106 GREY PHALAROPE. 



fading into the white; on the sides are a few pale dusky 

 grey shaft streaks. Back, deep dusky brownish black, with 

 broad dull yellowish margins to the feathers; in winter 

 bluish grey, the shafts of the feathers darker and each 

 narrowly edged with pale yellowish white. 



The wings expand to the width of one foot three inches; 

 greater wing coverts, dark lead-colour, in winter greyish black, 

 broadly edged with white; lesser wing coverts, lead-colour; 

 in winter greyish black, more narrowly edged with white; 

 primaries, greyish black, the shafts white; secondaries, broadly 

 tipped with white, exhibiting a conspicuous bar across the 

 wing; tertiaries, long and black, in winter broadly edged 

 with white on the outer webs. Tail, greyish black, finely 

 margined with white, it is of a wedge-shaped form; under 

 tail coverts, reddish brown. The legs, which have the bones 

 flattened as in the true swimming birds, are greenish yellow, 

 dull in winter; so are the toes, the front ones are united 

 as far as the first joint. Claws, black; lobes, dusky and 

 yellowish, serrated on the margins. 



The female is larger than the male; length, about eight 

 inches and a quarter, or a little over; bill, yellow, dark 

 brown towards the point, in winter black; iris, dark brown; 

 around the eye is a patch of white, in winter dusky black. 

 Head on the crown, and about the base of the bill, white, 

 in the winter there is a black patch at the back; neck, in 

 front and on the sides, reddish chesnut, in winter grey in 

 front; in winter the back is grey; breast, reddish chesnut, 

 in winter white, with a small patch of grey on either side 

 towards the front and middle; back, nearly black, with pale 

 yellowish margins to the feathers, in winter grey. 



Greater wing coverts, leaden grey, with broad ends of white, 

 in winter edged with white; lesser wing coverts, leaden grey, 

 with white edges; primaries, nearly black; secondaries, in 

 winter, margined with white; tertiaries, leaden grey, with orange 

 yellow margins, in winter these edges become white. Tail, 

 nearly black, underneath it is ash grey; legs and toes, yellow, 

 in winter yellowish brown. Claws, black; lobes, yellow, in 

 winter yellowish brown. 



In the young the feathers about the base of the bill are 

 dull yellow, as also are the sides of the head and upper part 

 of the breast; the back, tertiaries, and upper tail coverts, 

 dusky, the feathers with pale buff edges. The legs, grey; the 

 webs of the feet bordered with buff yellow. 



