452 BIRDS OF TENASSER1M. 



An exact and detailed description of the plumage of the 

 present species is impossible, (as indeed it equally would be of 

 taigoor,) because in every specimen more or less variation is 

 observable. 



Of plumbipes I may say that the females are considerably larger 

 than the males, and that the females have the chin, throat, and 

 sometimes the foreneck velvet black, whilst the males have the 

 the chin and more or less of the throat white ; that 

 in both sexes, those parts of the throat and foreneck which are 

 not white or black, the sides of the neck, the entire breast, and 

 often the whole of the upper part of the abdomen and the 

 sides of the body vary from buffy white to ferruginous buff, 

 closely and broadly barred with black ; occasionally even on 

 the breast, in the female, there is no barring ; the rest of the 

 lower parts that are not barred are the same color as the barred 

 portions, but always very much paler and less rufescent on the 

 tibial plumes, and always more ferruginous on the flanks and 

 lower tail-coverts ; the lores, forehead, cheeks, and sides of the 

 head are always black or dark brown, more or less speckled 

 with white, in some specimens the white, in some the darker 

 color, predominating ; the crown and occiput is usually a grey 

 brown, sometimes with a faint rufous tinge here and there ; 

 the feathers tipped darker, and with traces of a pale central 

 stripe on crown and occiput; the whole of the nape, inter- 

 scapular region, scapulars, back, rump and upper tail-coverts 

 are grey brown, (remember I am describing plumbipes,) in some 

 specimens almost uniform ; in most specimens the majority of 

 the feathers more or less tipped with black (the amount of this 

 varies extraordinarily in different specimens) and the black 

 more or less pencilled, with extremely fine zig-zagy pale rufous 

 or rufescent white tranverse lines, or sometimes fringes ; very 

 commonly many of the feathers, especially the scapulars, are 

 margined on the outer webs for a greater or lesser length with 

 creamy white, these margins being reduced to spots in some 

 specimens, and being absolutely wanting in others; the pri- 

 maries and their greater coverts are mostly pale grey brown, 

 the earlier primaries margined buffy ; the median coverts, the 

 secondary greater coverts, and tertiaries are chiefly pale buff 

 with conspicuous black transverse spots or imperfect bars ; the 

 first feather of the winglet usually has the outer web buff. 



834 6w.— Turnix maculosus, Tem. (6.) 



(Tonghoo, Karennee, Earns.) Kolidoo; Kliyketo ; Amherst j Pakchan; 

 Bankasoon. 



Sparingly distributed in the neighbourhood of cultivation, 

 like in hills and plains throughout the province. 



