THE ISLANDS OF THE BAY OF BENGAL. 203 



The leg's and feet black or plumbeous ; soles yellowish horny ; 

 bill black ; irides brown. 



The adult male has a broad streak from the nostrils over the 

 eye and ear-coverts, the wing- lining 1 and edge of the wing 1 from 

 carpal joint, the axillaries and the entire lower parts including' 

 sides of the neck, broad tips to the two external laterals, and a 

 nai'row tip to the next pair of tail feathers, the median wing- 

 coverts, broad margins to the outer webs of the greater coverts, 

 the secondary quills and the basal portion of the inner webs of all 

 the quills, pure white, only the breast and sides tinged with grey 

 but not barred ; middle and lower back, rump and upper tail 

 coverts grey, some of the rump and upper tail coverts with faint 

 traces of white bars ; a streak from the gape, through the 

 eyes black ; forehead, top, and back of the head, interscapu- 

 lary region, scapulars, lesser wing coverts black, with a green 

 metallic gloss ; rest of the wings and tail not already described 

 black, or blackish brown. 



The white of the sides of the neck projects backwards somewhat, 

 so as almost, but not quite, to meet in some specimens on the nape. 



In a somewhat younger stage the breast is characterized by 

 faint narrow transverse bars. 



In the adult female the white superciliary stripe is less con- 

 spicuous, the gi'eater wing coverts are only tipped and not 

 broadly margined with white. The whole of the forehead, 

 top and back of the head and interscapulary region are iron 

 gre}^. The whole breast is regularly and narrowly barred with 

 darker grey, and there are traces of this same barring on the 

 eye streak and sides of the neck. 



Quite young birds are apparently like the females ; but have the 

 whole of the forehead, top and back of the head and interscapulary 

 region smoke brown, and that portion of the wings and tails 

 which is black in the adults, dull brown. Young males after 

 the first moult appear to resemble the adult females, and later 

 glossy black feathers begin to peep out amongst the iron grey 

 of the head and interscapulary region. The change taking 

 place first in the latter. 



Davison remarks : — " I found this bird not uncommon about 

 the settlement of Camorta, frequenting, in small parties of five 

 or six, or in pans, the low scrubby undergrowth and gardens, 

 and feeding close to the ground ; on being disturbed they fly 

 up at once into some tree close at hand ; they are not at all shy 

 and two or three may be shot off the same tree. A specimen 

 procured at Acheen appears identical with the Nicobar examples ; 

 it does not, I think, extend to the Andamaus or Cocos." 



