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continent as Damara Land. But I can hear nothing of its 
having been found in Mesopotamia, Persia, Cabool, or Kashmir 
and even westward of the Ganges, it seems very rare. At 
Darjecling, at certain seasons, I am assured that it is common ; 
Mr. Thompson tells us the same from Kumaon; in lower 
Bengal too it is reported plentiful during the rains. The bird 
is strictly migratory with us, coming in during and after the 
rains, when insect-life most abounds, and I apprehend, that it is 
chiefly eastward of the Ganges where vegetation is more luxuri- 
ant, and where the plains below the Hills afford a better supply of 
insect food than the comparatively arid tracts of the North West 
Presidencies, and the Punjaub, that the great mass of the birds 
eross the Snowy Range. Should such be the case, there is an addi- 
tional probability in favour of our bird proving to be Amurensis. 
Dr. Jerdon’s descriptions of this bird are rather meagre, and I 
therefore proceed to quote Mr. Yarrell’s, which appear unusually 
full and satisfactory. 
“ After their first change, the plumage of the males is much 
more uniform than that ofthe females. In the adult male, the 
base of the beak is yellowish white, the other part, dark horn 
colour; the cere and eyelids, reddish orange; the irides, dark 
brown; the head, neck, beak, upper surface of the wings and 
tail, the throat, breast, and belly, of a uniform dark lead colour ; 
the thighs, vent, and under tail coverts, deep ferruginous ; the 
legs and toes, reddish flesh colour; the claw, yellowish white, 
with dusky tips. The whole length of the bird eleven inches. 
“The plumage of the young males, before their first change, 
is similar to that of young females, which will hereafter be 
described. At their first change, they become of a uniform 
pearl grey; the thighs and flanks, ferruginous ; beak, cere, eyes, 
legs, toes, and claws, as inthe old male. The vignette is taken 
from a young male bird, that has nearly completed his first 
change, but still retains a portion of the barred appearance of 
his first livery on the outer or distal part of the wing, on the 
lower part of the beak and the tail feathers, the central pair 
only of which are as yet mottled. 
“The adult female has the beak, cere, irides, legs, &e., as 
in the male; the head and back of the neck reddish brown ; the 
eye surrounded with dusky feathers almost black ; the whole 
of the back, wing coverts, and tail feathers, blackish grey, 
barred transversely with bluish black; upper surface of the 
wing-primaries, uniform dusky black. The chin and throat 
nearly white; breast and all the under surface of the body, 
pale rufous, with dark reddish brown longitudinal streaks ; 
the thighs and their long feathers plain rufous ; under wing cov- 
