Descriptions of British Chitones. 93 



Allied in habit to torquaiusy but the bill is deeper, the wings 

 longer, and the tarsi shorter. The general size of the bird is also 

 somewhat larger. The ground colour of the tipper plumage is 

 ferruginous brown, the top of the head bright rufous, and its sides 

 greyish. The feathers in the middle of the back are snowy white 

 towards their tips. The wing-covers are blackish brown, tipt with 

 white, which colour forms two bands : the scapular quills are 

 blackish, with broad white margins : the rest of the quills are 

 brown, margined with ferruginous and whitish. All the under 

 plumage is ferruginous or fulvous white, lightest on the chin and 

 in the middle of the body. The tail is short, slightly rounded, 

 and dark rufous black; the lateral feathers tipt with white ; the 

 outer pair only having an additional white spot on their external 

 margins ; the tips of all are abruptly rounded. The feathers on 

 the lower part of the back are remarkably long. 



Tarsi moderate, cinereous. Irides hazel. 



Of this species I have two specimens, from the same locality 

 as the preceding. One is marked as a male bird, but with some 

 doubt : of its history, in other respects, I know nothing. 



Total length 6, bill |, wings 2|, tail ^, tarsi 1^. 



Art. XII Descriptions of some Shells, belonging principaUj/ 

 to the genus Chiton, observed on the Coast of Argyleshite 

 in the Summer of 1824:. Bt/ R. T. Lowe, Esq. 



Chiton, Lamarck, Sowerby. 



Since the days of Chemnitz, little addition seems to have been 

 made to the knowledge of this neglected genus, if we except the 

 occasional notice of a few new and well-marked foreign species. 

 In the " Animaux sans vertebres " of Lamarck, only fives pecies 

 are recorded, and no attempt is made towards elucidating the 

 history of those that had been described by preceding authors. 

 It is not therefore surprising that amongst the improvements and 

 discoveries of modern science, the genus Chiton should present 

 to the Conchologist a source of so much perplexity and doubt, 



