524 MR. J. 3. LISTER ON THE NATURAL [DeC. 4, 



mottled with pale rufous and slate ; edge of the wing white, little 

 mottled in the oldest specimens. 



Toung. Crown dark brown in the middle, the feathers of the sides, 

 in a line extending from the cere back to the ear-coverts, and of the 

 ear-coverts dark brown in the centres, pale yellow at the sides ; 

 nape, at the upper part mottled dark brown and white (produced by 

 dark brown tips and shaft-streaks to white feathers), at the lower 

 mottled brown and pale yellow ; back and upper wing-coverts dark 

 brown, mottled with rufous brown ; shoulders rich burnt sienna 

 mottled with dark brown. Quills, the outer webs and the ends are 

 dark brown, the inner web shading from brown through pale reddish 

 brown to pale yellow, the tips of all and the outer margins of the 

 secondaries pale brown, the whole barred with dark brown, the bars 

 fading away before reaching the inner margins of the webs ; upper 

 tail-coverts brown, becoming darker towards the ends, tips pale rufous 

 brown. Tail above brown, the outer feathers resemble the wing- 

 quills in the fact that the inner webs and the tips shade off to pale 

 reddish brown ; the whole barred with brown ; the barring is least 

 on the inner feathers, which have five bars limited to the terminal half 

 of the feathers ; on the outer feathers the bars are continued to the 

 base of the web and are closer, amounting to 15-17 in number ; below 

 rufous grey, barred with dark as above, two central rectrices greyer. 

 Chin and throat — the feathers are white, yellower towards the tips, 

 with shaft-streaks of dark brown, linear, becoming lanceolate at the 

 lower part of the throat. Breast, belly, lower tail-coverts, and flanks 

 white, boldly barred with rufous brown, the bars are margined with 

 darker brown, and are continued towards the tip of the feathers into 

 an angular process extending a short distance along the shaft. Legs, 

 feathers white or pale yellow, barred with tawny brown. Lower 

 wing-coverts pale yellow, barred with tawny brown. Quills pale 

 reddish brown, barred with brown as on the upper surface ; primaries 

 pale brown towards the ends. 



Measurements. 



in. in. 



From base of bill to tail-tip 13^ 16| 



Tail 7^ 8 J, 



Wing 8t% IOt^ 



Urospizias natalis is a common bird on the island. As we made 

 our way through the bush one would often fly up to a branch or the 

 top of a pinnacle of coral-rock and sit there ignorant of danger, as 

 thoui^h inquiring the cause of this unusual disturbance in the woods. 

 If there were two together and one was shot, the other would remain 

 motionless or fly to another branch close at hand. One was knocked 

 over with a stick and captured. It appeared to be little injured, and 

 I kept it alive for some months, but unfortunately it died in fits 

 before my return to England. The stomachs of those that were shot 

 contained feathers of the Zosterops and the remains of lizards and 

 large grasshoppers. 



