506 COCK OF THE PLAINS. 
Plumage dense, soft, rather compact, the feathers in general broadly 
ovate ; those on the head very short, on the sides of the neck anteriorly 
at its lower part and across the fore part of the breast, small, very short, 
broad, stiff, and imbricated like scales; higher up on the sides of the 
neck a tuft of feathers having their shafts elongated, bristle-like, and 
terminated by a few filaments. On each side of the lower part of the 
neck in front is a large bare space capable of being inflated into a 
hemispherical sac. On the fore part of the breast the feathers, although 
long, have the shaft thickened and elongated; the rest of the feathers 
are of ordinary structure. Wings rather short, concave, much rounded, 
the primaries stiff and very narrow, so as to leave a large interval when 
the wing is extended ; the third, fourth, and fifth quills longest. Tail 
long, graduated, of twenty stiffish feathers, each tapering to a very 
elongated point. 
Bill black ; iris light hazel ; superciliary membrane vermilion ; toes 
brownish-grey ; claws brownish-black. The upper parts are light yel- 
lowish-brown, variegated with brownish-black and yellowish-white ; 
the feathers of the head and neck transversely barred, of the back 
barred, undulated and dotted, with a whitish longitudinal line along 
the shafts of the wing-feathers. The quills chocolate-brown, their 
outer webs and part of their inner margins mottled with yellowish- 
white. Tail with about ten bands of yellowish-white on the outer webs, 
which are otherwise variegated like the back, the inner webs nearly 
plain brown. The throat and fore part of neck whitish, longitudinally 
spotted with brownish-black ; a narrow white band across the throat ; 
the sides of the neck and fore part of the breast white ; the elongated 
shafts of the tuft-feathers, black; the sides variegated like the back ~ 
with a broad line of white along the middle of each feather ; the axil- 
lars and lower wing-coverts pure white; the hind part of the breast 
and the abdomen, brownish-black ; the sides of the rump like the back, 
the lower tail-coverts brownish-black, largely tipped with white, the 
feathers of the tibie and tarsi pale brownish-grey, faintly barred with 
brown. 
Length to end of tail 30 inches; extent of wings 36; wing from 
flexure 13; tail 12, shortest feathers 7; bill along the ridge 1;%,, along 
the edge of lower mandible 1; ; tarsus 23; hind toe 3, its claw 74 ; 
middle toe 24, its claw 7. 
