918 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



in the centre with white ; the scapulars and back have not the 

 buff markings of the male but the underlying scapulars are pure 

 white, forming a tuft of white feathers which show up through 

 the others. The wing-coverts and inner secondaries are a rather 

 bright olive green closely barred with black and more or less 

 tino-ed reddish. The general aspect of the closed wing is thus 

 green in the female whilst it is a game-bird vermiculated brown in 

 the male. The remainder of the plumage is like that of the male. 



" Length 9*75 to 10*89 ; wing 5*25 to 5-6 ; tail from vent 1*6 

 to 2-0 ; tarsus 175 to 1-96 ; bill at front 1-8 to 2-05 ; weight 4-4 

 to 6-42 oz." (Hume). 



" Bill greenish, yellow fleshy at the tip of both mandibles ; feet 

 pale green ; iris dark drown " (A. E. Butler). 



" The bill is olive brown throughout in the cock, in the hen 

 brown at the base shading into flesh colour at the tip " (Finn). 



I have not personally been able to discriminate between the 

 sexes as regards the colouration of the soft parts and think the 

 variations are individual and not sexual. 



" The young birds of both sexes resemble the male in plumage 

 but the female may be known at all stages by the presence of some ■white 

 scajndar feathers. Females in every phase of plumage between 

 that of the male and that of the adult female are very common 

 in collections " (Oates). 



" Young male. — Resembles the old male almost exactly, but has 

 the throat entirely white, the lower throat and fore neck washed 

 with brown, with some dusky streaks" (Sharpe). 



Young females who have just acquired adult plumage have the 

 chestnut of the head and neck very dull and the feathers are 

 margined with dusky. 



Nestling. — Dull grey, or buff grey, with a broad coronal streak 

 and eye streak of rich brown. The centre of the back is rich 

 rufous with a band of black on either side and there are also 

 lateral bands of purplish brown, running from under the wings as 

 far back as the thighs. The wings are banded buff and brown. 



There is no seasonal change of plumage in the female. 



Distribution.— Africa, South of the Sahara, but extending East 

 to Egypt, Madagascar ; throughout Southern Asia, though it 



