90 MEELIN. 



lowish white, the feathers on the side being tipped with brown ; 

 breast, pale reddish yellow, or brownish or yellowish white, 

 marked with many oblong spots of dark brown, larger than 

 those of the male; back and wings, brown mixed with rufous, 

 the shaft and centre of each feather being darker, and the 

 edge tipped with red; greater wing coverts, brown, edged with 

 dull yellowish white or light rufous, the centre of the feathers 

 being grey; lesser wing coverts, greyish brown, bordered with 

 rufous, the shafts being black. Primaries, secondaries, and 

 tertiaries, brownish black, spotted with light red spots on both 

 the webs, and edged with red, the tips the same colour of 

 a paler shade. Greater and lesser under wing coverts, brownish 

 red, spotted and edged with yellowish white; tail coverts the 

 same, edged the same. The tail, which is greyish brown, or 

 dusky, has five bars of very pale reddish brown or yellowish 

 white spots, and the tip banded with greyish white; the side 

 feathers have two light bars at the base ; upper tail coverts, 

 brown, edged with dull yellowish white; under tail coverts, 

 white, with the exception of the feathers on the sides, which 

 have each a line of brown. Legs, yellow, the long feathers 

 streaked with brown; the shorter ones nearly white; toes, 

 yellow; claws, black. 



The young birds when fully fledged, most resemble the adult 

 female, but are lighter in colour; the males however less so 

 than the females, and tinged with blue on the back. The 

 former gradually assume more blue, but the latter change 

 less. The centre of the feathers in the immature birds is 

 dark brown edged with rufous, instead of being marked in the 

 centre with grey. Bill, as in the adults ; cere, dull yellow. A 

 yellowish line extends over the eye; iris, brown, but subject 

 to variations of shade, according to Selby; forehead, yellowish 

 white; head streaked on the sides, which are yellowish red, 

 with brown, and a band of the latter colour descends from 

 the angle of the mouth; neck, yellowish behind, the feathers 

 tipped with brown; chin, yellowish white; throat, yellowish 

 white, the shafts of the feathers brown; breast, pale reddish 

 yellow, streaked longitudinally with brown ; back, dark brown, 

 slightly tinged with blue, the feathers edged and marked with 

 pale yellowish red in obscure spots, and streaked in the centre 

 with dark brown or black ; greater wing coverts, spotted with 

 light reddish spots, and tipped with the same; primaries, very 

 dark brown, indistinctly spotted on the outer webs with pale 

 yellowish red, and tipped with the same, but paler; secondaries, 



