412 SCOLOPACID^. 



white, others with reddish-buff ; wing-coverts dove-grey, with 

 lighter-coloured margins ; primaries dusky-black, the shafts 

 white, the outer narrow web of each feather darker than the 

 broader innner web ; secondaries tipped with white ; upper 

 tail-coverts almost black ; middle tail-feathers brownish- 

 black, long and pointed, the others ash-brown with lighter- 

 coloured edges ; chin white ; breast nearly white, spotted with 

 grey ; vent, and under tail-coverts white, with an occasional 

 streak of grey ; legs and toes ochreous-yellow, the hind toe 

 directed inwards ; the claws black. 



The whole length is eight inches and a half. From the 

 carpal joint of the wing to the end of the first quill-feather, 

 which is the longest, five inches. The females are rather 

 larger than the males. 



A bird killed in November has the head, neck, back, 

 and upper tail-coverts, uniform lead-grey ; the wing-coverts 

 and tertials only with greyish- white edges ; the under surface 

 changing from bluish-grey to white. In another specimen 

 killed later in the year, the breast and all the under parts 

 are nearly white, with a few spots of grey. 



In the downy nestling the upper parts are of a warm rufous- 

 brown, with darker streaks and waved lines of grey on the 

 crown, nape, and cheeks ; a well-defined black V has its 

 apex at the base of the bill on each side ; under parts dull 

 white tinned with buff. 



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