102 LLOYD'S NATURAL HISTORY. 



quills blackish, the latter browner on the inner web ; the first 

 two primaries with white shafts ; the innermost secondaries 

 grey like the back ; tail-feathers slaty-grey, blackish towards 

 the ends ; crown of head black, forming a cap ; the lores and 

 sides of face up to the fore-part of the eye blackish, as also the 

 fore-part of the cheeks at the base of the lower mandible ; rest 

 of the sides of the face and a collar round the hind neck white, 

 washed with ochreous-buff ; throat and fore-neck and chest 

 white, with more or less of an ochreous tinge ; remainder of 

 under surface of body from the chest downwards pale slaty- 

 grey, including the under tail-coverts, under wing-coverts, and 

 axillaries ; " bill horn-colour ; tarsi bluish in Hfe, drying oliva- 

 ceous ; toes black " (//. Saunders), Total length, 21 inches; 

 culmen, I'l ; wing, ii'S; tail, 4-6 ; centre tail-feathers, ii'5; 

 tarsus, i'65. 



Adult Female. — Similar to the male in colour, but with slightly 

 shorter central tail-feathers. 



Adult in Winter Plumage. — Similar to the summer plumage, but 

 as in the other species, there is, according to Mr. Saunders, a 

 tendency, after the autumnal moult, to show striated feathers 

 on the flanks, and on the upper and under tail-coverts. 



Immature Birds. — Difl"er from the adults in having very little 

 yellow on the sides of the neck, and in having the under parts 

 and upper tail-coverts barred with varying degrees of ash-brown. 

 The young are ash-brown above, the head darkest, the feathers 

 of the mantle and tail-coverts merely tipped with buff, but 

 without any rufous tint, the under parts being dull greyish- 

 white, barred with ash-brown {Sautiders). 



Nestling. — Greyish-brown above and below, much paler and 

 greyer than in S. a-epidatus. 



Characters. — Mr. Saunders points out that in this species 

 there is always a "very characteristic grey tint in all its phases." 

 The adult bird is certainly lighter grey than S. crepidaUis, from 

 which S. parasiticus also differs in its smaller size, comparatively 

 shorter bill, and long centre tail-feathers, which sometimes 

 project to a length of nine inches. Only the two outer 

 primaries have white shafts. 



