WESTERN BLUE BIRD. 43 



end, the edges direct and overlapping, with a slight notch close to the 

 narrow deflected tip ; lower mandible with the angle of moderate length 

 and narrow, the dorsal line straight, the sides convex, the edges direct, 

 the tip narrow. Nostrils basal, elliptical, operculate, partially con- 

 cealed by the feathers. 



Head rather large ; neck short ; body moderately full. Feet of or- 

 dinary length, slender ; tarsus compressed, covered anteriorly with 

 seven scutella, behind with two long plates meeting so as to form a 

 thin edge ; toes of moderate length ; the first stouter, the second and 

 fourth nearly equal, the third much longer ; claws moderate, well 

 ciu'ved, compressed, laterally grooved, tapering to a fine point. 



Plumage soft and blended, with considerable gloss. Short bristles 

 at the base of the upper mandible. Wings very long ; the first quill 

 very small, being only seven-twelfths of an inch long, the second half 

 a twelfth shorter than the third, which is longest, but only exceeds the 

 fourth by three-fourths of a twelfth ; the other primaries rapidly gra- 

 duated ; outer secondaries emarginate, inner not elongated. Tail ra- 

 ther long, deeply emarginate, the middle feathers being four-twelfths 

 of an inch shorter than the longest. 



Bill and feet black ; iris brown. The general colour of the upper 

 pai'ts is bright blue of a tint approaching to ultramarine ; a broad band 

 across the fore part of the back, and the scapulars, chestnut-red ; the 

 quills and larger coverts dark greyish-brown, the outer webs blue, the 

 primaries light brown at the end, the secondaries faintly margined with 

 whitish. The tail-feathers are also brown toward the end, but blue 

 toward the base ; the lateral with the margin of the outer web whitish. 

 The sides and fore part of the neck are light blue, tinged with grey, 

 the fore part of the breast and the sides of the body light chestnut- 

 red ; the rest of the lower parts greyish-white tinged with blue. 



Length to end of tail 7 inches ; bill along the ridge ||, along the 

 edge of lower mandible ^| ; wing fii'om fiexm^e 4/^ ; tail 2^§ ; tarsus i§, 

 hind toe 1%, its claw j^^ ; middle toe j%, its claw /j. 



Adult Female in summer. Plate CCCXCIII. Fig. 4. 



The Female differs from the male in the same degree as that of the 

 Arctic Blue Bird from its male ; the upper parts being light greyish- 

 brown tinged with blue, which is brighter on the rump ; the wings and 

 tail are as in the male, but with less blue ; the lower parts are bluish- 

 grej^, the breast and sides light brownish-red tinged with grey. 



