CREA»I-COLOURED COURSER. 379 



History at Darmstadt. Polydore Roux includes it among 

 his Birds of Provence. In tlie Museum at Geneva there is 

 an example that was killed in Switzerland ; and it has been 

 obtained in Spain and Italy; but the specimens of this bird 

 preserved in collections have generally been procured from 

 Barbary or Abyssinia. It was found by the Russian natu- 

 ralist in the plains at the base of the Caucasus. 



Four other species of this same genus are now known ; two 

 of which belong to Africa and the South of Europe : the 

 other two species are found in India. 



The beak is nearly black at the point, brown at the base ; 

 the irides hazel ; the top of the head bufF-colour, the hinder 

 part grey ; above the eye, and passing from thence over the 

 ear-coverts to the nape of the neck is a white streak ; below 

 this, from the eye, a black streak, both meeting behind ; the 

 neck, back, and all the upper surface of the body and winos, 

 pale wood-brown, tinged with reddish buff; wing-primaries 

 black ; the tail-feathers, with the exception of the middle 

 pair, have an angular black spot near the end. The chin 

 white ; the front of the neck, the breast, and under surface of 

 the body, bufFy white, palest on the vent and under tail- 

 coverts ; legs and toes cream colour ; the claws brown. 



The whole length ten inches and one quarter. From the 

 carpal joint to the end of the wing, six inches : the form of 

 the wing pointed, the first and second quill-feathers being 

 nearly of equal length, and the longest in the wing. 



The sexes in plumage resemble each other ; but, as usual 

 in such cases, the young birds of the year differ from both. 

 These young have the feathers clouded with two shades of 

 pale brown, with dark, irregular transverse lines of dusky ash- 

 colour, as shown in the representation ; the lines round the 

 back of the head as yet not very conspicuous ; the dark 

 feathers of the wing edged on the inner web with buff colour. 



