Chap. XIV.] GRADATION OF CHARACTERS. 139 



row, and a little more elongated in a transverse direction. 

 It differs also from the other spots by being bordered on 

 its upper side with some dull fulvous shading. But this 

 spot is not in any way more remarkable than those on the 

 plumage of many birds, and might easily be quite over- 

 looked. The next higher spot in each row does not diifer 

 at all from the upper ones in the same row, although in 

 the following series it becomes, as we shall see, greatly 

 modified. The larger spots occupy exactly the same rela- 

 tive position on this feather as those occupied by the per- 

 fect ocelli on the longer wing-feathers. 



By looking to the next two or three succeeding sec- 

 ondary wing-feathers, an absolutely insensible gradation 

 can be traced from one of the above-described lower 

 spots, together with the next higher one in the same row, 

 to a curious ornament, which cannot be called an ocellus, 

 and which I will name, from the want of a better term, an 

 " elliptic ornament." These are shown in the accompany- 

 ing figure (Fig. 58). We here see several oblique rows, 

 A, B, C, D (see the lettered diagram), etc., of dark spots 

 of the usual character. Each row of spots runs down to 

 and is connected with one of the elliptic ornaments, in ex- 

 actly the same manner as each stripe in Fig. 56 runs down 

 to, and is connected with, one of the ball-and-socket ocelli. 

 Looking to any one row, for instance, B, the lowest spot 

 or mark (b) is thicker and considerably longer than the 

 upper spots, and has its left extremity pointed and curved 

 upward. This black mark is abruptly bordered on its 

 upper side by a rather broad space of richly-shaded tints, 

 beginning with a narrow brown zone, which passes into 

 orange, and this into a pale leaden tint, with the end 

 toward the shaft much paler. This mark corresponds in 

 every respect with the larger, shaded spot, described in 

 the last pai'agraph (Fig 57), but is more highly developed 

 and more brightly colored. To the right and above this 



