4. SCOPS. 81 



iicck an appearance of a white patch, centre of abdomen also whitish, 

 the under tail-coverts sli^-htly tipped with pale foxy red; leg- 

 feathers whitish on the thighs, inclinmg to buff on the tarsal plumes ; 

 edge of wing and inner under M'ing-coverts whitish, those near the 

 outer edge of the wing dark brown, narrowly barred with rufous, 

 the lower series brown, buffy white at base. Total length 8-5 inches, 

 wing G-1, tail 3-3, tarsus 1-15. 



Brown phase. Above very dark brown, almost blackish, varied 

 with rufous buff markings, forming one or two rows of spots or bars 

 of this colour near the tips of the feathers, which are also vermi- 

 culatcd with rufous buff, especially on the dorsal ])lumes and sca- 

 pulars, the outer web of the latter having large white spots extend- 

 ing on to the inner web in some of them ; head coloured like the 

 back, but rather more minutely spotted with rufous buff, excepting 

 on the auricular tufts, where the markings are larger, especially on 

 the inner webs ; wing-coverts blackish, the least series minutely 

 spotted with rufous buff, the greater series more vermiculated with 

 the latter colour, especially on the inner web, the outermost of this 

 series being irregularly but conspicuously marbled with white, the 

 greater series also white near the tip of the outer web, but all of 

 these coverts more largely barred and mottled with rufous buff than 

 the rest of the wing-coverts; primary coverts blackish, slightly 

 barred on the outer web with rufous buff; quills blackish, nearly 

 uniform on the inner webs of the primaries, externally notched with 

 white near the base, these inclining to rufous towards the tips, 

 which have indistinct remains of rufescent barring on the inner web 

 also ; the secondaries very faintly barred with rufous on the inner 

 web, but more plainly on the outer one ; the innermost secondaries 

 blackish, very distinctly mottled with rufous buff vermiculations, 

 and resembling the back ; tail-feathers blackish, tipped with rufous 

 and crossed with about five other narrow bars of rufous buff, the 

 interspaces slightly freckled with dull rufescent colour near the tips 

 of the feathers ; lores dull whitish, washed with brown, the shafts 

 black and elongated so as to form haii--like bristles ; plumes at the 

 base of the forehead and over the fore part of the eye white, with 

 narrow rufous brown tips ; ear-coverts dull rufous brown, trans- 

 versely barred with blackish, the lower part varied with a slight 

 indication of silvery white bars ; behind the ear-coverts a faintly 

 indicated ruff of rufous buff plumes narrowly barred with black ; 

 chin and fore part, of cheeks whitish ; remainder of under surface 

 rufous buff, the feathers broadly streaked down the centre with 

 black, these markings wider on the chest, which has consequently a 

 more dingy appearance ; most of the feathers obscured with minute 

 narrow vermiculations traversing the feathers, many of which in- 

 cline to white on their outer margin ; this white colour amounts 

 only to a few lateral spots on the chest-feathers, gradually widening 

 and taking the form of bars on the flanks and sides of the body, the 

 feathers on the sides of the vent and under tail-coverts being white 

 barred with rufous ; leg-feathers buff, crossed with numerous small 



VOL. II. Q 



