;i92 I'ALCOXID.l^. 



Adult male. Forehead rather broadly whitish ; fore part of crown 

 deep greyish black ; rest of crowu and nape deep brick-red, varied 

 with black shaft-stripes, on the nape tlie black collecting in the centre 

 and forming a nuchal spot, the rufous shade paler over the eye, form- 

 ing an almost imperceptible eyebrow ; cheek-stripe, feathers round 

 the eye, and a line running along the upper margin of the ear-coverts 

 to the nape black ; ear-coverts and sides of neck rufous, slightly 

 washed with buff ; interscapulary region deep greyish black, some 

 of the feathers slightly margined with brownish ; rest of upper 

 surface deep blue-grey, much paler on the ramp and upper tail- 

 coverts ; the scapulars and inner secondaries slightly shaded with 

 bro^vnish ashy, all the feathers barred across with greyisli black, 

 these bars much narrower on the lower back, rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts ; least wing-coverts coloured like the interscapulary region, 

 the median and greater series like the scapulars ; quills blackish, 

 primaries slightly washed with grey, secondaries narrowly tipped 

 with whitish, otherwise coloured and barred like the back ; tail 

 ashy grey, tipped with white and barred across with greyish black ; 

 under surface clear cinnamon-buff, paler on the throat, in old birds 

 entirely unspotted ; the wing-coverts only marked with blackish, in 

 others marked on the flanks and thighs with a few spots and bars 

 of black ; feet yellow ; bill yellow at base, horn-blue at tip ; iris 

 lightish brown. Total length 15 inches, culmen 1-2, wing 12, tail 7, 

 tarsus 1"9. 



Adult female. A little larger than the male. Total length 16 

 inches, wing 14, 



Young. Head rufous, as in the adults, and marked with black in 

 the same manner, the whitish eyebrow plainer ; upper surface dark 

 brown, all the feathers edged with rufous, the margins of the 

 secondaries and upper taU-coverts paler and more buff; tail greyish 

 brown, tipped with pale rufous, and irregidarly spotted and barred 

 with the same colour ; imder surface deep fawn ; the throat and 

 chest paler and inclining to whitish, the latter longitudinally marked 

 with blotches of brown, which become very broad on the lower 

 breast; lower abdomen, under tail-coverts, and thighs clear cinnamon- 

 buff, only the last marked externally with brown ; under wing- 

 coverts brown, broadly margined with fulvous, the greater ones and 

 axillaries spotted with pivle rufous. 



Nestlin;/. Only differs from the foregoing fuUy-grown young bird 

 in ha%-ing more distinct rufous margins to the dorsal feathers, and 

 in having the tail banded with rufous, these bars evidently disap- 

 pearing very soon ; head rufous. 



H(dy. South Africa. 



ti. 2 ^d. st. Latakoo, S. Africa. 



b. Pull. St. S. Africa. 



c. cj' ad. sk. Eland's Post, S. Aftica. R. B. Sharpe, Esq. 

 (/. (^ juv. sk. l]land's Post, S. Africa E. B. Sharpe, Esq. 



{T. Atmore). 



M. 'X'eiTeaux [C.l. 

 M. Verreaux [C.J. 



n 



