270 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



Adult Male. General colour above brown, deepening into 

 black on the lower back, the rump and tail-coverts being black, 

 with a purplish or green gloss ; the scapulars pearly-grey, with 

 very fine wavy lines of darker grey, the outer scapulars dark 

 chestnut-brown, continuous with the dark outer webs of the 

 innermost secondaries ; the wing-coverts ashy-grey, more or 

 less washed with brown ; the greater coverts with a sub-terminal 

 bar of white, the tips being black, and forming the upper bor- 

 der to the wing-speculum ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and 

 quills ashy-brown, externally more grey ; the inner webs of 

 the primaries conspicuously lighter and more ashy ; the 

 secondaries ashy-grey on the inner web, metallic-purple on the 

 outer web, and tipped with white, before which is a sub-terminal 

 bar of velvety-black ; the colour of the speculum varying, 

 according to the light, from rich purple to steel-blue or greenish- 

 blue ; the inner secondaries pearly-grey, those adjoining the 

 speculum being externally chestnut-brown ; centre tail-feathers 

 recurved, black like the rump, the rest of the feathers white, 

 with grey or brown centres, these dark centres gradually dis- 

 appearing and only represented by ashy frecklings on the 

 outer ones; head and neck all round metallic-green, chang- 

 ing into purple. according to the light ; on the lower throat a 

 narrow white band not completely joining on the nape ; fore- 

 neck and chest deep chestnut, extending on to the sides of the 

 neck and nearly meeting on the hind-neck ; remainder of under 

 surface greyish-white, finely freckled with ashy vermiculations, 

 which are more distinct on the sides of the body ; under wing- 

 coverts and axillaries white ; under tail-coverts velvety-black ; 

 bill olive-yellowish ; feet and toes orange ; iris dark brown. 

 Total length, 22 inches; culmen, 2^4; wing, iro; tail, 3*5; 

 tarsus, 1*8. 



Adult Female. Entirely different from the male, brown above 

 with reddish margins and centres to the feathers, imparting a 

 narrowly streaked appearance to the head and neck, and a 

 broadly streaked appearance to the back, but it must be 

 noticed that great variation in these markings takes place ; 

 wing-coverts dark ashy-brown, the greater series and the 

 secondaries banded with white, the former with a velvety-black 

 tip and the latter with a sub-terminal black bar ; the speculum 



