484 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



upper part of the throat and of the nape rich brown, 

 slightly speckled with a darker shade, and glossed 

 in some lights with green and purple reflections ; the 

 lower part of the nape, the back, scapulars and flanks, 

 as far as behind the thighs, minutely pencilled and 

 streaked with zigzag black lines on a white ground ; 

 from the scapulars arise some narrow elongated 

 feathers, black in the centre and edged with white 

 on the outer and grey on the inner web ; the lesser 

 wing-coverts are a uniform grey and the greater the 

 same, but tipped with pale chesnut ; the primary 

 quills dark brownish grey; the speculum on the 

 secondaries glossed with reddish purple or green, 

 according to the light in which it is seen ; beyond 

 this is a small patch of black, and the tips are white; 

 the tertials are pointed, black in the centre, grey on 

 the inner and nearly white on the outer edge ; the 

 tail-coverts ash-grey ; the elongated feathers of the 

 tail are very narrow and pointed and black in colour, 

 the rest of the tail-feathers are dark in the centres, 

 pale greyish, nearly white, at the edges ; from the 

 back of the head down each side of the neck to the 

 breast is a narrow streak of white, the breast itself is 

 white ; the belly white, lightly pencilled with pale 

 grey; the hinder part of the flanks white, tinged 

 with pale buff; under tail-coverts black ; legs, toes, 

 webs and claws black. During the summer and 

 autumn change the beautiful white streak down the 

 sides of the neck is obliterated, the whole of the 



