162 
THIBETIAN POLYPLECTRON. 
greyish-white. The quills are brown, marked with 
greyish. The other feathers composing the wings 
are generally of a yellowish-grey tint, sprinkled 
with little bands of blackish-brown, and having at 
the extremity of each a large round eyed spot, of 
brilliant blue, with purple and opaline reflections. 
These are surrounded with a circle of deep black, 
which is again encircled with a ring of yellowish- 
white. The feathers composing the tail are of a 
dull brown, sprinkled with small spots of oehraceous 
yellow. Upon each of the twenty-two true tail-fea- 
thers, at about an inch and a half from the tip, and 
on those which have been called the upper range, at 
one inch from the tip, there are two oval spots, se- 
parated only by the shaft. They', like those upon 
the wing, have the double circles of deep black and 
yellowish-white, and are clouded with the same 
purple and blue reflections, but which scarcely equal 
the others in brilliancy. 
The female is said by Temminck to differ only in 
the lesser brilliancy of the eyed spots, in having a 
shorter tail, and in the want of spurs. In the young, 
the plumage is of an earthy grey, marked with large 
brown spots and bands ; at the first month the plum- 
age becomes more irregular, and the space upon the 
wings and tail, where the spots are to appear, are 
seen, they are still deprived of their lustre, and there 
is no trace of the pale circle. At the third moult 
the plumage of these beautiful birds attains its per- 
fection and brilliancy. 
