32 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXV. 



the centre of the belly and vent more rufous, the black bases to 

 the feathers hardly showing. 



Younger birds still first acquire a certain number of semi-lanceo- 

 late feathers intermediate in colouration between the adult and the 

 first plumage ; the upper parts from the back to the tip of the tail 

 are dark rufous, vermiculated with black, some of the back feathers 

 shoAving small violet blue patches. Below the breast is a deep 

 rufous chestnut, slightly barred and vermiculated with black on 

 the upper breast and profusely so on the lower breast where it chan- 

 ges into the dull dirty grej^'-black abdomen, lower flanks and vent. 

 The under tail coverts are mixed rufous and black. 



" Young males in first plumage. — In the bird of the year the 

 iris is light yellowish, the bill much the same as in the chick; 

 the comb and spiirs but very little more developed and the 

 wattles are absent. The head and upper part of the hind 

 neck are yellowish rufous, the feathers with darker centres, 

 deepening into chestnut red on the inter-scapular region, sides 

 of neck, and breast ; in the lower part of the hind neck the 

 feathers are somewhat elongated, with glossy blackish centres, 

 and there are signs of the dark foreneck patch ; the metallic 

 purple of the adult rump is present in small patches on the 

 feathers ; the ground colour and tail, which is short, is ferruginous, 

 mottled with blackish, with a greenish black wash on some of the 

 tail feathers ; wings blackish brown, the secondaries and their 

 coverts handsomeh" mottled with rufous and buS"; chin and gorge 

 whitish, the feathers very short, lower parts rufescent, tipped 

 with rufous." (Legge). 



Adult female. — Forehead dull rufous red, crown dull brown, the 

 feathers finel}^ tipped black, nape, sides of the neck and sparse 

 feathers of the throat dull rufous. Mantle, of which the feathers 

 are far less lanceolate than in h. ferrugineus, blackish brown with 

 pale shaft streaks and golden buif edges. Remainder of upper 

 plumage pale buff*, rufous buff" or rufous brown vermiculated all 

 over with black in fine wavy bars ; on the tail the vermiculations 

 are bolder becoming irregular longitudinal barrings and blotches 

 of black glossed with green. Median and smaller coverts like the 

 back, but with sub-terminal bars of black and often white shafted ; 

 the greater coverts and edge of wing are boldly barred with black 

 and pale yellow buff ; primaries pale brown, mottled on the outer 

 webs with black and bulf ; outer secondaries brown, boldly barred 

 with black and buff" on the outer webs, inner secondaries vermiculated 

 brown and buff along the centre, and boldly barred with black and 

 buff on both webs and with chestnut vermiculations showing here 

 and there. 



Below the almost semi-nude throat and foreneck a few feathers 

 with broad glossy black edges take the place of the black patch in 



