RASORES. 181 



gives place to feathers, whose markings and colours resemble, 

 but are less brilliant than those of the adult. 



The food of this species consists of insects, grain, and 

 bisrries ; of the former many kinds are eaten, but locusts 

 and grasshoppers form the principal part ; a considerable 

 quantity of sand is also found in the gizzard, which is very 

 thick and muscular. 



The adults have the crown of the head, nape, and forehead 

 rich brown, spotted with white, and transversely rayed with 

 large markings of brown ; feathers of the cheeks and a stripe 

 over each eye white, slightly fringed with black at theu tips ; 

 throat greyish white ; back and sides of the neck and mantle 

 rich rufous brown ; feathers of the back, rump, and upper 

 tail-coverts transversely rayed with chestnut-red and black, 

 the former and the scapularies striped laterally with black 

 and white; wings rufous, each feather spotted with white, 

 which is bounded posteriorly with an irregular spot of black ; 

 primaries brown ; chest and flanks olive, each feather having 

 a triangular yellowish- white spot at the tip ; centre of the 

 abdomen and under tail-coverts yellowish white; bill brown, 

 with a bluish tinge ; irides bright reddish orange ; legs and 

 feet orange ; claws white. 



Sp. 480. TURNIX SCINTILLANS, Gould. 



Speckled Turnix. 

 Hemipodius scintillans, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc.^ part xiii. p. 62. 



Hemipodius scintillans, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. v. pi. 83. 



This very beautiful species is an inhabitant of the Hout- 

 man's Abrolhos, a group of islands lying off" the western coast 

 of Australia, and is tolerably abundant on two of them named 

 East and West Wallaby Islands, where it is principally met 

 with among the limestone crags. 



In its general appearance and the style of its markings it 



