272 



AVIFAUNA OF LAYSAN, ETC. 



mottled with blackish brown and pale buffy brown. Throat blackish in the oldest male. 

 Breast rufous brown, with U-shaped blackish markings, or more or less rounded spots, 

 these standing before the tips of the feathers and being followed by another blackish 

 mark ; the upper breast and sides more rufous. Abdomen brownish buff, distinctly 

 shaded with greyish in the oldest specimens, and varied with greyish-brown spots, in the 

 most matured specimen distinctly, though faintly, cross-barred with ashy brown. Sides 

 of body pale rufous brown, with longitudinal or V-shaped deep brown markings, but in 

 the oldest male some white feathers finely undulated with blackish brown appear on the 

 flanks. Under tail-coverts blackish and brownish, varying much and strongly tinged 

 with rufous in older specimens. Under wing-coverts and axillaries white. Total lengtli 

 about 19 to 20 inches, wing 93 to 9'8, tail about 3*5, culmen 1-9, breadth of bill at base 

 0-65, in the middle 85, tarsus 1*6, middle toe with claw 2*2. 



In less aged males the bars on the abdomen are not developed, the abdomen is more spotted^ 

 and the middle tail-feathers are not curled up, and when still younger the rectrices are 

 uniform blackish, only edged with pale brown. 



Young males resemble the females, but there are intermediate plumages, which would seem 

 to indicate that the final plumage is not obtained before the lapse of several years. 

 The younger males can be distinguished from the adult females by their much blacker 

 and less varied back and rump, and by their rectrices being uniform blackish, only 

 bordered with buffy brown. 



Adult female. Blackish brown above with a slight gloss on the head, all the feathers broadly 

 margined with brownish buff and mostly with one or two zigzag bars across. Primaries 

 dark greyish brown. The secondaries form a fine speculum of deep metallic purplish 

 blue, which in some specimens and under certain lights passes into green. This 

 speculum is bordered in front with a velvety-black terminal band, preceded by a 

 whitish-grey band, which occasionally is absent or indistinct in a few specimens, and 

 this speculum is bordered behind by a velvety-black band, followed by a white one. 

 Towards the back the speculum is also terminated by a velvety-black line. White tips 

 are in a few specimens indicated or even distinctly developed on the coverts forming 

 the black border in front of the speculum. Rectrices blackish brown, bordered and 

 barred with irregular lines of brownish buff. Underparts buffy brown, darker on the 

 breast, spotted with blackish brown, and more so along the sides of the body and on the 

 breast. Chin mostly quite unspotted and more reddish. Under wing-coverts white, 

 sometimes those near the margin dark brown with pale borders, a variability which, 

 like some others, I cannot account for. Axillaries white, in two specimens, one from 

 Oahu and one from Hawaii, with a few dark brown spots. A very young bird from 

 Kauai, marked female, has the under wing-coverts almost unspotted white, the rectrices 

 with a few pale bars only on the outer ones, besides being bordered all round with 

 pale brown. 



The females vary very much. Some few have a distinctly indicated pale superciliary line ; 

 some have the spots on the lower parts much less bold than others, and I take them to be 



