128 LINEATED, OR SENEGAL SUNBIRll. 
seen, being held by the margins of the next range ; 
but when he is desirous of attracting the attention 
of the female, he stretches out his neck, and, at the 
same time, raises these feathers in such a manner 
that these splendid blue and purple lines become 
suddenly displayed in all their beauty. 
As we fortunately possess this species in three 
different stages of plumage, we shall briefly describe 
each, since they differ so materially that no orni- 
thologist, unacquainted with the peculiar characters 
of this group, would suppose them the same. 
In the first, which is either the female, or a young 
male of the first year, all the upper plumage is hair- 
brown, with the chin, ears, and sides of the neck, 
the same : the middle of the throat is blackish, bor- 
dered on each side with a stripe of fulvous white : 
each of the breast-feathers is tipt by the same light 
colour, which increases, and occupies the middle 
the body, the belly, and the whole of the undei 
tail-covers : the wings and tail are of the same co- 
lour as the hack. 
In the second, which is obviously a male begin- 
ning to assume its summer plumage, the upper plu- 
mage is like the last, that is, uniform hair -brown ; 
but some of the feathers of the crown are tipt with 
shining green, and the chin is entirely so : the 
whole of the neck is scarlet, lineated with dark me- 
tallic blue-green ; but these colours reach only as 
far as the breast, which, with the middle of the 
hody and vent is fulvous white, spotted irregularly 
with brown. 
