THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 40r 



mesial stripe is often unspotted and seldom heavily marked ; lores, 

 supercilia and sides of the head white, or bufFy white, speckled with 

 black ; back of the neck ferriiginous red to dull ferruginous ; back, 

 rump and upper tail coverts barred black and rufous, the rufous 

 varying from a bright tint to a dull greyish rufous, and the amount 

 of black varying greatly in individuals; here and there, more 

 especially on the rump, a few of the feathers are very narrowly 

 margined with whitish, and some of the outer tail coverts have the 

 outer webs edged with buff; the black is nearly always more 

 strongly developed on the rump and vipper tail coverts than on the 

 back. 



Scapulars, inner wing coverts, and innermost secondaries like 

 the back, but with broad buff margins to each feather ; other wing 

 covers rufous with a black spot on the outer web, and broad buff 

 margins, in some birds this buff margin occupying nearly all the 

 visible portion in the closed wing; bastard wing and primary 

 coverts grej^ brown with buff edges ; primaries brown, or grey 

 brown, with buff edges, broad and distinct on the outer, narrow and 

 sometimes abraded on the inner. 



Chin and throat white, centre of breast rufescent, sides of breast 

 and flanks white or buffy white, with bold drops of black, and more 

 or less patches of chestnut ; remainder of lower parts white, often 

 tinged buff and sometimes with chestnut, and the lower tail coverts- 

 nearly always of this colour. 

 Colour of the soft ]jarts — 



" Legs and feet vary from pale fleshy white to light lead 

 colour ; the bills from leaden white to lavender or plumbeous ; 

 the irides are light yellow to straw white." (Himie). 

 " Legs fleshy white or pale blue grey, bill the same." 



(Finn in " Indian Field"). 

 Measurements. 



" Females— Length, 5-4" to 5-7"; expanse, 9-8" to 10-7"; 

 wing, 2-8" to 3-0" ; tail from vent, 1-3" to 1-5" ; tarsus, 0-7" 

 to 0-75"; bill from gape, 0-51" to 0-56"; weight, 1-25 to 

 1-5 oz." 



" These measurements, taken from only 6 birds . . . 

 probably do not adequately represent the limits within which 

 the dimensions of this species vary." 



" Males— Length, 5-2" to 5-4" ; expanse, 9-5" to 10-5" ;. 



wing, 2-76" to 2-9"; tail from vent, 1-25" to 1-35"; tarsus, 



0-7" to 0-72"; bill from gape, 0-51" to 0-55 ; weight, 1-1 



to 1-4 oz." (Hume). 



Including the birds in the British Museum, I have obtained 



measiirements of 34 males and 43 females. The latter have an 



average wing measurement of 2-93" (= 74-4 mm.) and vary in 



length between 2-88" (= 7-31 mm.) and 2-98" (= 7-57 mm.) 



