CUCKOO. 113 
extend to half the length of the tail; greater and lesser wing 
coverts, as the, back, but darker; primaries, dusky, barred on 
the inner webs with oval white spots from the base to within 
an inch and a half of their tips; the first feather is very 
short; secondaries and tertiaries, dusky; larger and _ lesser 
under wing coverts, white barred with dusky. The tail, 
rather long, of ten feathers of unequal length; the two middle 
ones are black, dashed with ash-colour on the outer edges 
of the webs, and sometimes a gloss of green, and tipped with 
white; the others are black, marked with white spots on each 
side of the shafts; im some the side feathers have white spots 
only on their inner webs, but all are tipped with white; the 
outer feather is very short; upper tail coverts, as the back, 
but paler; under tail coverts, white, with a tinge of yellowish 
rust-colour, and crossed with transverse black bars. Legs, 
yellow; toes, yellow, the outer hind toe is reversible; claws, 
whitish. 
The female is less in size; neck in front, tawny brown; 
breast, tawny brown, barred with dusky; greater and lesser 
wing coverts, marked with light rust-coloured spots; the pri- 
maries have the spots inclining to reddish brown on their 
edges; in the tail the white spots incline to reddish brown 
on their edges. It is said that in mature age the female 
assumes the plumage of the male. 
It would appear that the young bird does not entirely lose 
its first feathers until the second year’s moult, but that after 
the first moult, and even this it would almost seem does not 
take place before these birds leave us in the autumn; the 
male, both male and female having been alike till then, assumes 
a deep olive ash-colour, the red spots wearing off, while in 
the female they continue longer. I think that the moult is 
continuous and gradual, more so than in most other birds, 
and, as a matter of course in late-hatched individuals, is thus 
carried over longer into the ensuing year. Iris, greyish or 
reddish brown; forehead, white; the head on the back has a 
white patch; crown, dusky black; neck on the sides tinged 
with rufous; on the back and the nape a mixture of dusky 
black and clear ferruginous; chin, throat, and breast, dull 
yellowish white, the latter barred across with distinct bars of 
dusky black; each feather has in general two or three bars; 
back, dusky black and ferruginous, faintly barred with white. 
Primaries, more or less barred on the inner webs, the oval 
spots reddish brown; the side tail feathers more or less barred 
VOL, IL. I 
