230 A Description of the Birds 
yellow; claws black. Length from bill to base of tail eleven 
inches; length of latter nearly the same*. 
Young.—Bill nearly as in mature specimens ; head rufous, 
with the centres of all the feathers black; back and sides of 
neck similarly marked, but the spots largest on the former, 
whereby the latter exhibits a greater proportion of rufous; 
interscapulars, back, shoulders, and tail coverts brown, the 
latter broadly tipt with rufous; the feathers of the back and ~ 
shoulders with narrow edgings and tips of the same color. 
Chin and throat tawny, variegated by a few black longitu- 
dinal streaks; breast and belly similarly colored, but the 
streaks considerably larger and more numerous; under tail 
coverts and thighs tawny, without, or with but very few 
variegations. Primary and secondary wing coverts brown, 
tipt with tawny; primary wing feathers dark brown, the 
inner vanes towards tips banded with black, and towards 
quills with black and white or pale tawny; secondaries 
brown, banded with black on their imner vanes, and mottled 
towards the edges of latter with tawny white, all the tips 
tawny. ‘Tail slightly rounded, each feather with four or five 
transverse bands of black, and between these brown, finely 
mottled with white, some of the black bands are, in some 
specimens, somewhat arrow-shaped, and have a line of tawny 
white on the edge most distant from the body. Instead of an 
uniform brown between the black bands, there is, in several 
of the lateral feathers a mixture of white, either in the form 
of blotches or partial bands, the tips of all the feathers are 
tawny white; legs and toes greenish yellow; claws black. 
The only specimen of this species which I have seen ex- 
hibiting the mature plumage was shot on the Baviaans River, 
and the two young ones which I have had the means of com- 
paring with it, were killed near Wynberg. 
Obs.—Though there are many and strong points of simi- 
larity between the three specimens just viewed as belonging 
to the same species, yet there are some others also, which 
warrant the existence of doubt ; and, therefore, till more satis- 
factory evidence can be obtained, the fact of identity or non- 
identity must remain undecided. The great approximation, 
however, does not appear to me to sanction their being 
described as two species, more particularly as two out of the 
three are decidedly young, and not referable to any other 
species I have yet met with here. 
* As the history of the bird described is not well known, I have purposely 
avoided referring it to either sex, though a minute comparison with two 
young specimens wonld incline me to view it as a female. 
