SIAMESE CRESTED FIREBACK 119 
remaining upper parts. Mid-back black, coarsely barred with buffy white; lower back, 
rump and tail-coverts similar, but the barring disintegrates into a coarse mottling. 
Scapulars, wing-coverts and secondaries black, strikingly barred with white, the centre 
of the bars showing considerable black mottling. The exposed portions of the greater 
coverts and secondaries show much greenish gloss. On the primaries the bars become 
buffy or rufous-brown, and are much broken. Two central pairs of rectrices closely 
resemble the secondaries, but with the eight or more bars much diffused with mottling. 
Third pair of tail-feathers chestnut, with a great deal of black barring and mottling 
on the inner webs; the remaining rectrices and under tail-coverts clear chestnut. 
Entire ventral surface reddish-chestnut, the breast almost monochrome, but with a 
white marginal fringe appearing on the lower breast, and increasing in extent over 
the remaining posterior ventral plumage. Upper mandible dark, lower chiefly yellowish 
horn colour; irides hazel brown; facial skin, legs and feet scarlet ; claws whitish horn. 
Spurs low, sharp scalules. Bill from nostril, 16 mm.; wing, 223; tail, 202; tarsus, 81; 
middle toe and claw, 46. 
The female dard is interesting as exhibiting the same differentiation of pattern 
in the tail as is shown by the males of /comus and the other species of Lophura. 
JUVENILE PLuMacE.—Crown (lacking a crest), sides of head and back of neck 
dark, smoky brown, merging into the mantle, which is rufous, slightly mottled with 
dark. On the scapulars a black spot occurs, and on the mottled grey wing-coverts 
this increases until the pale buff colour is confined to the tip and to several narrow 
transverse bars. On the inner secondaries these become very distinct, each feather 
showing six or more straight, narrow cross-bars on a black field. The tail-feathers 
are chestnut, marked and barred with blackish. The ventral plumage is dull brown, 
faintly freckled with whitish. The specialized fiery back is only faintly indicated at 
this age: a slight golden fringe much freckled and dulled with black and white, while 
the bronze-red rump is barely suggested by a rather mottled chestnut fringe. 
First YEAR PLumace.—The wing of the young male Fireback [Coloured Plate 
XXXVI, fig. 4], when in half-way transition between juvenile and first-year plumage, 
is exceedingly interesting. One such wing showed primaries Nos. 9 and 1o full grown, 
but with the sheath still clinging to their bases as plain evidence of their delayed 
growth. Primaries 1 to 6 inclusive were new, 1 to 3 full grown, while Nos. 4, 5 
and 6 were new feathers in active growth, measuring respectively 149, 124, and 99 mm. 
out of their sheaths. Nos, 7 and 8 were still unshed. 
It should be remembered that the wing-feathers of the adult male, both primaries 
and secondaries, show no complex patterning. The former are brownish-black faintly 
flecked with grey; the secondaries are all evenly and minutely vermiculated (chiefly 
on the outer webs) with white. Keeping this in mind, such a wing as that which 
we shall describe is most interesting and significant. The gradation of specialized 
pattern revealed by the delayed growth of the outermost primaries, together with the 
presence simultaneously of pure juvenile and typical adult feathers, gives us, upon 
the surface of the single wing, a review of all the ontological pattern changes through 
which the young bird passes as it gradually attains the adult state. 
