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Proceedings of the Boyal Physical Society. 



brown. The bill was dark blue, with a black point, and 

 festooned, the cere greenish-yellow, and the eyes orange ; 

 chin nearly white, with longitudinal lines of dark brown ; 

 breast and belly light reddish or brownish white, with lon- 

 gitudinal blotches of dark brown, becoming lines of dark 

 brown on the thighs ; under wing coverts light reddish- 

 brown, with long-shaped blotches of dark brown ; inside 

 of primaries greyish- white, with, transverse bars of brown. 

 Legs — tibia 4 inches long ; tarsus (yellow), 3 inches ; middle 

 toe and claw T nearly 2f inches in length; claws dark blue 

 or black ; the tarsus is feathered at the top, and below is 

 covered with transverse scutellae in front and behind, 

 with small angular scales between ; the middle toe is slightly 

 longer than the lateral toes, which are nearly equal in length ; 

 the claws of the first and second toes are the largest. 



The following birds exhibited, showed accidental pecu- 

 liarities in their plumage : — 



Passer domesticus (Common Sparrow), nearly pure white, 

 shot near Peebles in the beginning of October. 



Varieties of the Perdix cinerea (Common Partridge) — 

 one spotted all over with white feathers, shot near Dudding- 

 ston on the 20th of October ; another, with nearly pure 

 white primaries of the wings, shot at Mellerstain, Berwick- 

 shire, by Lord Binning, in October ; and also one showing 

 the horse-shoe mark on the breast, of a pure white colour, 

 shot by the same gentleman in the beginning of December. 

 A peculiarly light-coloured variety of the partridge was also 

 examined, shot by A. Burn Murdoch, Esq., at Gartincaber, 

 in October. 



A very dark red variety of the Lagopus scoticus (Eed 

 Grouse), showing various pure white feathers about the 

 head and the abdomen, the property of Cluny Macpher- 

 son, was shot in Inverness-shire, in the beginning of De- 

 cember. Dr Smith was indebted to Mr Sanderson, bird- 

 stuffer, George Street, for exhibiting the Goshawk, and to Mr 

 Small, bird-stuffer, George Street, for various specimens 

 exhibited. 



