95 Shufeldt, R. W. '91 A female Piranga rubra assuming the plumage of the male Auk, VIII. 1891. pp. 3 J 5-3 l6 Shufeldt, R. W. '97 Notes on the moult and certain plumage phases of Piranga rubra Auk, XIV. 1897. pp. 406, 407 Skillen, J. '94 The change from winter to spring plumage in the male Bobolink {Dolichonyx oryzivorus*) Auk, XI. 1894. p. 180 Stieda, L. '69 Ueber Bau und Entwickelung der Federn St. Petersb. med. Zeitschr., XVII. 1869. pp. 185-191 Stieda, L. '72 Ueber den Bau der rothen Blattchen an den Schwingen des Seidenschwanzes {AmpeKs garrulus} Arch.f.mikr.Anat.,Vll\. 1872. pp. 639-642, figs. 1-3 [Abstr. byE. Coues.] N. Y. Independent, Aug. 12, 1875 Stone, W. '96 The molting of birds with special reference to the plum- ages of the smaller land birds of Eastern North America Proc. Acad. Nat. ScL, (Phila.) 1896. pp. 108-167, pis. IV, V Reviewed by Palmer, W., Auk, XIII. 1896. pp. 240- 243 Notice in Ibis, 7th ser., V. 1899. p. 466 Stone, W. '97 Spring moult in Spinus pinus Auk, XIV. 1897. p. 320 Stone, W. '99 Winter plumages : Illustrated by the Rose-breasted Gros- beak {Zamelodia ludoviciana} Auk, XVI. 1899. PP- 3 5~3 8 > pl- IV Stone, W. 1900 Report on the birds and mammals collected by the Mcll- henny expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska Proc. Acad. Nat. Set. (Phila.). 1900. pp. 4-49 PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 343 Streets, T. H. '83 A study of the immature plumage of the North American Shrikes, to show their descent from a common progenitor Amer. Nat., XVII. 1883. pp. 389-391 Studer, T. '73 Die Entwicklung der Federn Inaug.-Diss., Bern. 1873 Studer, T. '78 Beitrage zur Entwicklungsgeschichte der Feder Zeitsch. f. wiss. Zool., XXX, Heft 3. 1878. pp. 421 436, pis. XXV, XXVI Sundevall, C. J. '43 Om foglarnes vingars Kon. Vetenskaps-Akad. HandL 1843. pp. 303384, pis. I, II [German translation] ' ' Ueber die Fliigel der Vogel ' ' Journ. f. Orn., III. 1855. PP- 118-168, pi. I (folded) [English translation] " On the wings of birds " Ibis, 5th ser. IV. 1886. pp. 389-457, pis. X, XI See also Isis. 1846. pp. 324-366 Thompson, E. E. '94 Hybrid Pinicola enucleator -f- Carpodacus purpureus Auk, XI. 1894. pp. 1-3, col'd pi. I Townsend, C. H. '82 Remarkable plumage of the Orchard Oriole [Icterus spurius\ Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, VII. 1882. p. 181 Trotter, S. '87 The significance of certain phases in the genus Helmi- thophila Auk, IV. 1887. pp. 307-310 Tschusi (-Schmidhoffen), V. von* '66 Beitrage zur Farbenveranderung der Vogel in Weiss u. Schwarz Verhandl. d. kais.-konigl. zool.-bot. Gesell. (Wien), XVI. 1866. pp. 223, 224 Tyrer, R. * '77 Ueber die Vertarbung des Kreuzschnabels Gefied. Welt. VI. 1877. pp. 209, 210 344 DWIGHT Waldeyer * '82 Untersuchungen fiber die Histogenie der Horngebilde, insbesonders der Haare und Federn Beitrage zur Anat. u. Embryo L als Festschrift fur Jacob Henle, Bonn. 1882 Wayne, A. T. '91 An abnormal specimen of the Nonpareil {Passerina ciris} Auk, VIII. 1891. p. 395 Weinland, D. F. '56 Zur Verfarbung der Vogelfeder ohne Mauserung Journ. f. Orn., IV. 1856. pp. 125-129 Weinland, D. F. '56-'59 The cause of the change of color in the feathers of birds, and in the hairs of Mammalia, and the manner in which this change is effected Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., VI. 1856-59 pp. 34-37 Weiske, H.* '89 Untersuchungen iiber die Qualitat der Vogelknochen und Federn in verschiedenen Altersstadien Landwirthschaftlichen Versuchsstationen, XXXVI. 1889. p. 81 Wheelwright, G. '62 On the change of plumage in the Crossbills and Pine Gros- beak Zoologist, XX. 1862. pp. 8001, 8002. Quoted from "Field" (newspaper), March 22, 1862 Wheelwright, G. '63 Change of plumage in the Crossbills Zoologist, XXI. 1863. p. 8492 Quoted from "Field" (newspaper), November 15, 1862 Whitear, W. '18 Remarks on the changes of the plumage of birds Trans. Linn. Soc. (London.) XII. pt. 2. 1818. pp. Wray, R. S. '87 On some points in the morphology of the wings of birds Proc. Zool. Soc., (London.) 