DARTER, OR SNAKE BIRD. 
249 
GENUS LXVII PLOTUS.lAynJEVS. 
289 . rLOTus Anuri^oAf linn ^ us . 
PLOTUS MELAXOOASTEJi, WILSON. 
darteh, or snake bird.* 
PL. liXXIV. FIG. I. MALE. — EDINBURGH COLLEGE MUSEUM. 
.Head, neck, wliole body, above and below, of a deep 
gluing black, n ith a green gloss, the plumage extremely 
and agreeable to the touch ; the commeiicemeut of 
back is ornamented with small, oblong-, ashy white 
which pass down the shoulders, increasing- in size 
^■'ording to the size of the fcatliers, and running down 
i;® seapvilars; wings and tail of a shining black, the 
jjher broadly tipt with dirty ivhite ; the lesser coverts 
glossed with green, and are spotted with ashy white ; 
last row of the lesser coverts, and the coverts of the 
['‘^ondaries, are chietly ashy white, which forms a large 
j’^a(tross the wing; the outer web of the large scapulars 
,1 t'Hniped ; tail, rounded, the two under feathers the 
(I '’}’*'*stj the two Uj)per feathers, for the g>-roater part of 
H**‘**' length, beautifully crimped on their outer webs, 
fw’o next feathers in a slight degree so ; bill, dusky 
K .file base and above ; the upper mandible brownish 
[5!®'v at the sides, the lower mandible yellow ochre; 
|/f'do of the mouth dusky ; iridcs, dark crimson ; the 
, “‘t of the eye, next to the plumage of the head, is of 
,i(.^eenish blue colour, this [)asses round, in the form 
zigzag band, across the front, — the next colour is 
which entirely surrounds the ej^e ; eyelids, of a 
lor azure, running into violet next the eyeball ; 
g'l’eciiisli blue; naked skin in front bbuik ; jugular 
dp'h'b, jet l)lack ; bindhead suberested; along the sides 
(jf neck there runs a line of loose unwebbed feathers 
It dinoy asii colour, resembling the plumage of callow 
iq. Named in the plate, Black-bellied Darter. The article is the 
"position of Mr Ord. 
