162 THIBETIAN POLYPLECTRON. 



greyish-white. The quills are brown, marked wit! 

 greyish. The other feathers composing the wing 

 are generally of a yellowish-grey tint, sprinkle 

 with little bands of blackish -brown, and having 

 the extremity of each a large round eyed spot, 

 brilliant blue, with purple and opaline reflections. 

 These are surrounded with a circle of deep black, 

 which is again encircled with a ring of yellowish- 

 white. The feathers composing the tail are of a 

 dull brown, sprinkled with small spots of ochraceous 

 yellow. Upon each of the twenty-two true tail-fea- 

 thers, at about an inch and a half from the tip, and 

 on those which have been called the upper range, at 

 one inch from the tip, there are two oval spots, se- 

 parated only by the shaft. They, like those upon 

 the wing, have the double circles of deep black and 

 yellowish-white, and are clouded with the same 

 purple and blue reflections, but which scarcely equal 

 the others in brilliancy. 



The female is said by Temminck to differ only in 

 the lesser brilliancy of the eyed spots, in having a 

 shorter tail, and in the want of spurs. In the young, 

 the plumage is of an earthy grey, marked with large 

 brown spots and bands ; at the first month the plum- 

 age becomes more irregular, and the space upon the 

 wings and tail, where the spots are to appear, are 

 seen, they are still deprived of their lustre, and there 

 is no trace of the pale circle. At the third moult 

 the plumage of these beautiful birds attains its per- 

 fection and brilliancy. 



