38 BLTJEBEEAST. 



the base; the feathers about its base are yellowish white; 

 iris, dark brjrvji, over it is a pale whitish streak; bristles 

 surround, the base of the bill. Head, crown, neck on the 

 back, aE$ nap<?, : b;rrtw,n; chin, ihrbat, and breast on its upper 

 part, bright "blue, "with a, silky v/hite spot on its centre; below 

 the blue is a black streak, then a line of white, succeeded 

 by a broad band of bright chesnut, below which it is dull 

 white, and on the sides light reddish brown or buff; back, 

 brown. 



The wings have the first feather very short, the second 

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

 but the fourth the longest in the wing; greater and lesser 

 wing coverts, brown, the margins paler; primaries, secondaries, 

 and tertiaries, brown, the outer edges of the two latter 

 lighter brown. The tail, which is rounded at the end, extends 

 one inch beyond the tips of the closed wings; the two middle 

 feathers brown, all the others bright chesnut on their basal 

 half, and the outer half nearly black; under tail coverts, light 

 reddish brown, inclining to grey; legs, pale brown; toes and 

 claws, dusky brown. 



Female; iris, dark brown, over it is a yellowish white line; 

 chin and throat, on the upper part, white, bounded by a 

 crescent-shaped patch of dull blue mixed with some black, 

 the horns of the crescent directed upwards; this is followed 

 by pale reddish brown, and lower down by dull white, which 

 also prevails on the sides. Tail, not so bright as in the 

 male. 



Some old females almost equal the male in the brilliancy 

 of their colours. 



The young are at first brown, mottled with a paler shade. 

 Head, crown, neck on the back, and nape, dusky, with oval 

 spots of reddish brown along the shafts of the feathers; chin, 

 the same. The throat in the male has a large pale brown 

 patch, indicative of the future white one; breast, dusky, with 

 oval spots of reddish brown along the shafts. Under tail 

 coverts, whitish. 



The young 1 male resembles the adult female, the blue colour 

 advancing by degrees. 



Individuals vary very considerably in colour, the tints being 

 more or less bright, no doubt according to age. 