1887. PP- 343-357, pis XXIX-XXXII (XXX and XXXII col'd) PASSERINE BIRDS OF NEW YORK 345 Wray, R. S. '87 On the structure of the barbs, barbules and barbicels of a typical pennaceous feather Ibis, 5th ser., V. 1887. pp. 420-423, pi. XII Yarrell, W. '33 [Observations on the changes of plumage in birds.] Proc. Zool. Soc. (London.) 1833. pp. 9, 10. Yarrell, W. '33 [On the laws that regulate the changes of plumage in birds.] Proc. Zool. Soc. (London.) 1833. p. 56 Yarrell, William '35 Observations on the laws which appear to influence the as- sumption and changes of plumage in birds Trans. Zool. Soc. (London.) I. 1835. pp. 13-19 [Preliminary mention in] Proc. Zool. Soc., I. 1833. pp. 9, 10, 56. PLATE I. (347) PLATE I DWIGHT PLUMAGE AND MOULT Photograph showing the natural size, pattern and wear of the prin- cipal feathers of Dolichonyx oryzivorus, a Passerine bird. They are all from males and some of the buff winter feathers have printed so much darker than they actually are that they, unfortunately, appear to be black. Figs. 1-6. Throat, September 2d (J. D. Jr., No. 5125). 7. Middle rectrix, " " " " 8. Secondary, " " " " 9. Tertiary, " " " " 10. Primary, " " " " 11. Dorsal feathers, " " "' " 12. Scapulary, " " " 13. Greater covert, " " " " 14. Median covert, " " " " 15-16. Lesser coverts, " " " " 17. Crown, " " " " 18. Forehead, " " " " 19-20. Side, " " " " 21. Flank, " " " " 22. Breast, " " " " 23. New black breast feather, March ist (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., No. 32873). 24. Worn black breast feather, May i7th (J. D., Jr., No. 2164). 25. Much worn black breast feather, July 2d (J. D., Jr., No. 1227). 26. New buff abdominal feather, Sept. 2d (J. D., Jr., No. 5125). 27. Worn buff abdominal feather, March ist (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., No. 32873). 28. Partly worn black abdominal feather, May i7th (J. D., Jr., No. 2164). 29. Much worn black abdominal feather, July 2d (J. D Jr., No. 1227). (348) ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. SCI. XII f. PLATE I. f f f f |5 |6 >3 '4 '5 :i6 17 .'19 |2 2 I 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 PLATE II, (349) PLATE II DWIGHT PLUMAGE AND MOULT Photograph of feathers, natural size, from birds of various species illustrating some seasonal effects of moult and wear. The numbers are those of male specimens in my collection. Fig. i. Ammodramus savannarum passerinus. Juvenal Plumage tertiary, Sept. i6th (No. 68). 2. Ammodramus savannarum passerinus. First Winter Plumage tertiary, Sept. iyth (No. 3468). 3. Ammodramus savannarum passerinus. First Nuptial Plumage tertiary, June i9th (No. 2904). 4. Spinus tristis. First Winter Plumage tertiary, Jan. 1 3th (No. 6356). 5. Spinus tristis. First Nuptial Plumage tertiary, Aug. 2 6th (No. 387). 6. Tachycineta bicolor. Adult Winter Plumage tertiary, Aug. 24th (No. 6075). 7. Tachycineta bicolor. Adult Nuptial Plumage tertiary, May i2th (No. 749). 8. Icterus galbula. Juvenal Plumage tertiary, July 28th (No. 536). 9. Icterus galbula. First Nuptial Plumage tertiary, May 1 5th (No. 627). 10. Icterus galbula. Adult Nuptial Plumage tertiary, May 1 7th (No. 2163). 11. Icterus galbula. First Nuptial Plumage, tip of rectrix, May i5th (No. 627). 12. Icterus galbula. Adult Nuptial Plumage, tip of rectrix, May 1 7th (No. 2163). 13. Sturnella magna. First Winter Plumage, breast feather, Oct. 2d (No. 5146). 14. Sturnella magna. First Nuptial Plumage, breast feather, July 1 6th (No. 3389). 15. Sturnella magna. Juvenal Plumage tertiary, July 7th (No. 1237). 1 6. Sturnella magna. First Winter Plumage tertiary, Oct. 2d (No. 5146). 17. Sturnella magna. First Nuptial Plumage tertiary, July 1 6th (No. 3389). 1 8. Tyrannus tyrannus. Juvenal Plumage, tips of first and second primaries, Aug. 3oth (No. 6098). 19. Tyrannus tyrannus. First Nuptial Plumage, tips of first and second primaries, April 7th (No. 6458). 20. Chelidon erythrogastra. Juvenal Plumage, lateral rectrix, Aug. 6th (No. 1991). 