56 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



of the bill; head greyish- or bluish-black; neck white in 

 front, divided from the bluish- black of the back part 

 by a dark streak from the bill ; breast creamy-white, 

 mottled and streaked with dark spots; sides ash-grey, 

 lined and barred with brown ; back bluish slate-colour, 

 and barred with greyish-black. The wings, which are 

 very long and pointed, are ash-brown, faintly barred ; 

 under wing-coverts whitish and barred. The tail is 

 slightly rounded, bluish-grey or bluish-black, and barred 

 with dark brown. Legs are dull yellow, feathered half- 

 way down, and scaled; toes scaled and dull yellow; claws 

 blackish, sharp and strong. The female is more brownish 

 than the male, and the bars are less distinct. The young 

 birds when first hatched are covered with white down, and 

 not nearly so handsome as the adults until after the second 



moultj y 



