REDBREAST. 31 1 



Beccafico. Mr. Sclater observed (Zool. p. 4162) more Red- 

 breasts tban any otber birds in the Roman markets, and 

 Waterton tells us that on characteristically expressing his 

 regret at seeing so many in a stall there, the dealer assured 

 him that if he took home a dozen for his dinner on that day, 

 he would come back for two dozen on the morrow. These 

 birds are usually taken in snares or by limed twigs set round 

 a captive Little Owl, which serves to attract the victims. 



In the adult, the bill and irides are black : upper part of 

 the head, neck, back, upper tail-coverts and tail yellowish- 

 olive-brown ; flight-feathers rather darker, the outer edges 

 olive-brown ; greater wing-coverts tipped with buff ; over the 

 base of the bill, round the eye, the chin, throat and upper 

 part of the breast, reddish-orange, encircling which is a 

 narrow band of bluish-grey, broadest near the shoulders ; 

 lower part of the breast and belly white ; sides, flanks and 

 lower tail-coverts, pale brown ; quills beneath, dusky grey : 

 legs, toes'and claws, purple-brown. 



The whole length . five inches and three-quarters. The 

 wing from the carpal joint to the end of the longest primary, 

 three inches : the second wing-feather not quite so long as 

 the sixth ; the third, fourth, and fifth nearly equal, and the 

 longest in the wing. 



The female is not quite so large as the male, and her 

 colours are less bright. The young before their first moult 

 have the brown feathers of the head, back and wing-coverts 

 tipped with buff; throat and breast tinged with reddish- 

 brown and margined with dark brown. 



After their first moult they resemble the adult female, 

 but the red of the breast is tinged with orange : the legs 

 dark brown. 



The figure below represents the breast bone of this species. 



