402 CHARADRIIIXS} PAVONCELLA 



J^U/o^^^eAt^ 

 745. Pavoncella pugnax. Ruff. - 



Tringa pugnax, Linn. Syst. Nat. 12th ed. i, p. 247 (1766). 

 Philomachus pugnax, Gurney, Ibis, 1862, p. 34 [Natal] ; Layard, B. S. 



Afr. p. 329 (1867); Gurney, in Andersson's B. Damaral. p. 304 



(1872) ; Ayres, Ibis, 1873, p. 283, 1877, p. 350 ; Buckley, Ibis, 1874, 



p. 388 ; Oates, Matabeleland, p. 325 (1881) ; Holub fr Pelz. Orn. 



Siid-Afr. p. 292 (1882). 

 Machetes pugnax, P. L. Sclater, P. Z. S. 1866, p. 23 [Cathcart] ; 



Dresser, B. Eur. viii, p. 87, pis. 557-8 (1878) ; Butler, Feilden and 



Reid, Zool. 1882, p. 425 ; Sliarpe, ed. Layard's B. S. Afr. p. 685 



(1884) ; Aijres, Ibis, 1885, p. 348. 

 Totanus pugnax, Seebohm, Geogr. Distr. Charadr. p. 373 (1888) ; 



Fleck, Journ. Ornith. 1894, p. 383 ; Reichenow, Vog. Afr. i, p. 216 



(1900). 

 Pavoncella pugnax, Sharpc, Cat. B. M. xxiv, p. 500 (1896) ; Shelley, B. 



Afr. i, p. 191 (1896) ; Woodward Bros. Natal B. p. 186 (1899) ; 



Sharpe, Ibis, 1904, p. 11 [Deelfontein] . 



Description. Adult Male in non-breeding plumage. General 

 colour above pale brown with darker brown centres to the feathers ; 

 wings like the back but slightly darker, the greater coverts broadly 

 tipped with white ; primaries with white shafts ; the secondaries 

 white on the base of the inner web and along the outer margins ; 

 rump and central upper tail-coverts like the back, the lateral upper 

 tail-coverts pure white ; tail-feathers brown with white margins ; 

 sides of the face, neck all round, and chest and flanks ashy slightly 

 mottled with darker, rest of the lower surface and throat white ; 

 axillaries and under wing-coverts white. 



Iris dark brown ; bill dark brown ; legs and feet varying from 

 greenish-olive to flesh-colour. 



Length about 9-5 ; wing 6*85 ; tail 2-5 ; tarsus 18 ; culmen 1'2. 



The female resembles the male in plumage but is much smaller ; 

 wing 5-85 ; tarsus !? ; culmen 1-2. The males in breeding dress 

 vary to such an extent that hardly two specimens are alike ; but 

 there are generally yellow tubercles on the face and crown, and the 

 feathers on the back of the head are elongated to form the ruff 

 which may be white, black, chestnut or orange, and often has a 

 metallic-green gloss ; the back, scapulars and inner wing-coverts are 

 variegated with ashy, but the primaries, secondaries, lesser and 

 primary wing-coverts, lower back and rump always remain the 

 same at all times of the year. The females in summer have the 

 feather of the upper surface blackish with sandy-buff borders, and 

 the tertiaries are mottled with buff and black bars. 



