11. PERDICULA. 197 



otherwise the rest of the head, chin, and throat are black. Sides 

 of the neck, chest, and breast grey ; front of the neck and middle 

 of the chest chestnut ; middle of the breast and bellj' black, each 

 feather with a large round or oval white spot near the extremity. 

 Sides and flanks chestnut, with white black-edged shaft-stripes. 

 Tail black, with reddish-white cross-bars. Iris brown. Legs and 

 feet greyisli black. Bill black, bluish towards the base. Total 

 length 10 inches, wing .5-1, tail 2-7, tarsus 1-3. 



Adult female. Top of the head black fringed with olive-brown, a 

 line of feathers with buff shaft-stripes running down the centre of 

 the head ; the whole of the upper parts black tipped with warm 

 olive-brown, and each feather with a whitish or buff shaft-stripe 

 and transversely barred on both webs with rufous buff. QuiUs like 

 those of the male. Chin and throat buff; ear-coverts brown ; rest 

 of the head rufous buff dotted with black. Eest of the underparts 

 buff or rufous buff ; the feathers of the neck, chest, breast, belly, 

 and under tail-coverts each with two black lines, parallel with one 

 another and with the margin of the feather ; sides and flanks barred 

 with black. Tail black, with buff cross-bars. Total length 9-6 

 inches, wing o-l, tail 2-7, tarsus 1-3. 



JIab. Same as that of the genus. 



«-c. c? 2 ad. sk. Madagascar. Purchased. 



<^-/. 6 2 ad. sk. Madaga.«car, March ( IF. D. Tweeddale Coll. 



Coican). 



g, h. J 2 ad. sk. Madagascar (Bewsher). Shellev Coll. 



t,k. cT ? ad. sk. Central Madagascar. ShelleV Coll. 



I. 2 ad. sk. Central Madagascar. Seebohm Coll. 



11. PERDICULA. ^ 



Perdicula, IIod(/s. Bemj. Sport. Mag. ix. p. 344 (1837 J . . P. asiatica. 



Tail with 12 feathers ; rather feeble, but much stiffer than the 

 upper tail-coverts and less than half the length vi the wing. 



Ist primary intermediate in length between the 7th and 9th ; 4th 

 slightly longest. 



Tarsus equal to the middle toe and claw ; a pair of blunt spurs in 

 the male. 



Axillaries short. 



liamje. Teninsula of India and Ceylon. 



Key to the Specks. 



A. Chest and breast barred with black and white. 

 (Males.) 

 a. Throat lufoiis chestnut: inner webs of pri- 



™»"e3 not barred with rufous buff asiatica, p. 198. 



h. Throat dull briek-red ; inner webs of pri- 



luarics barred with rufous buff aiyoondah, p. 200 



II. (-host and breast not barred with black and 



white. (Females.) 



c Throat rufous cliestuut asiatica, p. 198. 



<i. Ihroat white tinged with vinaccous argoondah, p. 200. 



