on the Regent Bird.



*25



into detail. The white circular feathers of the mantle were

broadly edged with brown ; a broad irregular line of whitish ran

down the centre of the scapulars ; the inner three secondaries

of each wing had towards their tips the same character of mark¬

ing, but these were irregular and not well defined, and were of a

sandy-buff colour ; on the lower back, the white centres of the

feathers were again inclined to globular, but were irregular and

somewhat mixed with the brown edgings. In the survivor the

markings on the ends of the inner secondaries were considerably

more developed, and on September 14 were conspicuous on four

feathers of each wing ; these marks fell naturally into line and

concord, when the wings were closed, with the general speckled

appearance of the upper parts, and also with the lighter shading

of the inner webs of the majority of the secondaries. In the

British Museum Catalogue it is said of the adult female that the

innermost secondaries have an “ irregular white spot at the tip.”

On my second female the spots are faint—the brown is a little

lighter at the tips of three or four secondaries on each side.

Perhaps if I were to handle her I might find the two white-

tipped feathers. As far as I have been able to observe without

handling the birds, these spots at first are sandy-buff, and become

darker and more brown—more of the general colour of the wing

—in the course of a year or so.


On September 14, when I took the survivor in charge for

a while, I became aware that not only a development but a

change was in progress: on this and following days several

small feathers were shed, pointing to change however limited.

Previously, the general aspect below had been grayish, with

the abdominal region whitish ; now I found a strong growth of

quite new sulphur coloured feathers bursting out on the chest

and running down the sides of the abdomen. O11 September 28

the abdomen and ventral region were still mostly white; and

there seemed to be a new and flourishing crop of white feathers

on the sides of the body , and the thighs were well covered.


The general aspect, wings excepted, of the surviving young

bird at first was whitish ; gradual^ 7 it became more gray ; rather

slowly the upper parts fell into harmony with the wings and

became brownish, the edgings of the feathers being or becoming of



