Page:The British Warblers A History with Problems of Their Lives - 2 of 9.djvu/14

 light purplish brown, the outer edges being margined with buffish olive. The shafts of the wing-feathers are dark purplish brown, the outer half of the innermost secondaries greyish brown and edged with buffish olive. The tips of the primaries are rather darker brown, the greater coverts greyish brown narrowly edged with buffish olive, and the medium and smaller coverts broadly edged with the same colour, almost hiding the brownish grey ground colour. The throat is whitish with a narrow inconspicuous line of sulphur yellow, and is also margined with a similar line and a broader line of light smoky ash colour, which latter colour extends to the crop, sides of the breasts, and flanks.

The abdomen is ashy white, becoming almost white towards the crissum; the feathers on the crop and abdomen have a dull sulphur coloured pattern on each side, which, when the feathers are in perfect order, form narrow longitudinal stripes. The under tail-coverts are whitish sulphur yellow, and the under surface of the tail and wings light greyish brown with white shafts. Axillaries and under wing-coverts are sulphur yellow. The iris is dark brown and the minute feathers on the eyelid whitish. Upper mandible dark purplish brown, lower mandible the same colour at the tip, but fleshy brown towards the base. Feet are blackish brown.

The sexes are alike in colour, but the female is somewhat smaller.

Male in Autumn.—The upper parts are olive brown, slightly lighter and more yellow on the rump. The small feathers on the eyelid are whitish yellow, and the superciliary stripe light buff, with a tinge of yellow just over the eye. The sides of the head are olive buff with an indistinct light centre to each feather. The upper parts of the tail and the wings are greyish brown, edged with olive green. The largest feather of the bastard wing is uniform dark greyish brown, the innermost secondaries have broad olive green edges to the feathers. The under parts are whitish, the throat, neck, chest, and flanks being suffused with a rich warm buff, rather