2 1 . Chelidon erythrogastra. First Nuptial Plumage, lateral rectrix, May 22d (No. 2185). (350) ANNALS N. V. At'AI). SCI. XIII 2 3 17 PLATE III (351) PLATE III DWIGHT PLUMAGE AND MOULT Photograph showing location of the Pterylse or Feather Tracts of a Passerine bird. Natal Down or neossoptiles may be seen at the tips of the juvenal feathers which are just breaking from their follicles. The specimen a young Robin {Merula migratoria), five days out of the egg, is photographed life size. Fig. i. . Superior Aspect of the Feather Tracts. 1. Alar or Wing Tract. 2. Humeral or Shoulder Tract. 3. Capital or Head Tract. 4. Dorsal or Spinal Tract. 6. Lumbar or Thigh Tract. 7. Crural or Leg Tract. 8. Caudal or Tail Tract. Fig. 2. Inferior Aspect of the Feather Tracts. i. Alar Tract. 3. Capital Tract (lateral view.) 5. Ventral or Inferior Tract (dividing into two lateral bands). 7. Crural Tract. (352) A X N ALS N. Y. ACAI). SC I. XIII. PLATE III. PLATE IV. (353) ANNALS N. Y. ACAD. SCL, XIII, Oct. 31, 1900-23. PLATE IV DWIGHT PLUMAGE AND MOULT Ca rpodacus parpureus. Photomicrographs illustrating some of the plumages. (Enlargement about 20 diameters.) Fig. i. Juvenal Plumage, crown feather, showing loose struc- ture. (J. Dwight, Jr., No. 1288, July 23d.) Fig. 2. First Winter Plumage, crown feather, nearly new. (J. Dwight, Jr., No. 5223, Oct. lyth. ) Fig. 3. First Nuptial Plumage, crown feather which is identical with a first winter feather plus wear, no moult inter- vening. (J. Dwight, Jr., No. 260, April 23d.) (354) ANNALS N. V. ACAD. SCI. XIII. PLATK I\' PLATE V. (355) PLATE V DWIGHT PLUMAGE AND MOULT Photomicrographs illustrating Natal Down adhering to tips of Ju- venal Plumage feathers. Fig. i. Dolichonyx oryzivorus, crown feather bearing Natal Down. Specimen in the collection of J. Dwight, Jr. , No. 1943, July 28th. (Enlargement about 5 dia- meters. ) Fig. 2. Cistothorus palustris, crown feather bearing Natal Down. Specimen in the collection of J. Dwight Jr., No. 4214, Aug. 2oth. (Enlargement about 15 dia- meters.) (356) ANNALS N. Y. AC A I). SCI. XIII. PLATK V. PLATE VI ( 357 ) V PLATE VI DWIGHT PLUMAGE AND MOULT Passerina cyanea. Photomicrographs illustrating some of the plumages. (Enlargement about 20 diameters.) Fig. i. First Winter Plumage, brown throat feather, newly grown. (J. Dwight, Jr., No. 2451, Sept. 23d.) Fig. 2. First Winter Plumage, gray throat feather, worn. (U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 107845, March nth.) This figure does not do the actual feather justice. Fig. 3. First Nuptial Plumage, blue throat feather, new. It was still clasped by its sheath, and was growing beside the gray feather shown as Fig. 2. (358) ANNALS X. Y. ACAD. SCI. XIII. PLATE VI. PLATE VII. (359) PLATE VII DWIGHT PLUMAGE AND MOULT Photomicrographs illustrating the apparent brightening of color in certain feathers. See explanation on pages 80, 173-175. (Enlarge- ment about 15 diameters.) Fig. i. Carpodacus purpureus. Adult Winter Plumage, crown feather slightly worn. (Collection of J. Dwight, Jr., No. 894, Oct. 29th.) Fig. 2. Carpodacus purpureus. Adult Nuptial Plumage, crown feather, equivalent to Fig. i plus wear and consequent lossofbarbules. (J. Dwight, Jr., No. 3616, July 7th.) Fig. 3. Loxia curvirostra minor. Adult Winter Plumage, newly grown breast feather (the sheath was adherent). (J. Dwight, Jr., No. 1529, Oct. loth.) Fig. 4. Loxia curvirostra minor. First Nuptial Plumage, worn breast feather. It was situated beside the one just shown (Fig. 3), which it closely resembled when first developed, a year previously. (360) ANNALS N.*Y. ACAU. SCI. XIII. PLATE VII. THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNIVERSIIY.PF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ :iENCE LIBRARY This book is due on the last DATE stamped below. To renew by phone, call 459-2050. Books not returned or renewed within 14 days after due date are subject to billing. Series 2477 IVERSITY OF CA IFORNIA, SANTA CR 3210600972 1942