WHITE-TAILED FLOVEB. 167 



Harting that an interesting article from M. Vian on the breeding of 

 this bird in European Russia is published in the "Revue et Magazin 

 de Zoologie" for 1874. 



Through the kindness of Mr. Harting I am enabled to describe and 

 figure a male bird in that gentleman's collection. It was shot in 

 Egypt by Captain Shelley on the 21st. of February, 1870. 



This bird has the crown of the head brown, shading off to lighter 

 on the nape, cheek, and sides of neck. The back is a bronzy Isabel. 

 Tail coverts darker brown; the tail being pure white. The wing has 

 the primaries pitch black, their extreme ends being very faintly 

 edged with lighter; the first three primaries are nearly equal, the 

 second the longest. The secondaries are pure white, the first four 

 being more or less tipped with dark brown: this gives the conspicuous 

 white band on the wing. The wing coverts are Isabel, edged with 

 black; the long secondaries, going to nearly the middle of the tail, 

 Isabel brown, tipped with white. The shoulders are white, with here 

 and there a black feather. Under wing coverts pure white. Chin 

 whitish; breast light brown; abdomen dusky; under tail coverts and 

 lower abdomen tawny; flanks white. Legs and feet yellow. 



I have the pleasure of figuring also, for I believe the first time, an 

 egg, the drawing of which was made for this work by Dr. von 

 Heuglin. 



