ROSE-COLOURED PASTOR. 



177 



under tail-coverts are bounded with white, and all the black 

 feathers reflect either green or steel-blue. The wings and 

 tail-feathers are black, slightly reflected with metallic co- 

 lours, and the outer feather very narrowly edged with white. 

 The wings and tail-feathers are dusky on the inner side, 

 as also the under wing-coverts, which are bordered with 

 white. 



The rose colour on the bird, immediately after the moult, 

 is, in the adult male, a true carmine rose red, which, however, 

 soon becomes faded by the action of the sun and air. 



Young males and hen birds never have the rose colour pure, 

 but more approaching to flesh red. The adult females have 

 a shorter crest on the head, and her colours are altogether 

 duller and less pure. The young females have a still shorter 

 crest, the other parts of the head and neck dusky, as also the 

 wing and tail-feathers ; the latter of which are edged with 

 pale brown ; the tertials and greater wing-coverts alone are 

 black. The breast and belly, back and shoulders, flesh 

 colour ; the shoulder and upper back feathers are tipped with 

 brownish-grey, overpowering the rose or flesh colour. The 

 thighs, the upper and the under tail-coverts black ; the latter 

 with pale brown edges. The iris dark brown. 



The young birds before they moult are so very different 

 from the parents, that it requires some knowledge of them to 

 identify them. They resemble most of all the young of the 

 starling ; they have neither crest, nor any sign of rose colour 

 about them, and only distinguish themselves by their thicker 

 and shorter beaks and lighter coloured feathers, which ap- 

 proach nearer to brown than grey. The beak and legs are 

 dirty flesh colour ; the corners of the beak and the soles of 

 the feet yellow. The tip of the beak is brown, and the iris 

 greyish-brown. The upper part of the bird is pale yellowish- 

 grey, spotted with darker about the head. Wings and tail 

 dusky, edged with pale dirty rust colour ; a faded pale streak 



V0JL. III. N 



