116 H^MATOPODID^, 



In winter the croAvn and hinder part of the head are dusky, edged very 

 narrowly with greyish brown ; the lores pale brown, or in some specimens 

 greyish brown ; the chin and throat are white, also a patch on each side of 

 the neck, bordered in front along the sides of the white throat patch with 

 dusky or dark brown ; upper back, scapulars, rump, breast and sides of the 

 breast dusky or dark brown, according to season, edged with rusty or brownish 

 red ; some of the scapulars partly edged with white ; tertials long, reaching 

 beyond the fifth quill, edged and tipped with rufous or red brown ; lesser 

 wing coverts, like the upper back, white at the shoulder ; the secondary 

 or greater coverts tipped with white, forming a conspicuous wing bar; 

 primaries and secondaries black, the inner webs of the former and tips of 

 the latter white ; back, lower surface of the body from below the breast, 

 also the thigh and upper and lower tail coverts white ; a patch of black 

 on the rump ; tail feathers white, with a subterminal black band, except 

 the central ofies, which are entirely black. In the summer or breeding 

 plumage, the forehead, a band over the eye, lores and a patch behind the 

 eye are white ; the crown of the head is also white, broadly streaked with 

 black. There is also a black streak behind the white frontal patch, continued 

 to the front and below the eye on each side joining the black streak from 

 the lower mandible, and getting lost on the neck, whence springs a black 

 demicollar not extending on the upper surface of the neck, which, like the 

 head, is white with dark streaks ; back of neck white, extending down the 

 sides between the black demicollar and sides of the breast ; chin white ; 

 throat and breast deep black ; upper back and scapulars black, the feathers 

 broadly edged and tipped with red rust colour ; some wholly so, especially 

 the scapulars; lesser and median wing coverts black, broadly edged 

 and tipped with bright rust colour ; the tips of the greater or secondary 

 coverts white, forming a wing band ; quills black, the inner webs, and part 

 of the outer webs of the last two or three basally white ; secondaries like the 

 quills, but broadly white on their inner webs, and also narrowly tipped 

 white ; tertials dark brown, edged and tipped with rusty ; back, entire lower 

 surface below the breast, and upper tail coverts white ; rump with a patch 

 of black; tail as in the winter plumage; irides deep brown; legs orange 

 yellow. 



Length. — 8 to 8-5 inches; wing 6 : tail 2-5. 



Hah. — India generally and Ceylon, along the sea shores, and sometimes 

 inland along the banks of large rivers. Its geographical range is very wide, 

 being found in Europe, America, and Africa, and throughout Asia, in suitable 

 localities. In Sind it is extremely common in the Kurrachee harbour and at 

 the mouths of the Indus. It occurs also on the Sambhur lake, and on the 

 banks of the river at Poona, in the Deccan ; also on the Beloochistan Coast 

 and in the Persian Gulf. 



