ERNE. 1 3 



portion of its base deep brown, and the rest white, that is, 

 when fully adult, which some say is after the third moult, 

 and others not until the bird is five years old. The legs, 

 which are feathered a little below the knee, are straw-coloured, 

 and have a series of scales in front. The middle toe has 

 eight large scales, the outer one five, and the inner and hinder 

 ones four each. Another description assigns to the first and 

 second toes three; to the third, twelve; and to the fourth, 

 six. Another describes the middle toe as having sixteen, and 

 the side and hind toes, six each; and, again, another gives 

 thirteen to the middle one; so that it seems to me pretty 

 certain, that no distinctive character is to be derived from 

 their number: age may very possibly have something to do 

 with it. The claws are black, the middle one being grooved 

 on the under side. 



The young birds, when first hatched, are covered with down 

 of a whitish appearance: when fully fledged, the bill is deep 

 brown tinged with blue; the cere, greenish yellow; iris, dark 

 brown; head, deep brown; chin, dingy white; nape, white 

 tipped with brown; breast, dull white spotted with brown; 

 back, light brown; primaries, blackish brown; lower tail 

 coverts, dull white, tipped with deep brown; tail, greyish at 

 the upper end, and the rest deep brown; feet, yellow; claws, 

 blackish brown. When further advanced in plumage, the 

 bill is bluish black, paler towards the base; cere, yellowish; 

 iris, chesnut brown; head, crown, and neck, dark brown, the 

 roots of the feathers white, and the tips paler than the rest. 

 The breast is variegated with different shades of reddish brown, 

 a few white feathers being interspersed. The wings expand to 

 the width of about seven feet. The tail is brown of different 

 shades, darkest towards the end; the legs and toes, yellow; 

 and the claws, bluish black, tinged with brown. 



