106 GREY PHALAROPE. 
fading into the white; on the sides are a few pale dusky 
grey shaft streaks. Back, deep dusky brownish black, with 
broad dull yellowish margins to the feathers; in winter 
bluish grey, the shafts of the feathers darker and each 
narrowly edged with pale yellowish white. 
The wings expand to the width of one foot three inches; 
greater wing coverts, dark lead-colour, in winter greyish black, 
broadly edged with white; lesser wing coverts, lead-colour; 
in winter greyish black, more narrowly edged with white; 
primaries, greyish black, the shafts white; secondaries, broadly 
tipped with white, exhibiting a conspicuous bar across the 
wing; tertiaries, long and black, in winter broadly edged 
with white on the outer webs. Tail, greyish black, finely 
margined with white, it is of a wedge-shaped form; under 
tail coverts, reddish brown. The legs, which have the bones 
flattened as in the true swimming birds, are greenish yellow, 
dull in winter; so are the toes, the front ones are united 
as far as the first joint. Claws, black; lobes, dusky and 
yellowish, serrated on the margins. 
The female is larger than the male; length, about eight 
inches and a quarter, or a little over; bill, yellow, dark 
brown towards the point, in winter black; iris, dark brown; 
around the eye is a patch of white, in winter dusky black. 
Head on the crown, and about the base of the bill, white, 
in the winter there is a black patch at the back; neck, in 
front and on the sides, reddish chesnut, in winter grey in 
front; in winter the back is grey; breast, reddish chesnut, 
in winter white, with a small patch of grey on either side 
towards the front and middle; back, nearly black, with pale 
yellowish margins to the feathers, in winter grey. 
Greater wing coverts, leaden grey, with broad ends of white, 
in winter edged with white; lesser wing coverts, leaden grey, 
with white edges; primaries, nearly black; secondaries, in 
winter, margined with white; tertiaries, leaden grey, with orange 
yellow margins, in winter these edges become white. Tail, 
nearly black, underneath it is ash grey; legs and toes, yellow, 
in winter yellowish brown. Claws, black; lobes, yellow, in 
winter yellowish brown. ; 
In the young the feathers about the base of the bill are 
dull yellow, as also are the sides of the head and upper part 
of the breast; the back, tertiaries, and upper tail coverts, 
dusky, the feathers with pale buff edges. The legs, grey; the 
webs of the feet bordered with buff yellow. 
