192 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXUI. 



a brio-ht pink vinaceous with the black markings almost entirely 

 concealed by the ends of the over lapping feathers, in others, the 

 feathers being abraded, the black spots from large patches and the 

 surrounding parts are tinged with darkbnff or yellow buff, sometimes 

 even with buff ochre. 



The yellow on the throat varies greatly in intensity and the 

 markings on the breast not infrequently descend right down to the 

 white abdomen. The thighs and feet are, also, sometimes quite 

 thickly covered with fine dark bars. 



" Bill and nails bluish horny; soles whitish" (Hume). 

 Dimensions— Males. — "Length 18 to 20; expanse 29 to 31; wing 

 9-9 to 10-5; tail (according to development of central tail feathers) 

 7-5 to 9-5; tarsus (which even in the fresh bird is very hard to mea- 

 sure) 1-1 to 1-3; bill from forehead to tip, 0. 74 to 0. 78." (Hume). 

 The small series I have been able to examine have had wings 

 varying from 9-98" (254-5 mm.) to 10-63" (270 mm.) with an 

 average of 10-35" (261-9 mm.). I have also measured tails up 

 iO-4" (263-10 mm.) though this was unusually long and most are 

 only aboiTt 8" (203-2 mm.). 



BescriiMon — Adult female. — The adult female differs from the 

 adult male in having the chin and throat albescent and more or 

 less freely barred with brown ; the breast is barred throughout and 

 there is no intermediate band of grey between the barred part and 

 the white abdomen. The whole of the upper parts and wing coverts 

 which are only vermiculated in the male are regularly barred in the 

 female, except the rump, upper tail coverts and central tail feathers 

 and even these are decidedly more boldly marked than in the male. 

 The general tint also is more grey and less vinous, though it varies 

 in both sexes. 



The upper plumage may be in general tone sandy-grey, grey 

 much suffused with ochreous on scapulars and wings or grey 

 with these parts as pink or vinous as in the male. There is a bird 

 from Tibet and another specimen from Ladak in the British 

 Museum which have as beautiful a pink vinaceoiis a tint as there 

 is in any of the males, and they also have the wing coverts covered 

 with fine stippling and vermiculations instead of the usual barring. 

 One of these is probably a young bird, and though both are sexed 

 females there may be some mistake. Below the extent of the breast 

 differs in various individuals and in some birds is darker than in 

 others. Soft parts as in the male. 



Dimensions — Females. — " Length 6-5 to 118 ; expanse 27 to 28; 

 wing 9-7 to 9-9 ; tail 7-0 to 8-4 ; tarsus M ; bill as before 0-72 to 

 0-73." (Hume). 



I have been able to take the measurements of some 20 females 

 and these bear out Hume's measurements in making the females 

 decidedly smaller than the female. The wings vary from 9-80 " 



