REDPOLE. 121 



local or rare, need only to be sought with a little persever- 

 ance in order to be found. Our next object was, to catch 

 one of these strangers, which, with a little patience, we shortly 

 succeeded in doing. 



The entire length of the Redpole seldom exceeds four 

 inches and a half. The wing, from the carpus to the tip, mea- 

 sures two inches six lines : and the tail extends about ten lines 

 beyond the tips of the closed wings. The tarsus measures 

 about six lines ; the feet are small and delicate, and the claws 

 remarkably sharp. The beak is thick at the base, and drawn 

 to a point : the nostrils and base of both mandibles, are co- 

 vered with fine hairs directed forwards. The tail is much 

 forked, the middle pair of feathers being nearly six lines shorter 

 than the outer. The weight of this little species is, accord- 

 ing to Montagu, two drachms and a half. 



The plumage of a beautiful male taken soon after the 

 moulting season, was as follows : the beak yellowish-orange 

 with a dusky tip : the feathers encircling the beak so broadly 

 edged with yellowish-brown, as almost to obscure their dark 

 brown bases : the forehead crimson-red, inclining to garnet 

 colour. On the side of the face, nape, and scapulars, the 

 feathers are dusky, very broadly edged with yellowish -brown, 

 and presenting beautifully tesselated appearance. The wing- 

 coverts are dusky ; the two lower rows tipped with rufous- 

 white, forming two bars across the wings : the spurious wing- 

 let and quill-feathers dusky, very narrowly edged with ru- 

 fous-white ; the secondary and tertial-feathers the same in 

 colour, with their edges rather broader ; the quill-feathers 

 of the tail the same colour as those of the wing ; the lower 

 part of the back is mottled with dusky and white, the rump 

 slightly tinged with rose-colour ; the upper coverts of the tail 

 dusky, edged with pale-brown. The feathers on the upper 

 part of the breast are delicate rose-colour, those nearest the 

 chin broadly fringed with rufous-white : the rest of the un- 



