4. SCOPS. 95 



many of which the vermicukitions are nearly obsolete ; head darker 

 than the back, blackish brown in the centre of the ci-own, all the 

 feathers centred or marginally spotted with rufous sandy, the lores 

 buft'y whitish, tipped with black ; feathers over the eye sandy buff, 

 with narrow black tips, these plumes forming a tolerably distinct 

 band down the sides of the hoad continuous with the ear-tufts, 

 which are sandy bufl' on the inner web and at the base, the outer 

 webs rufous sandy colour, barred with dark brown, many of the 

 smaller feathers rufous, with coarse vermiculations of dark bro^^■n ; 

 on the nape and occiput some tolerably distinct bars of sandy buff 

 give an indication of a faint band ; the hinder neck pale sandy buff, 

 tipped with blackish brown, and forming a very distinct collar run- 

 ning round to the sides of the neck, which are also sandy buff, 

 slightly vermiculated with brown ; over the hinder part of the eye 

 a small patch of rufous feathers running backwards to the base of 

 the ear-coverts ; cheeks and ear-coverts rufous sandy, the latter 

 slightly inclining to silvery white on their lower margin, the hinder 

 ones broadly tipped with black, and merging in an indistinct ruff 

 running down the sides of the head, and composed of sandy buff 

 plumes, narrowly tipped with black, these tips becoming narrower 

 on the gular feathers, which are also crossed with fine wavy lines of 

 brown ; chin fulvescent ; on the fore neck a faintly indicated white 

 band ; rest of under surface sandy-coloured, with very few traces 

 of vermiculations ; the chest broadly streaked with black mesial 

 stripes, somewhat broken up near the base on some of the feathers 

 and dilating towards the tip on others, those on the abdomen and 

 flanks much narrower, and disappearing entii'ely on the under tail- 

 coverts, which are whitish ; leg-feathers buffy whitish ; under 

 wing-coverts also bufty white, with a few markings of sandy buff 

 or brown near the outer edge of the wing, the lower series ashy 

 brown, buffy white at base, resembling the inner lining of the quills, 

 which are ashy brown below, with scarcely any indications of lighter 

 bars, excepting on the inner quills, where they are yellowish white 

 towards the base ; upper wing-coverts coloured like the back, and 

 vermiculated in the same manner, with several distinct indications 

 of sandy buff bars, the median and greater series almost unifonn 

 sandy buff at their tips, with very few vermiculations, and giving 

 the appearance of a buff-coloured spot ; spurious quills indistinctly 

 notched with buffy white on the outer web ; primary coverts dark 

 brown, with a few indistinct vermiculated cross bars of sandy bufl"; 

 quills dark brown, barred on the inner web with ashy brown, these 

 represented on the outer M^eb by sandy bars, more or less vermi- 

 culated with dark brown, and inclining to buff on the primaries ; 

 the innermost secondaries resembling the back and scapulars ; tail 

 brown, vermiculated, like the quills, with sandy buff towards the 

 tips, crossed with about seven bands of clearer sandy colour. Total 

 length 8 inches, wing O'o, tail 3"25, tarsus 1*15. 



The grey phase is so very similar to the corresponding plumage 

 of Sco^JS Icttla, that a description is unnecessary. It may be men- 

 tioned as exactly resembling that species, but to be distinguished by 



