Birds. 3031 



former having four or five distinct and nearly equidistant white spots 

 on outer web, towards the tips ; the latter are adorned with large, 

 nearly square, white spots on outer web, forming two or three irregu- 

 lar white lines ; a few of the secondaries have white spots on their 

 inner webs ; tertials long and downy, with large, white spots on their 

 outer webs, forming, when the wing is closed, a broad, elongated band 

 of white, with a few transverse, irregular, brownish bars : rump and 

 upper tail-coverts umber-brown, with irregular white markings, and 

 a broad terminal white spot : tail seven inches and a half long, pro- 

 jecting three inches and a quarter beyond the closed wings, cuneiform, 

 containing twelve feathers, of which the centre pair are one inch and 

 a half longer than the outer ; upper surface sepia-brown, with nine or 

 ten whitish bars (three upper bars concealed by upper tail-coverts), 

 a broad terminal white band. The bars are most strongly marked on 

 the inner webs ; the white is but slightly seen on the outer webs, and 

 only in the form of indistinct spots. The striated appearance is best 

 seen on the under surface, where the bars form, when the tail is ex- 

 panded, eight or nine crescentic bands * of dull white ; when the tail 

 is closed, they form transverse bars : under tail-coverts with broad, 

 white, and narrow, brown bands : in front of the point of either wing 

 is a blackish blotch, connected with the opposite by an irregular band 

 of dull white feathers, having stripes and spots of sepia-brown ; be- 

 neath this and across upper part of breast, is a broad, pale band, spa- 

 ringly marked with brown : lower part of breast, belly and sides, dull 

 white, with numerous transverse, slightly waved bars of hair-brown : 

 legs and feet thickly covered with yellowish brown feathers, barred 

 with dark brown : claws bluish black, long, curved and sharp ; mid- 

 dle claw furnished with a projecting sharp inner edge. Total length 

 14j inches ; from point of wing to tip, 9j inches; length of central 

 tail feathers, 1\ inches. First quill feather shortest ; third longest ; 

 fourth a little shorter ; second less than fourth : feathers on under 

 surface of wing white, with sepia-brown bands, which on some are 

 regularly transverse, but in others the brown is placed alternately on 

 inner and outer webs. 



By comparing the above description with those of Messrs. Yarrell 

 and Wilson, it will at once be seen how far the present specimen re- 

 sembles, and in what respect it differs, from those examined by them. 

 There are certain points on which 1 have been, perhaps, unnecessarily 

 minute ; but as they are points on which the above-named authors 



* The convexity being towards the points of the feathers. 



