BRITISH BIRDS. 361 



mandible is much hooked and sharp: from the 

 base of this it is furrowed on each side nearly to 

 the tip, without any visible appearance of nostrils : 

 the lower bill is compressed, and covered about 

 the gape of the mouth with a naked yellowish skin, 

 extended under the chin and throat, where it 

 hangs loose, and forms a kind of pouch, which, 

 together with the springing blades on each side, 

 forming its rim, is capable of distention to a great 

 width, and enables the bird to swallow prey appa- 

 rently too large to be admitted into its throat: the 

 skin about the eyes is also naked, and of the same 

 colour as the pouch: the eyes, which have a 

 remarkably wild stare, and are placed near the 

 bill, look like two little greenish glass globes. 

 The crest is black, with green reflections ; the 

 crown of the head, and nearly the whole neck, are 

 streaked downwards with scratches of white and 

 dusky: a white gorget hangs from the cheeks, and 

 covers the chin ; this is bounded behind by a 

 broadish black fillet, which partly covers the auri- 

 culars, and is extended to the corner of each eye : 

 a patch of white feathers covers the hinder part of 

 the thighs: all the under parts, together with the 

 back and rump, are of a glossy blue black, with 

 green reflections : the shoulders, scapulars, and 

 wing coverts are of a bronzed brown, tinged and 

 glossed with green, and each feather is bordered 

 with shining bluish black : the secondary quills 

 are nearly of the same colour: the coverts and 

 the primaries are dusky. The tail consists of 

 fourteen stiff hasky dark feathers, which look as 

 if they were discoloured by being dipped in mud 

 or dirty kennel water, and dried again: the legs 



VOL. II. 2 Z 



