270 COLUBIBID.E. 



Mr. H. Strickland saw it at Smyrna in tlie month of April 

 1886. 



The adult male in summer has the beak brown ; the irides 

 reddish brown ; under the eye a small patch of naked red 

 skin ; top of the head bluish ash, inclining to brown on the 

 back of the neck ; on the lower part of the side of the neck 

 are four rows of black feathers, tipped with white, forming 

 four oblique bars ; scapulars, back, and rump, pale brocoli 

 brown, the centre of each feather still darker; both sets of 

 wing-coverts clove brown, broadly margined with bright red 

 brown ; the most external smaller wing-coverts bluish grey ; 

 quill-feathers brocoli brown ; upper tail-coverts, and the two 

 central tail-feathers, clove brown ; the other tail-feathers 

 darker brown, tipped with white ; the outer tail-feather on 

 each side, with the outer web, also white ; chin, neck, and 

 breast, pale wood brown, with a vinous tint over the latter ; 

 belly, vent, and under tail-coverts white ; under surface of the 

 tail-feathers blackish brown, tipped with wdiite, as on the 

 upper surface : under wing-coverts and sides of the body 

 bluish grey; legs and toes yellow brown ; claws darker brown. 



Whole length eleven inches and a half. From the carpal 

 joint to the end of the wing, six inches and three-quarters : 

 the first and second quill-feathers rather longer than the 

 third, and the longest in the wing. 



The colours in the female are less bright and pure than 

 those of the male, and she is rather smaller in size. 



Young birds of the year up to the time of leaving this 

 country have the beak dark brown ; the general colour of the 

 plumage of the head and body hair brown ; the back rather 

 darker than the front of the neck ; the wing-coverts tipped 

 with buiFy white ; the flight, or quill-feathers, slightly tinged 

 on their outer edges with rufous ; belly and under tail-coverts 

 white ; flanks bluish grey ; tail-feathers above hair brown, on 

 the under surface blackish brown ; the outer feathers on each 



