4.62 THE LACCADIVES AND THE WEST COAST. 
brown, the former paling somewhat as they approach the terti- 
aries, which are wood brown and with the later secondaries 
are tipped paler; the median coverts, dark brown, whity 
brown towards the tips; the lesser coverts, a rich dark brown 
with minute buffy or whitish fringes at the tips; the tail is 
white, freckled and mottled with dark brown towards the tips, and 
margined at the tips with buffy white; the upper tail coverts 
are white at their bases, brown at the tips; the chin, throat, 
and cheeks, and the sides of the abdomen and flanks, are a 
warm rufous buff; the ear coverts, dark brown; the base 
of the neck in front and upper breast, a warm brown, the 
feathers tipped or tinged at the tips with buff color; the 
centre of the upper abdomen and lower abdomen mingled 
brown and buffy ; the vent and lower tail-coverts white, tinged 
with buff. 4 
In a female, well able to fly, having perhaps left the nest a 
month, the rich buff markings of the interscapulary region and 
scapulars had diminished much in size and paled in colour, 
and the buffy white tipping of the feathers of the top and 
side of the head had increased in size, and spread up the 
margins of the feathers so as to leave but little of the brown 
visible. 
In a young bird, about thirteen months old, the colors had 
all become much duller, the whole of the top and sides of the 
head and back of the neck had become sandy or buffy white, 
the feathers dark shafted, and the brown bases only showing 
through here and there. The whole of the buff and buffy 
white tippings to the feathers of the upper back, interscapulary 
region, scapulars, wings, tail, and breast, had disappeared, and, 
as already mentioned, the warm rich browns and buffs had 
faded. The upper tail-coverts retained only a freckling of 
blackish-brown towards their tips, and the lower back, which 
in the birds recently out of the nest is dark brown, each feather 
broadly tipped with white, had become a dull pale brown, with 
barely a trace of such a tipping. 
56.—Milvus govinda, Sykes, 
Although we never met with this species, itis certain that at 
times individuals of this species or of afinis do occur at Amini 
and some of the other islands. It is, no doubt, only a chance 
straggler to the group, but it is one that not very uncommonly 
appears there. 
59.—Elanus melanopterus, Daud. 
The Black-winged Kite appears to visit these islands regular- 
ly, though in very small numbers. We procured specimens 
