THB SMETF. 83 



able about them. The e^s, which closely resemble those 

 of the Wigeoii, are of a creamy-whitish colour, finely 

 grained, and slig-htlxglossy — seven or eig-ht are usually laid. 



In the adult male the bill is one inch and a half in 

 length, of a bluish-lead colour, and the nail horny and 

 white ; the upper mandible is curved at the extremity, and 

 the edges of both mandibles are furnished with saw-like 

 teeth which point directly backward. The irides reddish- 

 brown ; at the base of the bill on each side a black patch 

 which just surrounds the eye ; from the crown of the head 

 and down the back of it, another dark patch elongated 

 and tinged with green, the dark feathers mixed with others 

 that are white, and all somewhat elongated, forming a crest; 

 the other parts of the head, the chin, and all the neck 

 white ; the back black ; the rump, upper tail coverts, and 

 tail-feathers ash-grey ; the points of the wings greyish- 

 black, with two crescent-shaped lines of black, one before, 

 and one behind the point of the wing ; the small wing 

 coverts and scapulars white, the latter edged with black ; 

 the great coverts and secondaries black tipped with white, 

 forming two narrow bands of white ; the primaries nearly 

 black; tertials ash-grey merging into lead-grey; all 

 the under surface of the body pure white ; the sides under 

 the wing and the flanks barred with narrow ash-grey 

 lines ; legs, toes, and membranes bluish and lead-grey ; 

 the hind toe has a pendant lobe or membrane attached 

 to it. The entire length is about seventeen inches and 

 a half. 



Females are considerably smaller than the males, seldom 

 measuring more than fourteen and a half inches. The 

 plumage of the female is different from that of the other sex ; 

 the top of the head is reddish brown; the bands of white are 



