160 PERDICID^E. 



description of the plumage of the Colin is taken from an 

 unusually perfect specimen in my own possession. The 

 upper part of the back is of a reddish colour, changing 

 lower down into a yellowish red, and the under parts are 

 brownish-white, beautifully marked with black curves. 

 The head, which is slightly tufted, is of a reddish 

 brown, with a white streak over the eye, down the neck, 

 and also on the chin, below which is a patch of black 

 spreading over the throat. The sides of the neck are 

 spotted with black and white on a ground of the same 

 colour as the head; the wings and tail are dusky, 

 intermixed with ash-colour and brown. The bill is 

 nearly black, the eye hazel, and the legs a pale bluish 

 grey. 



In the female, which is a smaller bird, the chin is 

 the same colour as the rest of the head; this is also 

 destitute of the white markings, and the spots on the 

 neck are yellow and black, in place of white and black, 

 while the breast is nearly white, and the general hue is 

 lighter than that of the male. The colour and markings 

 of the plumage, as is frequently the case with other 

 game-birds, vary considerably in different parts of the 

 countries they frequent. 



It is a singular fact that these birds are not 

 found in Lower Canada, though in most parts of the 

 Upper or Western Province they are met with in abun- 



