532 WILLOW GROUS. 



small, neck rather long, body bulky. Feet of ordinary length ; tarsus 

 feathered, as are the toes, excepting towards the end, where they are 

 covered with small scales and three terminal scutella ; hind toe extremely 

 short, two lateral equal ; claws slightly arched, depressed, broad, with 

 thin edges, and rounded. 



Plumage compact, the feathers generally rounded, those of the head 

 and upper neck narrow and proportionally short. The legs and toes 

 covered with hair-like feathers. Wings short, the primaries strong, nar- 

 row, tapering, curved, third longest, second and fourth little shorter. 

 Tail short, even, or very slightly rounded, of fourteen bi-oad feathers, 

 and four narrower central ones, which are superior. 



Bill black. Iris brown. Toes and claws dark brown, the edges of 

 the latter yellowish-grey. Head and neck bright chestnut, the feathers 

 on the back part of the latter and crown of the head barred with black, 

 and tipped with whitish. The back, some of the wing-coverts, the nearer 

 secondary quills, the four upper tail-feathers, the anterior part of the 

 breast, and part of the sides imder the wings, variegated with brownish- 

 black, chestnut and white, the feathers being of the first colour in the 

 middle, and transversely barred with the second towards the end, while 

 the terminal margin is of the last. Most of the coverts, all the primaries, 

 and the greater number of the secondaries, with the whole under surface 

 of the wings, the middle of the breast, the abdomen, legs and feet, pure 

 "white, the shafts of the primaries are more or less brown, excepting to- 

 wards the ends. The fourteen tail-feathers are brownish-black, with the 

 tips white, as is the basal portion of the outer web of the outermost. The 

 superciliary membranes are vermilion. 



Length 17 inches, extent of wings 26^; bill along the ridge | ; tar- 

 sus 1 1 ; middle toe with the nail 1 /^ ; weight 1 1 lb. 



Adult Female, in summer. Plate CXCI. Fig. 2. 



In the female the superciliary membrane is much smaller, but of the 

 same colour, as are the wings and tail. The head, neck, breast, abdo- 

 men, sides, as well as the upper parts, are variegated in a manner resembling 

 the back of the male, but with the black spots larger, and the transverse 

 bars of light brownish-red, broader and less numerous ; the lower surface 

 much lighter. 



Length 16 inches, extent of wings 25 ; weight 1 lb. 



