68 
SYLVIAD.E. 
including the two middle feathers of the tail, hair brown, 
with a cinereous tinge; the secondaries, tertials, and coverts 
of the wings, edged with a lighter brown. The lower region 
of the eye, and the ear coverts, are dusky, intermixed with 
rufous. Beautiful azure blue feathers, like the plumage of 
the humming birds, cover the throat, neck, and breast; in 
the centre of which is usually a small spot of pure white. 
On the lower part of the breast this fine blue colour is 
succeeded by a line of black, and another narrower line of 
Avhite ; these are followed by a broad band of a rusty maroon 
colour. The flanks, belly and under parts, are pale brownish 
buff. The external feathers of the tail are rufous, at the 
basal end, and dusky at the terminal portion. The legs, are 
yellowish flesh-colour, the toes and claws inclining to dusky. 
The iris is brown ; the beak is dusky at the tip, the basal 
part, and corners of the mouth, yellowish, and beset with 
bristles. Over the eye is a pale brown line. 
The female has little, or none, of the fine blue that distin¬ 
guishes the male ; her throat and upper part of the breast 
are dirty white, bordered, on the sides of the neck, by a line 
of dark feathers ; on the lower part of the breast, the feathers 
have a slight tinge of blue, with a dark mark in the centre of 
each, forming a kind of gorget. A yellowish white line 
passes over the eye, and encircles the ear-coverts, Avhich are 
streaked with buff, and dusky. The upper plumage, wings 
and tail, are much like those of the male. 
The young of this species ditfer much from the adult. 
Their upper plumage is dusky, Avith oval spots of reddish 
broAvn along the shafts of the feathers. The feathers of the 
Aving are bordered Avith pale brown ; the under plumage is 
of the same dark colour, Avith similar oval spots of pale broAvn. 
The breast of the young male bears an indication of the Avhite 
spot, peculiar to the adult, in a pale broAvn mark. The under 
tail-coverts are Avhitish; the beak, tail, and legs, nearly as in 
the adult. 
