Birds. 1493 



back of the neck, upper tail-coverts, and upper side of the tail- 

 feathers, shining brown, beautifully varied with purple and green re- 

 flections ; back grayish brown, lightest in the centre ; primary and se- 

 condary wing feathers dull brown, lightest on the inner web ; wing- 

 coverts darker; the innermost feathers of the greater wing-coverts 

 being more or less white on the inner web, and the whole wing being 

 varied with reflections of purple and green. 



The Foot. 



" The tail in form, almost square ; the feathers ten in number, the 

 shaft of each being carried beyond the web, and forming a short, 

 sharp spine, which, in the central feathers, rather exceeds -| of an 

 inch in length, and gradually diminishes towards the outside. 



" The chin, throat, and under tail-coverts white ; breast, belly, and 

 under surface of the tail-feathers clove brown; flanks dark brown, 

 spotted with white ; legs, toes, and claws dark brown." 



" It was shot about 9 p.m. on the 8th of this month (July) by a 

 farmer's son, named Peter Coveney, in the parish of Great Horkesley, 

 about four miles from Colchester; he saw it first on the evening of the 

 6th — he tells me it occasionally flew to a great height, was principally 

 engaged in hawking for flies over a small wood and neighbouring trees; 

 being only wounded, it cried very much as it fell, and when he took 

 it up, clung so tightly to- some clover (it was in a clover lay) as 

 to draw some stalks from the ground ; it is evidently nearly allied to 

 the swallow, and its late feeding would perhaps show some affinity to 

 the goat-sucker ; the protruding shafts of the tail-feathers are sin- 

 gular. — T. Catchpool, JunT 



The bird is well-figured by Mr. Gould in the 'Birds of Australia,' 

 and greatly resembles Nipalese specimens, presented by Mr. Hodgson 

 to the British Museum. I subjoin Mr. Gould's interesting description 

 as well as list of synonyms. 



