OF CIRC^ETUS. 19 



The back part of the head is furnished with a few feathers of similar 

 texture with the others, but somewhat elongated, and forming a sort of 

 pendant crest. The feathers upon the body beneath are long, and have 

 long discomposed webs. Such also are the thigh feathers. The rest of 

 the plumes have no peculiarity. Most of them have ample webs and 

 broad terminations. The top of the head and nape and crest are clothed 

 with feathers, which are black from their tips nearly to their centres, 

 white from their centres to their roots ; and as the crest, though usually 

 pendant, is slightly erigible, when erected, a small portion of the white part 

 of the feathers is revealed and shows like a cross bar of white on the crest. 

 The rest of the plumes on the bird's upper surface are of a dark pur- 

 purescent brown, which is darkest upon the lesser wing coverts, great 

 scapulars, quills, and tail feathers. Most of the quills and tail feathers 

 and upper tail coverts are tipped with white ; and the little wing coverts 

 are doubly dotted with white near their tips. Upon the wings and 

 tail is one broad distinct transverse bar, running entirely through them. 

 Above this bar, there is another, parallel to it, on the great quills ; and 

 something like this second bar may be also brokenly traced along the 

 secondary quills, as well as on the tail feathers. These bars shew 

 whitey-brown upon the superior surface of the quills — pure white on their 

 interior surface. Upon the tail feathers, the lower and decided bar shews 

 equally and fully white on both surfaces — but the upper and less distinct 

 bar of the tail appears whitey-brown above, as is the case with the bars 

 on the wings. Passing now down the inferior surface of the bird's body 

 we note, first of all, that the eye-lashes, and bristles covering the sides of 

 the cere, are black : the throat, black-brown : the neck, same as above, 

 but paler : the breast, belly, thighs, and tail-coverts, pale dirty brown- 

 ish-yellow with either ocellations or bars, of pure white, edged with clear 

 brown, disposed cross-wise down either side of each feather: the lesser 

 wing-coverts, the same, but with a paler ground colour : the greater 



