SPECIFIC VALIDITY OF ANSEB BUBBIBOSTBIS. 49 



becoming almost black towards tips, the rib white. Secondaries 

 black, delicately pencilled round with white. Tertiaries blackish 

 umber on the inner half, outer half rich velvety hair-brown, mar- 

 gined with white. Alula palest French grey. Under wing- 

 coverts and axillars pale French grey, almost white. The de- 

 scription of the plumage will be complete by repeating that at the 

 base of the bill, on forehead, and at sides there is a narrow but 

 sharply defined band of pure white feathers. This brings me 

 now to the important soft parts, these differing totally from the 

 other bird. The bill commences with a sharply defined crescentic- 

 shaped band of bright scarlet lake ;* from this, along culmen to 

 nail, it is a dull crimson lake, the sides (including nostrils) dull 

 orange-yellow, nail white. Lower mandible dull crimson, white 

 at tip. Gular sac dull orange-yellow. Eyelid reddish brown ; 

 iride dark hazel. Legs and toes a deep reddish pinky, almost 

 terra-cotta red. Webs darker, and nails nearly black. Length, 

 33^ in. to end of tail, 34^ to end of toes. Wing, 19 J in. Weight, 

 8 lb. Wings do not reach end of tail by over 1 in. 



Anser cinereus. Adult male. Received from Limerick, 

 January 14th, 1896. 



Head and neck a brownish drab, gradually becoming a lighter 

 drab towards breast and under parts, which are almost white, 

 becoming pure white on lower breast, abdomen, and under tail- 

 coverts. The under parts, across middle of breast only, sparingly 

 blotched with black. The flanks commence with pale drab mar- 

 gined with lighter, and gradually become a dark umber margined 

 with drabbish white. The mantle is a dark umber-brown, mar- 

 gined with pale dirty drab. Some might describe the mantle as 

 a dark hair-brown. Back and rump a dark bluish slate. Upper 

 tail-coverts white. Tail-feathers have the centres dark brownish 

 slate, fringed and deeply tipped with white, the white increasing 

 outwards, the three outer ones being almost entirely white. 

 Outer wing-coverts French grey, with darker ribs, gradually 

 becoming darker towards the medians, which are a slaty umber 

 margined with dull white. The primary coverts are hoary slate 

 margined with white for the shorter ones, pale umber margined 



* Confirmed by Dr. Radde, cf. Dr. Bowdler Sharpe's ' Handbook of 

 British Birds,' vol. ii. p. 229. 



