Piculets of the Old World. 233 



primaries^ and nearly the entire margin of the inner webs of 

 the secondaries whitish, the base of the inner webs of the 

 latter white ; shafts of the primaries ashy brown, those of the 

 secondaries being white. " Male — bill dark brown on the 

 tipper mandible, plumbeous on the lower, inside of the 

 mouth dusky ; eyelids naked and very conspicuous dusky 

 red ; iris crimson ; legs yellowish red ; claws yellowish " 

 (Oates). "Legs and feet dull orange; claws very pale 

 brown ; upper mandible and tip of lower mandible dark 

 horny brown, rest of the lower mandible pale bluish; irides 

 from pale red to dark crimson ; orbital skin dull crimson '' 

 {W. Davison). "Bill plumbeous; orbital skin pink; irides 

 pale brown ; legs pale red " [Jerdon) . 



Total length 3*1 inches; culmen "53, wing 2*12, tail '9, 

 tarsus '5 ; toes (without claws) — outer anterior '47, inner an- 

 terior '3, posterior "45. 



Adult female. Closely resembling the adult male, but 

 having the forehead rufous chestnut, and the rufous tint on 

 the under surface of the body rather deeper in colour than 

 in the male. 



Total length 3 inches, culmen "55, wing 2*12, tail "9, 

 tarsus '55. 



Younger male. The upper parts are less rich in colour than 

 in the fully adult male ; the yellow upon the forehead is not 

 so brilliant ; the crown, wing-coverts, and outer webs of the 

 quills are not of so bright a yellowish olive ; those parts which 

 are orange-rufous in the fully adult, are of a very pale ochre- 

 ous, except the ear-coverts, which are of a deeper rufous ; 

 the chest is tinged with golden ; in other respects like the 

 fully adult, but more dingy in colour. 



Another bird, not fully adult, evidently a female, has the 

 upper parts not so rich in colour as the younger male described ; 

 the crown is more dusky ; the forehead is also more dusky, 

 but mixed with dingy rufous ; the wing-coverts of the same 

 colour as the crown ; under the eye there is a dusky patch ; 

 the parts which are orange- rufous in the fully adult, are of a 

 dingy rufous. 



The Indian Rufous Piculet was first described bv Mr. 



