Dimensions. 







Lines. 



Length 



Inches, 

 of the bill measured along the ridge 



Lines. 



7 



o 



of the tarsus .... 1 



10 



6 



of the middle toe . . .1 



3 



3 



of its claw .... 



4 



•)*> 



of the hind toe . . . . 



6 



7 



of its claw .... 



6 



46 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



the cutting margin under the nostrils. Nostrils oval, longitudinal. Wings falling three 

 inches short of the end of the tail. The fourth wing feather is the longest: the first is shorter 

 than the secondaries * ; the third to the sixth inclusive have their exterior webs deeply and 

 abruptly sinuated ; and the second to the fifth inclusive have their inner webs sinuated. The 

 tail is long and emarginated at the end. Tarsi long and slender, feathered about half an 

 inch below the joint, and covered elsewhere before and behind with large obliquely transverse 

 scales, whose separations are scarcely visible. The middle toe is long and slender, being more 

 than twice the length of the hind one or inner fore one : a web, extending half the length of 

 its first phalanx, connects it to the outer toe. The claivs are much curved, compressed, and 

 very acute ; the hind one and inner fore one are the largest. 



Inches. 

 Length from the point of the bill to the end 



of the tail 13 



,, of the tail . . . .5 



„ of the longest quill feather . 6 



„ of the bill, from the angle of the 

 mouth ...... 



— R. 



DESCRIPTION 

 Of & female bird, sent from Real del Monte, and now in the collection of John Taylor, Esq., F.R.S., G.S., &c. 



Bill, feet, and claws, as in the male. 



Colour. — The general aspect of the upper plumage is grey-brown, the feathers on the 

 back and wing coverts being slightly margined with pale ferruginous : those on the head and 

 neck are white at the base and on their sides ; while those on the crown are nearly black, 

 with pale ferruginous sides. The ground colour of all the under plumage is white, each fea- 

 ther having a very lengthened and contracted tear-shaped spot down the middle : sides of the 

 head, or ear feathers, striped in the same manner. Tliroat nearly white. Thighs white, 

 each feather marked by a central transverse band, and a tear-shaped spot near the tip. The 

 longest of the upper tail coverts white, each feather having two blackish-brown bands. The 

 tail itself is grey, with four brown bands, — the whole of the feathers being precisely of an 

 equal length. Wings reaching to one-third the length of the tail. Lesser quills greyish, 

 banded with four somewhat lunulated blackish bands ; inner margins white ; greater quills 

 with six bands. The fourth and fifth quills equal and longest ; the second and seventh nearly 

 equal. Tail and quill feathers beneath white, banded with three or four black bars. 



Dimensions. 



Inches. 

 Length from the bill to the tail, about . . . . . . . . .11^ 



„ of the bill from the angle of the mouth to the tip of the upper mandible . . ^ 



Extreme length of the wings when closed ........ 6^ 



„ tail from the root of the feathers to the tip . • . . .6 



„ tarsus from the upper base of the hallux to the end of the bone . 1 T 8 5 



„ „ from the lower base of the hallux to the middle of the tarsal joint 2J 5 



— Sw. 



* The wing of the specimen being in a state of moult, the relative lengths of all the quill feathers cannot be 

 ascertained. 



