ERNE. le 
portion of its base deep brown, and the rest white, that is, 
when fully adult, which some say is after the third moult, 
and others not until the bird is five years old. The legs, 
which are feathered a little below the knee, are straw-coloured, 
and have a series of scales in front. The middle toe has 
eight large scales, the outer one five, and the inner and hinder 
ones four each. Another description assigns to the first and 
second toes three; to the third twelve; and to the fourth, 
six. Another describes the middle toe as having sixteen, and 
the side and hind toes, six each; and, again, another gives 
thirteen to the middle one; so that it seems to me pretty 
certain, that no distinctive character is to be derived from 
their number: age may very possibly have something to do 
with it. The claws are black, the middle one being grooved 
on the under side. 
The young birds, when first hatched, are covered with down 
of a whitish appearance: when fully fledged, the bill is deep 
brown tinged with blue; the cere, greenish yellow; iris, dark 
brown; head, deep brown; chin, dingy white; nape, white 
tipped with brown; breast, dull white spotted with brown; 
back, light brown; primaries, blackish brown; lower tail 
coverts, dull white, tipped with deep brown; tail, greyish at 
the upper end, and the rest deep brown; feet, yellow; claws, 
blackish brown. When further advanced in plumage, the 
bill is bluish black, paler towards the base; cere, yellowish; 
iris, chesnut brown; head, crown, and neck, dark brown, the 
roots of the feathers white, and the tips paler than the rest. 
The breast is variegated with different shades of reddish brown, 
a few white feathers being interspersed. ‘The wings expand to 
the width of about seven feet. The tail is brown of different 
shades, darkest towards the end; the legs and toes, yellow; 
and the claws, bluish black, tinged with brown. 
