Whitethroat moult

I caught an adult Common Whitethroat today which had arrested its primary moult. It had replaced primaries 9 and 10 on both wings.

According to Moult in birds by H B Ginn and D S Melville “late moulting birds may not finish before migrating (a few may not even start).....”. I didn't inspect the secondaries but they state “S start when P score 20 – 30”, however, they look pretty fresh in the photos.

According to Svennson “Late breeders/moulters of the nominate race sometimes suspend, leaving one or a few SS (and rarely PP) until after autumn migration”.

So this bird seems to follow the advice provided by Ginn and Melville.

Mick P