422 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 



texture of the feathers. My attention was first drawn 

 to this curious fact from the examination of a bird, now 

 in my collection, which was killed at Lakenham, near 

 Norwich, on the 16th of March, 1863, and may be thus 

 described : — All the upper parts of the plumage, in- 

 cluding the head, neck, back, scapulars, wing and tail- 

 coverts, secondaries, slightly, and the quill feathers of 

 the tail are reddish orange over shades of greyish-black, 

 this singular appearance being caused by each feather 

 having the basal half black, the anterior portion only 

 having a reddish hue ; and that most vivid on the back 

 and shoulders. Primaries dull black, the first quill feather 

 having the outer web, as usual, edged with pure white. 

 The feathers of the flanks are also tinged with orange 

 red, becoming brighter in colour towards the vent; 

 two or three feathers, however, on either side are 

 partly white, but not conspicuously so as in ordinary 

 specimens. Sides of the head, above and below the eye, 

 dull black, slightly tipped with greyish white, as also 

 the chin and throat, but the greyish white tips on the 

 latter are more defined. The rest of the under parts 

 greyish-white, here and there tinged with orange, but 

 the basal part of each feather greyish black. Under 

 tail-coverts white, but with only a few feathers left to 

 represent this striking feature in the ordinary plumage. 

 Legs and feet green without the red bar above the 

 tarsus ; bill greenish yellow, anteriorly, dull red on the 

 base and frontal shield. The whole of the plumage has 

 a worn and ragged appearance, resembling rather hair 

 than feathers, owing to the absence of the interlacing 

 filaments from the anterior portion of the vane of each 

 feather, and in passing the hand over the back of the 

 bird (peculiarly soft and smooth in its normal state), 

 its roughness reminds one of the sensation experienced 

 in stroking a wiry coated terrier dog. 



The cause of this strange condition of plumage is. 



