102 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



quills blackish, the latter browner on the inner web ; the first 

 two primaries with white shafts ; the innermost secondaries 

 grey like the back ; tail-feathers slaty-grey, blackish towards 

 the ends ; crown of head black, forming a cap ; the lores and 

 sides of face up to the fore-part of the eye blackish, as also the 

 fore-part of the cheeks at the base of the lower mandible ; rest 

 of the sides of the face and a collar round the hind neck white, 

 washed with ochreous-buff ; throat and fore-neck and chest 

 white, with more or less of an ochreous tinge ; remainder of 

 under surface of body from the chest downwards pale slaty- 

 grey, including the under tail-coverts, under wing-coverts, and 

 axillaries ; " bill horn-colour ; tarsi bluish in life, drying oliva- 

 ceous; toes black" (H. Saunders). Total length, 21 inches; 

 culmen, 1*1 ; wing, 11*8; tail, 4*6 ; centre tail-feathers, 11*5 ; 

 tarsus, 1-65. 



Adult Female. Similar to the male in colour, but with slightly 

 shorter central tail-feathers. 



Adult in Winter Plumage. Similar to the summer plumage, but 

 as in the other species, there is, according to Mr. Saunders, a 

 tendency, after the autumnal moult, to show striated feathers 

 on the flanks, and on the upper and under tail-coverts. 



immature Birds. Differ from the adults in having very little 

 yellow on the sides of the neck, and in having the under parts 

 and upper tail-coverts barred with varying degrees of ash-brown. 

 The young are ash-brown above, the head darkest, the feathers 

 of the mantle and tail-coverts merely tipped with buff", but 

 without any rufous tint, the under parts being dull greyish- 

 white, barred with ash-brown (Saunders). 



Nestling. Greyish-brown above and below, much paler and 

 greyer than in S. crepidatus. 



Characters. Mr. Saunders points out that in this species 

 there is always a "very characteristic grey tint in all its phases." 

 The adult bird is certainly lighter grey than S. crepidatus^ from 

 which S. parasiticus also differs in its smaller size, comparatively 

 shorter bill, and long centre tail-feathers, which sometimes 

 project to a length of nine inches. Only the two outer 

 primaries have white shafts. 



