418 AMPELIM. 



base of the upper mandible, on the lore, round the eye, 

 and passing backward round the occiput under the back 

 part of the crest, an elongated circle of black ; nape of 

 the neck light brocoli-brown, becoming darker on the 

 back, scapulars, and small wing-coverts ; the coverts of the 

 primaries black, tipped with white ; primaries and second- 

 aries black, with an elongated patch of straw yellow at the 

 end of the outer web of all except the first three ; the 

 tertials purple brown, tipped with pure white on the outer 

 web ; four of the secondary quill -feathers, and from one 

 to four of the tertials, depending on the sex and age of 

 the bird, terminate in a small, flat, oblong appendage, re- 

 sembling in colour and substance red sealing-wax ; these 

 appendages are merely expanded and coloured horny pro- 

 longations of the shafts of the feathers beyond their webs ; 

 upper tail-coverts smoke-grey ; tail-feathers smoke-grey at 

 the base, black towards the end, and tipped with king's- 

 yellow, the shafts of the feathers being slightly tinged with 

 red where the webs are yellow. Under the chin is a patch 

 of velvet black ; at the angle of the mouth the feathers 

 are chestnut, passing on the cheeks, neck, breast, and all 

 the under parts, into pale brocoli-brown, becoming grey- 

 ish brown on the flanks and abdomen ; under tail-coverts 

 chestnut brown ; axillary plume, and under surface of the 

 wings, ash-grey ; all the plumage silky and soft to the 

 touch ; the legs, toes, and claws black. 



The whole length of the bird is rather more than eight 

 inches. From the carpal joint to the end of the wing, 

 four inches and a half : the first and second feathers very 

 nearly equal in length, and the longest in the wing, indi- 

 cating considerable powers of flight. 



A female described by Sir John Richardson had the 

 marks on the tips of the primaries untinged with yellow ; 

 a narrower yellow tip to the tail, and a smaller and less in- 



