Page:The British Warblers A History with Problems of Their Lives - 1 of 9.djvu/14

 have dark centres forming three longitudinal stripes, the lores are blackish brown, cheeks brown, and the upper parts of the ear coverts slightly more dusky, these latter forming with the lores a darkish stripe through the eye. The hinder part of the neck is almost unspotted, whereas on the back and shoulders each feather has a blackish brown centre forming about six stripes on the back. The wing-coverts are blackish brown with umber brown edges to each feather, the flight-feathers are brown with slightly lighter edges, the innermost secondaries having blackish brown centres and light umber brown edges, the primaries having narrow whitish brown tips. The upper part of the tail is dark umber brown with lighter edges of the same tint, both colours getting lighter towards the outermost rectrices. The throat is whitish, the crop and sides of the neck buff shading into umber buff on the flanks and under tail-coverts. Abdomen whitish, and the under part of the tail greyish brown with a wash of lavender grey.

Immature.—The colour of the young is much like that of the adults, but richer. The crown is blackish, each feather narrowly edged with olive buff, the combined effect being, when the feathers are in perfect order, that of six fairly broad blackish stripes divided by narrow olive buff lines. There is a conspicuous light buff superciliary stripe, the lores are blackish, uppermost ear-coverts dusky, the combined effect being a dark streak through the eye; on the nape the blackish centre and olive buff edges of the feathers are of equal strength; on the back and shoulders the blackish centres are most conspicuous, forming about six fairly well defined longitudinal stripes; on the rump and upper tail-coverts the olive buff becomes slightly rusty or richer olive buff and the dark centres to the feathers are less conspicuous. The upper part of the tail is brownish slate, each feather edged with olive buff slightly lighter on the outermost ones, the shafts being dark lavender brown. The wings are darkish brown slate, each feather boldly edged with olive buff, narrower on