195 



streaks of brown ; on raising the plumage of these parts each feather is found to be largely centred with 

 brown, with a produced apical spot of the same ; underparts of the body white, varied on the sides and 

 flanks with irregular letter-V markings of brown ; inner lining of wings greyish white, the axillary 

 plumes pencilled with brown in wavy lines ■ rump and upper tail-coverts white, with circular bars of 

 brown ; wing- feathers dark brown, with white shafts ; tail-feathers paler brown, with white shafts. 

 Irides and bill black ; legs greyish black. Length 10 inches ; wing, from flexure, 6 - 25 ; tail 2 - 25 ; bill, 

 along the ridge 1/3, along the edge of lower mandible 1/4 ; bare tibia - 5 ; tarsus 1*2 ; middle toe and 

 claw 1 ; hind toe and claw ■ 25 . 



Adult in summer. Differs in having the plumage of the back brownish black, varied more or less with broad 

 round spots of rufous ; the sides of the head, throat, fore neck, breast, upper part of the abdomen, and 

 sides of the body bright rufous ; some of the feathers narrowly margined with white. 



Young. Readily distinguished by the crescentic markings on the upper parts, each featber having a narrow 

 subterminal streak of black ; the scapulars, wing-coverts, and long secondaries margined beyond with 

 white. 



This cosmopolitan species is occasionally obtained in New Zealand, but only in its winter 

 plumage. There are several specimens in the Canterbury and Otago Museums, all of them 

 obtained on the east coast. It has not yet been recorded in the North Island ; but there is no 

 reason why it should not occur there also. Captain Hutton is in error in stating that I shot one 

 of these birds at Wanganui*, the specimen which I presented to the Colonial Museum having 

 been received by me from the South Island. 



Mr. Gould states that a specimen collected by Strange on the 2nd September had the under 

 surface much suffused with red, with many new black feathers among the grey ones on the back, 

 showing that the bird was changing into its summer livery at the commencement of the Australian 

 spring. 



* Catalogue of the Birds of New Zealand, 1871, p. 77. 



