6 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HLST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXV. 



and to deepen the yellow of the posterior crown to a deep orange. 

 Feathers of the nape orange yellow, with broad blackish centres, 

 changing to pale golden yellow on the longer hackles along the 

 back. Upper plumage, wing-coverts and inner secondaries reddish 

 buff or reddish brown, the feathers with pale shafts and vermiculat- 

 ed all over with black or very dark brown ; primaries deep brown 

 or brown, sometimes edged on the outer web with rufus. Tail 

 blackish brown, the central tail feathers more or less mottled with 

 rufus, which in some cases extends to the next two to four pairs of 

 feathers on. their outer webs. Breast below the red gorget light 

 Indian red with pale shafts, gradually becoming paler and duller 

 on the lower breast, and shading into pale dull cinnamon on the 

 belly, much vermiculated with brown ; under tail covers black or 

 blackish brown. 



Colours of soft iKirts. — Iris brown or hazel; bill horny brown, 

 gape and lower mandible plumbeous fleshy or fleshy grey ; comb 

 and orbital skin reddish crimson ; wattles very rarely present and 

 very small, like the comb but paler and more livid, legs generally 

 dull plumbeous brown but varjdng in tint as in the male. Un- 

 developed spurs are occasionally present. Tickell obtained such 

 a specimen in Singhbhum and I have myself shot at least half a 

 dozen females showing spurs, which in one case exceeded half 

 an inch in length. 



Measurements. — Wing 7" (177-8 mm.) to 7*7" (195-6 mm.); 

 tail from vent 5-5" (139-7 mm.) to 6*5" (165-1 mm.); tarsus 

 about 2-5" (63-5 mm.}; bill from front about -75" (19-5 mm.) 

 and from gape about 1-1" (27-9 mm.) 



"Weight lib. 2ozs. to lib. lOozs."— (Hume). 

 Young femcdes in their first year are generally more yellow 

 buff and less red below and have the feathers boldly mottled with 

 brown on the breast and lower parts. The extent of the crimson 

 or rusty-red of the head is also a sign of age, though a few females 

 seem never to acquire this. 



Chick in down. — A broad band down from the centre of the 

 crown to the end of the back a rich plumb brown ; a streak of 

 similar colour from the posterior lores produced in a fine line 

 over the eyes and as a wide line down the sides of the neck ; 

 lateral bands of buff down each side of the back succeeded by other 

 bands of the same colour at the centre. 



Sides of the body rich warm reddish buff changing to pale buff on 

 throat, foreneck and centre of breast and belly. 



The wing feathers when they first appear are isabelline finety 

 vermiculated with black, the quills gradually becoming more or 

 less immaculate on the inner webs as they grow larger. 



The bills are fleshy yellow and the legs rather clear olive greenish. 

 Distribution. — Hume's very full note on the distribution of the 



