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Mr. D. Seth-Smith,



becoming practically invisible amongst herbage or undergrowth

of any kind. (Figs, i and 2). It is very interesting to see this

habit, developed to a moderate extent, in the very young chicks;

the)'' too will, when they suspect danger, squat and throw up

their little tails, almost always arranging that the latter shall be

towards the object of their alarm.


A detailed description of the chick is unnecessary with

the plate before us, * but I may remark that in the plumage of

the chicks, as in that of the adult birds, there is an abundance

of the substance known as “powder down,” and the living chick,

although exactly corresponding to the drawing in other respects,

looks considerably greyer, on account of the presence of this

substance. At the age of twelve days the chick is full-winged and

can fly strongly. The wing coverts are tipped with buffisk spots.

A few da}^s later the dark grey feathers begin to appear through

the down on the bod} r , but the feathers on the head are the last

to appear, as in most birds.


The single bird reared from the brood hatched on May the

10th, although still rather small (July 8 tli) is the image of the

adults, with the exception that it is still slightly spotted on the

wings, the feathers on the flanks and vent are less distinctly

margined with whitish, and the bill is lead-colour.


A description of the adult is quite unnecessary with the

plate before us (which certainly does very great credit both to

the artist and the chromo-lithographers). The living bird how¬

ever does not show quite such a contrast between the grey of the

head and neck and the brown of the back as shown in the plate,

on account of the presence of the “ powder down,” before referred

to, which gives the whole bird a lead-coloured appearance. The

bird figured is the female, a slightly larger bird than the male,

and with a redder bill. She is not supposed to be taking any

notice of the chick, which, as above stated, looks to its male

parent entirely for support.


The egg-shell in the plate exactly represents the shell after

hatching ; but it is then a dull thing as compared with the



* The nestling of only a few days old was described by Dr. Allen in the Bulletin of ike

American Museum of Natural History (Vol. v. p. 151).—D. S.-S.



