THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 549 



black and with obsolete shaft streaks ; tail black with narrow 

 rufous bars and a broad terminal band. Lesser wing-coverts 

 brown, tipped rufous, median coverts barred with rufous and 

 brown and greater coverts brown with white tips. First primary 

 brown with a white outer web, other primaries brown with narrow 

 white tips, increasing in width on the innermost ; secondaries 

 barred brown and black and mottled with white on the inner web. 

 Breast dull buff or brownish, with dark brown bars ; flanks the 

 same ; abdomen white ; undertail coverts rufous or buff and 

 brown, the former colour predominating. Lesser underwing 

 coverts white, much barred with brown, principally so on the edge 

 of the wing ; median underwing coverts white, seldom with any 

 barring at all, greater coverts brown with a broad white edge ; 

 axillaries white more or less barred with brown. 



" Bill rufous brown, paler at the base ; irides deep brown, legs 

 olive-green. Tail feathers 14 or 16 in number " (Blanford). 



" The bills have the terminal one-fourth or more deep brown to 

 blackish ; the rest pale brown or horny brown with a yellowish 

 tinge, dark along the edges, often brownish green just at the base 

 of the upper mandible, and generally yellowish or yellowish green 

 or olive, on the basal fourth (more or less) of the lower mandible ; 

 the irides are deep brown, almost black; the legs and feet are 

 ordinarily greenish, often pale olive green or greenish olive ; and 

 as the season advances they acquire a stronger yellow tinge, the 

 legs of birds killed in April and May being often a distinct yellow 

 green ; there is often a dusky shade over the joints and the claws 

 are deep brown to black " (Hume). 



" Length 9-0 to 10-3 ; expanse 15-0 to 17-5 ; wing 4-9 to 5-6 ; 

 tail from vent 2-5 to 2-9 ; tarsus 1-20 to 1-34; bill from gape 2-39 

 to 2-7; at front 2-43 to 3*75 ; weight 3-3 oz. to 5*1 oz. • average 

 4-15 oz. " (Hume). 



Adult female. — " Total length 10-5 inches, culm en 2-8, wing 

 5-3, tail 2-45, tarsus 1*3 " (Sharpe). 



The female does not differ from the male in colouration but is a 

 rather larger bird. 



" In this species also the females do average slightly larger and 

 have longer bills than the males." 



