REDWING. 181 



over it, and extending to the back of the head, is a broad 

 band of yellowish white; the feathers of the eyelids are whitish; 

 a black streak passes, as it were, through the eye; there are 

 a few bristly feathers along the base of the upper mandible. 

 Head on the crown, dark olive brown, on the sides, dark 

 dusky brown, streaked with brownish white, the shafts of the 

 feathers being paler; neck in front and on the sides, white, 

 tinged with rufous yellow, each feather with an elongated 

 brownish black spot at the end and on the centre; nape, olive 

 brown; chin and throat, dull white; breast on the middle and 

 lower part, greyish white, with brown spots, pale on the 

 sides, which are partly red; back, olive brown, paler on the 

 lower part. 



The wings are rather long, and of eighteen quills; the first 

 is extremely small, the fourth the longest, the third a little 

 shorter, the second and fifth about equal. The wings extend 

 to the width of from about one foot one inch and three 

 quarters to one foot two and a quarter; primaries, deep brown, 

 their outer webs yellowish brown, the inner webs towards the 

 base are tinged with red; underneath, they are grey; secondaries, 

 deep brown, the three last tipped with greyish white; tertiaries, 

 deep brown; greater and lesser under wing coverts, red. The 

 tail feathers are rather narrow, the colour brown, the outer- 

 most feather with a white spot on the inner web at the end; 

 underneath, it is grey; upper tail coverts, olive brown; under 

 tail coverts, dull white. Legs and toes, pale reddish brown; 

 claws, dusky, orange- coloured underneath: they are long, slender, 

 and a good deal curved. 



The female very closely resembles the male in general 

 appearance; length, from seven inches and three quarters to 

 about eight and a quarter; the bill has the yellow colour 

 more dull than in the male; the markings on the neck are 

 not so black, and the red on the sides of the breast is not 

 so bright. The wings expand to the width of from one foot 

 one inch and a quarter to one foot one and three quarters; 

 the under wing coverts are less brightly marked with red. 



White, cream-coloured, and variegated individuals are said 

 to have been observed. 



