EGYPTIAN FOX-GOOSE. 641 



slightly longer than the fourth. The tail is short, much 

 rounded, of fourteen nearly straight, rounded feathers, the 

 shaft of which is prolonged a little beyond the terminal fila- 

 ments. The lower corerts reach to within an inch of the tip 

 of the tail. 



The prominent roundish tubercle on the wing is not horny, 

 but covered by skin. 



The bill is of a reddish flesh-colour, with the unguis and 

 part of the margins of the upper mandible black ; that of the 

 lower dusky brown. The eyes are orange-red. A roundish 

 space about the eye, with a band from thence to the base of 

 the bill, and the feathers along the margin of the latter light 

 chestnut-red ; the rest of the head cream-colour, shaded with 

 glossy brownish-red along the hind part of the neck for half 

 its length, where it enlarges and passes across the neck in 

 front ; the throat reddish cream-colour. The lower part of 

 the neck all round is pale reddish, minutely undulated with 

 transverse dusky lines. The fore part of the back and the 

 scapulars brownish-red, undulated with dusky and grey, the 

 larger scapulars chiefly red. The rest of the back and the 

 tail feathers glossy black. The smaller wing-coverts are 

 white ; the secondary coverts with a transverse black band 

 near the end. The primary quills are black, with a tinge of 

 brown ; the secondary quills greyish-black, but with part of 

 their outer webs of a glossy deep green, and four of the inner 

 grey internally and light red on the outer web. The lower 

 parts cream-coloured, paler in the middle, on the sides finely 

 undulated with brownish-grey. On the fore part of the breast 

 is a large patch of deep chestnut-red ; the feathers under the 

 tail are pale yellowish-red ; the axillary feathers and most of 

 the lower wing-coverts white. 



Length to end of tail 28 inches ; extent of wings 58 ; 

 wing from flexure 5f ; tail 5^ ; bill along the ridge 2^ ; 

 along the edge of lower mandible ly^- ; tarsus 3 ; hind toe 

 -^j, its claw -^j ; second toe 2, its claw -fe 1 third toe 2j, its 

 claw -^ ; fourth toe 2-^, its claw -^. 



Female. — The female, which is considerably smaller, is 

 less richly coloured than the male, but otherwise similar. 



s s 



