WHEATEAE. 65 



inches and three quarters; bill, deep black, moderately strong, 

 the upper one slightly notched, much compressed towards 

 the tip, and somewhat widened at the base; the inside of 

 the mouth and the tongue are also black; iris, brown the 

 eyelids black; a black streak runs to and over and widely 

 under it from the base of the bill, expanding behind it, and 

 over it is a band of white from the forehead, which is also 

 white; a few bristles surround the base of the bill. Head, 

 crown, neck on the back, and nape, bluish grey, each feather 

 slightly tipped with pale brown ; the sides of the neck become 

 rufous after the autumnal moult, and the other parts tinged 

 with brown; chin and throat, dull white, tinged with pale 

 rufous after the autumnal moult; breast, pale yellowish or 

 reddish brown, approaching to cream-colour; on its lower part 

 dull white, slightly tinged with yellowish, which becomes rufous 

 after the autumnal moult; back above, grey, with a tinge of 

 pale reddish brown; below, white for a small part. 



The wings, rather long, extending to the width of one 

 foot and half an inch, have the first quill feather about 

 three quarters of an inch long, the second a little shorter 

 than the third and fourth, which are the longest, and of 

 nearly equal length, but the third rather the longer of the 

 two, the fifth the same length as the second; greater and 

 lesser wing coverts, almost black, but broadly edged with 

 rufous brown after the moult; primaries, secondaries, and 

 tertiaries, brownish black, all more or less margined and 

 tipped with brownish white; they are broadly edged with rufous 

 brown after the moult; greater and lesser under wing coverts, 

 blackish brown, broadly edged with white. The tail has the 

 side feathers white on their inner part for two thirds of 

 their length, the remainder black, and all are white on their 

 lower part; the two central feathers have less white: it is 

 tipped narrowly with buff white after the moult; the side 

 feathers slightly turn outwards; they are all broad and rounded 

 at the end; upper tail coverts, white, very conspicuous in 

 flight; under tail coverts, also white, which verges to pale 

 rufous after the autumnal moult. Legs, long, thin, and black ; 

 toes and claws, black, the latter rather long, moderately curved, 

 and very sharp until worn by age. 



The female nearly resembles the male, but her colours are 



less pure; length, six inches and a half; bill, deep black; 



iris, brown; the streak over the eye is brownish white, and 



less distinct, tinged with red in the autumn, and there is 



VOL. iv. F 



