370 ALUCO STRIDULUS. 



neral are oblong and rounded, their downy part pro- 

 portionally large and remarkably soft, with a short tufty 

 plumule. The wings are rather long, very broad, much 

 rounded, and reach two-thirds down the tail. The 

 quills are much decurved ; the first five primaries are 

 abruptly cut out on the inner web near the end, the 

 second, third, fourth and fifth slightly cut out on the 

 outer ; the fourth longest, the fifth scarcely shorter, the 

 third and seventh nearly equal, the second longer than 

 the eighth, the first and tenth equal ; they are all round- 

 ed and curved at the end. The secondary quills, ;.hir- 

 teen in number, are broad, long, and rounded. The 

 tail is in reality longer than the body, although it seems 

 short, on account of the tufty plumage ; it is decurved 

 and rounded, of twelve weak, rounded feathers, of 

 which the lateral is an inch shorter than the central. 

 The scapulars are long; the hypochondrial feathers 

 form large tufts four inches long, and there is a tuft 

 on each femur, but none on the tibia. 



The bill is light greyish-yellow or horn-colour, the 

 cere flesh-coloured, as is the mouth, excepting the an- 

 terior part of the palate, which is of a dull leaden tint. 

 The iris is bluish-black. The soles of the feet are 

 flesh-coloured, the claws yellowish-grey at the base, 

 dusky or purplish-brown towards the end. The facial 

 disks are anteriorly greyish-white with black shafts, 

 posteriorly yellowish-brown. The ruff^ is yellowish- 

 red mottled with brown above, at the middle brown- 

 ish-black, below pale yellowish-brown. The general 

 colour of the upper parts is light yellowish-red, mottled 

 and longitudinally streaked with dark brown, the hind 

 part of the bade mottled without streaks, as are the two 



