416 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



ono; the (rroiintl-color, liowovor, so mottled with Kraylnh. and tho pule ImiiilK with 

 iliiKky. tliiit thi'y lire liy no means »harply ileflneil or conspleuous, thnueh they are very 

 reKuliir; alula and primary eoverte more t>han>ly liarrcd wlthcreom-eolored spotn, Ihono 

 im thi' former nearly white; primaries with broad nuudnite spots of creamy wbltv on 

 outer wet>8, these (orniine from seven to eight transverse hands, the last of whieh Is not 

 terminal. Tall more Irregularly mottled than the wines, and crossed by seven to elirht 

 narrow, indistinct, but continuous pale bands. Eyebrows white, the feathers bordered 

 with dusky: cheeks, ear-coverts, and lower throat dull while, with transverse bars of 

 blackish; ebin Immaculate: upper eyelid dark brown; facial circle black; neck and Jucu- 

 lum like the cheeks, but more strongly burred, and with blackish alone the shaft. 

 Ground-color of the lower parts white, each fenther with a median stripe of blnck. this 

 throwing off distinct bars to the edge of the feathers: the median black Is hirgest on 

 • sides of the breast, where It expands Into very large conspicuous spots, having u slight 

 rusty exterior suffusion : the alidomen medially, the anal region, and the lower tnll- 

 eoverts ure almost unvaried white. Tibiie and tarsi dull white, much barred transversely 

 with blackish, or pale ochraceous, more sparsely burred with ilurk brownish. Lining of 

 tho wing creamy white, varied only along the edge; light bars on under surface of pri- 

 maries very Indistinct. 



h. Huh'xcott pUiinage. 



Adult. General pattern of the preceding, but the grayish tints replaced by luterltl- 

 ous rufous, very fine and bright, often with u slight viuuccouscast: this Is often uniform, 

 showing no trace of tho transverse dark mottling: there are, however, black shaft-lines 

 to tho feathers (these most conspicuous on the head above, and scapulars, and narrower 

 and more sharply defined than in the gray plumage). The inner webs of the ear-tufts, 

 outer webs of scapulars, and lower secondary and middle wing-coverts, are white, as In 

 the gray plumage; those of the scapulars are also bordered with black. The secondaries, 

 primaries, and tail are less bright rufous than the other portions, the markings as In the 

 gray plumage, only the colors being different. Tiie upper eyelid, and. in fact, all around 

 the eye, fine light rufous: cheeks and ear-coverts paler, scarcely variegated. Lower 

 parts without the transverse bars of the gray plumage, but In their place an irregular 

 clouding of line light rufous, like the back ; the lower parts medially (very broadly) im- 

 maculate snowy white: most of the feathers having tho red spotting show black shaft- 

 stripes, but the pectoral spots are not nearly so large or conspicuous as in the gray bird. 

 Tlbla> line pale ochraceous rufous; tarsi the same posteriorly, in front white with 

 euneate specks of rufous; lower tail-coverts each with a median transversely cordate 

 spot of dilute rufous, the shaft black. Lining of the wing with numerous rufous spots. 



YouuQ- Wings and tail as in adult; markings on head and body as in the young gray 

 bird, but white bars more reddish, and dark ones more brown. 



Two adult males obtained at Mt. Carmel, Illinois, measured, 

 when fresh, as follows: Gray specimen. Total length, 7.50 inches ; 

 extent, 19.60 inches. Rnfons specimen (January 21, 1867) : Total 

 length, 8.25 inches; extent, 21.50. Two adult females from the 

 same locality measured, respectively, 9 inches in length by 21.50 

 in extent, and 9 by 23 inches. Tlie fresh colors of the soft parts 

 were as follows : Bill pea-green or pale greenish blue, sometimes 

 with a tinge of emerald-green ; iris knioii-yoUow ; toes and l)asal 

 half of claws yellowish gray, the tenuiiiul portion of the claws 

 dusky. 



