List of Birds observed in Malta and Gozo. 461 



tip of bill to tip of toCj 14 inches. Eye large and prominent; 

 iris hazel; margins of lids red. Bill black, 1^ inch long. Nos- 

 trils linear, and placed in a groove. Forehead and chest a dirty 

 whitish brown. Head, neck, and back brown, having a vinaceous 

 shade, like the common Lapwing, on the back. Secondary 

 wing-coverts edged with white and black. Primary wing-coverts 

 more or less so. The first eight quills black ; remainder white, 

 tipped with black gradually towards the smallest, until the last 

 four or six are pure white. Rump and tail pure white (in some 

 specimens a slight edging of black on the tip of the tail). 

 Throat dirty whitish brown, like the forehead. Belly and vent 

 white, with a faint rufous tinge. Inner surface of wings white. 

 Legs yellow ; tibiae half naked ; tarsus scaled. 



"P. S, 1855. Vanellus leucurus (Licht. andBlyth, confirmed 

 by Sir William Jardine). A rare Indian bird — Kabul its 

 habitat; so it may be only migratory in the Punjaub. Sex not 

 recorded. Native name, Chizi. The reason it was not included 

 in either of my Indian lists arose from the skins not having 

 been identified until after the papers were published. ^^ 



I now subjoin a description of the Maltese specimen, with 

 dimensions, which I took when the bird was still in the flesh, as 

 all particulars relating to an example of this little-known bird, 

 killed in a European island, will doubtless be acceptable to 

 those who take an interest in European ornithology and the 

 geographical distribution of species : — 



Length, from tip of bill to end of tail, lOf inches, or 27 cen- 

 timetres. From carpus to tip, 7^ inches. First and second 

 primaries nearly equal, third shorter. Tarsus nearly 3 inches, 

 or full 7 centimetres. Middle toe \\ inch. Naked part of 

 thigh 1^ inch. Toes long and slender, three before and one 

 behind. Space between first and second slightly webbed. 

 Tibiae feathered to about half their length. Bill 1|^ inch, or 

 3| centimetres, long. Upper surface of head, neck, back, scapu- 

 lars and tertials ashy brown, with a slight metallic and vinous 

 colouring. Primaries black, with a portion of the upper parts 

 of the shafts white, spotted with brown. Secondaries pure 

 white, with some of their ends spotted or streaked with brown. 

 Wing-coverts slightly marked with black, so as to form two 



N. S. VOL. I. 2 k 



