AUSTRIAN PRATINCOLE. 137 



throat and lower part of the breast yellowish: 

 from the lower part of the eye, passing beneath 

 the throat, is a black line : under parts of the 

 neck, and upper parts of the breast, rufous brown: 

 under wing-coverts bright rust-colour and black : 

 feathers of the sides rust-coloured: tail greatly 

 forked, and tipped with grey on the inner webs, 

 the outer web of the exterior feathers white : legs 

 and feet rufous brown : claws dusky. 



The variety called the Collared Pratincole, by 

 Dr. Latham, is rather less, and has the forehead 

 black, with a white spot on each side near the 

 eye ; the throat and fore-part of the neck white, 

 surrounded with a brown collar or line : rest of 

 the under parts whitish. The Maldivian variety 

 differs in having the throat white surrounded with 

 a band, and all the feathers spotted with black on 

 their shafts. The next, called the Coromandel 

 Pratincole, is rather paler than either of the pre- 

 ceding on the upper parts ; the throat is rufous 

 brown, with a black collar; the feathers at the 

 base of the tail are whitish, and at their tips 

 brown, with a dirty grey spot at the apex; breast 

 rufous white. The last distinct variety has the 

 top of the head deep brown ; the neck, back, and 

 wing-coverts dirty rufous grey ; quills brown ; 

 two middle tail-feathers the same, all the rest 

 tipped with white, and the outer ones white half 

 way from the base : breast and belly pale brown. 



This bird appears to be pretty generally dif- 

 fused, being found throughout the greatest part 

 of the old continent, and is most abundant in the 



