Contributions to the Ornithology of India, Sfe. 255 



4*4 afT'ainst a tarsus of from -'3 "8 to 4"1 in jw/idaris j a mid 

 toe to root of claw of from 2i'3 to 2*6, ag'ainst a mid toe \njuf/ulari,s 

 of from 2 to 2*2; lastly, f/ularis has the bare portion of the 

 tibiu from 2*2 to 2-9; against a bare portion m jugularis vel 

 sacra, of from 1*2 to 1*5. 



A very great deal remains to be ascertained in regard to the 

 changes of plumage of both these species, and it is possible 

 that Jug/daris or sacra may be found to include two species, but 

 gularis 'awH jugularis are clearly distinct and can be separated 

 at once, as above explained, and our Western Indian bird is 

 unmistakea.bly gularis, and demiegreila asha, Sykes, is equally, 

 certainly identical with it, and not with jugularis as Schlegel 

 and Gray give it^ 



Our present species is excessively abundant in the Kurrachee 

 Harbour where it may be seen at all times feeding (as a rule 

 solitary) on the edges of the mud flats, or standing motionless 

 a few yards off the water^s edge. Occasionally, but more rarely, 

 it is found pei'ched on the mangrove bushes; as a rule it is 

 somewhat wary; but at times will allow of an easy shot. This 

 same species is, I ascertained,' very common about the mouths 

 of the Indus in all the innumerable creeks and water-courses 

 that there abound. Along the Mekran Coast we saw it occasion- 

 ally, and I procured a fine adult at Gwader, and again saw others 

 in some of the bays along the Coast near Muscat. 



I measured several in the flesh and give the dimensions thus 

 obtained, noting that the paler grey birds, with a good deal of 

 white about the abdomen and vent, and occasionally on the 

 centre of the breast also, are always smaller, and always want 

 the occipital and pectoral plumes, and are in my opinion un- 

 questionably the birds of the year. 



Length, 24'2.5 to 27'5 ; expanse, 38 to 42 ; tail from vent, 

 3 to 3"8 ; wing, 10 to ir4; wings, when closed, reach to end 

 of tail, or even to 0*5 beyond it; bill at front, .S"6 to 4'1 ; 

 tarsus, 3*6 to 4*4 ; mid toe to root of claw, 2*3 to 2'6 ; bare por- 

 tion of tibia, 2-2 to 2'9 ; weight, 1 lb. to 1 lb. 4 oz. 



The irides vary from bright yellow to yellowish white ; the 

 bill is yellow, brownish or dusky on culmen ; the legs and 

 feet are very variable, in one the feet and terminal twofifths 

 of tarsi were yellowish green, the front of the upper three- 

 fifths of tarsus, and of til^ia black, the posterior portion of tarsus 

 dusky orange ; in another the whole legs and feet were greenish 

 yellow, with only the front of both tarsi and tibise, black ; 

 another had the whole of the legs black; only the feet greenish 

 yellow. 



