154 Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on 



(No. 2.) The Norwich Museum possesses a specimen, shot 

 near Potchefstroom on 20th July, which is evidently in the 

 same stage of plumage as No. 1, but much more Avorn and 

 abraded. In this example the abrasion of the margins has 

 removed all rufous tint from the upper parts, except some 

 very slight remains of it on the lesser wing-coverts ; on the 

 lower parts the rufous plumage remains as in No. 1, but is 

 much paler, and evidently faded ; the feathers of the under 

 tail-coverts are also for the most part white ; no white tips 

 are visible on the abdominal and tibial feathers, having pro- 

 bably been worn off; the tail is greyish brown, with five ex- 

 tremely indistinct darker transverse bars just perceptible on 

 the middle rectrices, and four similar bars, more j)lainly dis- 

 tinguishable, on the paler inner webs of the remaining tail- 

 feathers. The primaries and secondaries are similarly coloured 

 to those of No. 1 ; but the inner webs are on the greater por- 

 tion of their surface pure white, and without transverse mark- 

 ings, except in the case of a single secondary feather, appa- 

 rently more recently acquired, in which the dark portion is 

 rather deep grey, as in the adult bird, with three dark trans- 

 verse bars crossing the whole of the outer web and the ad- 

 jacent parts of the inner one. Mr. Ayres, who obtained this 

 specimen, records the colour of the irides as " light gamboge- 

 yellow.^^ 



The next stage appears to be attained by the acquisition of 

 new feathers on the under, but, judging from the specimens 



species of both colours, which might possibly have been different sexes. 

 The primary quill-feathers are the same as in old birds ; but the secon- 

 daries are less distinctly banded, and the proportion of the white in the 

 bands is smaller, or, indeed, almost wanting, grey being the prevailing 

 colour ; the tips are white. The tail is banded ; but the colours are in a 

 reversed proportion, dark brownish black or black being the most abun- 

 dant or ground-hue, and reddish white the most scanty. The latter 

 occurs in the form of narrow transverse bands, about four or five on each 

 feather ; and the tips of all have, besides, a narrow edging of duskj' 

 white. The tail is also considerably longer in young specimens than in older 

 ones. Ijegs and toes shaded with brown ; claws nearly black : bill darli 

 horn-coloured, shaded with yellow ; eyes yellow : length of tail 10^ 

 inches." 



