BRITISH BIRDS. 303 



of the back, are elegantly pencilled with black and 

 white waved lines : the lower back and sides of the 

 body are undulated in the same manner, but with 

 lines more freckled, less distinct, and paler: the 

 scapulars are long and pointed, each feather black 

 down the middle, with white edges: the coverts of 

 the wings are ash brown, tipped with dull orange: 

 below these the wing is obliquely crossed by the 

 beauty-spot of glossy bronze purple green, with a 

 lower border of black and white: this spangle is 

 formed by the outer webs and tips of the middle 

 quills: the rest of the quills are dusky. All the 

 tail feathers are of a brown ash colour, with pale 

 edges, except the two middle ones, w r hich are black, 

 slightly glossed with green, considerably longer 

 than the others, and end in a point : the belly and 

 the sides of the vent are white :* under tail coverts 

 black: legs and feet small, and of a lead colour. 

 The female is less than the male, and her plumage 

 is of a much plainer cast, all the upper parts being 

 brown, with each feather margined more or less 

 with white, inclining to red or yellow: the greater 

 coverts and secondary quills are tipped with cream 

 colour and white, which form a bar across the 

 wings. The fore part of the neck, the breast, and 

 the belly, to the vent, are of a dull white, obscurely 

 spotted with brown. The tail is long and pointed, 

 but the two middle feathers do not extend them- 

 selves beyond the rest, like those of the male. 



These birds do not visit the temperate and warm 

 climates in great numbers, except in very severe 



* In some, the belly and fore part of the neck are of a reddish 

 buff, or cream colour. 



