61. LEPTODON. 331 



Toimg. Above brown, the dorsal feathers and -wdng-coverts mar- 

 gined with pale rufous, the upper tail-coverts broadly barred and 

 tipped with buff; quills dark brown, with rufous-buff tips, the pri- 

 maries barred with dark brown above, the secondaries more or less 

 distinctly barred with rufous or rufous buff; the under surface of 

 the wing ashy brown, barred with darker brown, the bases of the 

 feathers creamy buff, washed with rufous near the tips ; tail ashy 

 brown, tipped with whitish, barred across with dark brown bars, 

 the interspaces on the inner web creamy buff, more or less mottled 

 with brown above, at the base barred above and below with creamy 

 buff, like the upper taU-coverts ; crown of the head dark brown, 

 with no pale margins ; sides of the face and a collar round the neck 

 white, slightly spotted with pale brown, the ear-coverts inclining to 

 bluish grey ; under surface of body white, the throat indistinctly 

 spotted, and the breast narrowly barred with pale brown, the bars 

 almost linear on the under tail-coverts, those on the thigh-feathers 

 broader and more rufous; under wing-coverts and axiUaries white, 

 barred with pale rufous. Total length 17 inches, culmen 1-65, 

 wing 10-4, tail 8-6, tarsus 1-45. 



Another specimen, still quite young, agrees with the foregoing in 

 the coloration of the wings and tail, but has the edgings to the 

 feathers of the upper surface very much broader, and a broad white 

 tip to the tail ; the sides of the face and collar round the neck are 

 creamy white, without any brown spots ; the under surface of the 

 body is also more free from spots, with here and there a feather ap- 

 pearing broadly barred with tawny rufous, indicative of the next 

 change in the plumage. 



Mature. Altogether different from the preceding stage. Above 

 leaden brown, the head more slaty, the sides of the face and chin 

 clear slaty blue ; round the neck a rufous collar ; quills brown, with 

 narrow apical margins of pale rufous or bufiy white, the outer secon- 

 daries rufous for nearly their whole extent, the under surface of the 

 wing greyish, creamy white near the base, all the quills barred 

 above and below with blackish brown ; tail ashy grey, crossed by 

 two very broad bars of black, tipped with creamy white, before 

 which an indistinct subterminal line of ashy grey is visible, some of 

 the outer upper tail-coverts and base of tail slightly mottled with 

 whitish ; under surface of body tawny rufous, crossed with broad 

 bars of ochraceous buff, the under wing-coverts similarly marked, 

 the lower ones ochraceous buff, with greyish black cross bars. 



The next change seems to be in the imder surface, where the 

 ochre-coloured bars become quite white, and whitish bars appear on 

 the grey throat. From this stage (to judge by our specimens) it 

 changes by a partial moult, and by a gradual change of feather at 

 the same time ; for the bars on the breast lose by degrees their rufous 

 tint and become grey, while the back also becomes slaty grey instead 

 of brown ; the nuchal collar gradually disappears. This gradual 

 development seems to be satisfactorily traced, with the exception of 

 the taU, which, instead of agreeing with that of the rufous or 

 " mature " stage, has four rather narrow black bars, like the young 



