a$ B O A T - B I L L. 



V AR ." B. Cancroma csncropliaga, Lin. Syjl, i. p. 233. 2. 



BROWN B, La Cuilliere brune, Br if. Orn. v. N° 509. z.—Bi<f. Of. vii. p. 443.—- 



PI. Enl. 869. 

 Tamatia, Rati Sju. p. 116. 12. — Will. Orn. p. 318. pi. 78. 



Lev. Muf. 



Description, g I Z E of the laft. Head and creft the fame : the upper parts, 

 inftead of afh-colour, are of a pale rufous brown ■ the tail 

 rufous afh : the under parts wholly of a cream-colour : bill and 

 legs yellow brown. 



I find thefe birds vary much : in the firft place, the crefts are 

 by no means of equal lengths; fince the cinereous one, mentioned 

 by Buffon, had a fhorter creft than the brown fort ; whereas in 

 thofe which came under my inflection, it was juft the contrary; 

 and in one fpecimen the creft was fcarcely manifeft : the bills 

 too vary in colour •, fome are black, others brown, and in one 

 which I faw it appeared to have been yellow. If I may be al- 

 lowed a conjecture, it is, that the cinereous, or firft-defcribed, is' 

 the male, the plain brown one the female, and the fpotted variety 

 of Brijfon a young male ; and that the crefts of both are equal, 

 when in an adult ftate. In the PI. Enl. I obferve a patch of 

 grey in the middle of the greater wing coverts, which is not in 

 any fpecimen that I have feen. The figure referred to in Brown 

 is not good, being too fhort and fqua-t; that in Hijl. des Oif. much 

 worfe, though the bill and creft are well exprefTed : both thofe 

 in the PI. Enl. are fufficiently exprefhVe ; and it is to be hoped, 

 that our reprefentation will likewife give a juft idea of fo curious 

 a bird. 



This 



