206



Mr. T. H. Newman,



Two skins of birds four weeks old differ rather in colour¬

ation, the smaller specimen has the breast and crop ashy, with

the feathers strongly tinged with buff; abdomen lighter, more

ashy ; if the adult bird was not known it would be difficult to

imagine that it would then be white breasted ; the whitish bar

on the central tail-feathers has not yet appeared ; head, wing,

rump and breast, especially in the larger specimen, thickly

sprinkled with yellow down adhering to the ends of the feathers;

the tail is about three inches long.


Three individuals, about five weeks old, are now about

two-thirds grown, the under surface is pale grey diffused with

brownish buff; the wings have become long and pointed; one

specimen shows four distinct bars on the wings ; tail about four

inches long, all the feathers showing the light band ; yellow

down has mostly disappeared, thickest on the rump. At six

weeks the bird has practically attained its adult proportions, the

light band on the tail is now very noticeable; all the primaries,

except the outermost ones, are full grown ; a little down here

and there still remains on the upper surface ; the bird becomes

independent of its parents about this age. When seven weeks

old the first plumage is quite complete ; a few traces of down

still retained.


It will be well here to compare the young bird with the

adult. In size it appears nearly as large, but is slimmer in build ;

the upper surface is practically the same, being of exactly the

same brownish grey tint, not at all duller as might have been

expected ; in fact, if anything the grey is purer aud lighter,

especially at the edges of the wings; entire head same slaty

grey. The under surface is very different, when the feathers of

the crop and upper breast first appear they are of a brownish-buff

tint at their ends, light ashy at their bases with whitish shafts ;

as the bird grows older the breast becomes lighter and more

ashy; the flanks in both adult and young are pale ashy, slightly

tinged with buff. I should here like to call attention to the

enormous size of the claws of the young bird ; when four weeks

old they are fully as long as in the full-grown bird, aud at seven

weeks they look almost like the talons of a bird of prey, being

over three quarters of an inch long, strongly curved and hooked



