THE BIRDS OE AUSTRALIA. 
inner webs much paler and becoming white towards the base, some of the inner 
primaries entirely white at the base ; secondaries white tipped with brown, the 
latter colour becoming very pale and almost white towards the inner ones, the 
long innermost secondaries greyish-brown and blackish, with rufous spots on 
the margins ; lower-back uniform dus^y-brown ; upper tail-coverts white, the 
long ones tipped with black ; tail white at the base, the white increasing in extent 
on the outer feathers which are black at the tips, the black much more extended 
on the middle feathers, which are slightly edged with white at the tips ; throat 
and a line from the base of the bill to the eye white ; a small crescent-shaped white 
line immediately below the eye ; lores, sides of face, and ear-coverts cinnamon- 
rufous minutely streaked with blackish hke the fore-neck and sides of neck, 
somewhat darker in colour on the latter ; breast similar in colour to the fore-neck 
but barred with brown, more broadly on the sides of the breast and sides of body ; 
middle of abdomen, vent and under taU-coverts white barred with brown, some of 
the latter barred and margined with black ; axillaries and under wing-coverts pure 
white, the lesser coverts round the margin of the wing dark brown or blackish , 
biU — distal half of mandible brown, shading to pale brown at the base of upper 
mandible and greyish white at base of lower mandible ; kis brown ; tarsi and 
feet olive-brown. Total length 360 mm. ; culmen 73, wing 190, tail 71, tarsus 65. 
Adult female. Similar to the adult male, but larger. 
Adult male, in winter-plumage. Head, hind-neck, and sides of neck ash-grey, with a wash 
of rufous on the fore-part of the head : back, scapulars, and lesser marginal wing- 
coverts dark greyish-brown ; lower-back dark brown with pale narrow margins 
to the feathers ; upper tail-coverts white, the long ones tipped with black ; tail 
white at base and black at the tip, the latter colour more pronounced on the middle 
feathers, and the former more extended on the outer ones ; median and greater 
wing-coverts fringed with white at the tips more broadly on the latter ; bastard- 
wing, marginal coverts, and primary-coverts blackish ; quills blackish on the outer 
webs and at the tips, with white shafts for the greater part of their length, inner 
webs paler brown and becoming entirely white at the base of the inner ones ; 
secondaries white with brown tips, on some of the feathers the brown is restricted 
to the inner-web ; the long innermost secondaries greyish-brown like the back ; 
a pale line from the base of the bill oyer the eye ; a small crescent white line 
immediately below the eye ; chin whitish ; throat, fore-neck, chest, and sides 
of body ash-grey ; abdomen and under tail-coverts white, the latter margined 
with black ; axiUaries and under wing-coverts pure white, the small marginal 
coverts round the bend of the whig dark brown edged with white. 
Immature male. Top of head dark brown, the feathers margined with buff ; sides of face 
and neck all round grey, the latter washed with rufous ; upper-back and scapulars 
dark brown, the feathers everywhere margined with buff ; the marginal upper 
wing-coverts, bastard-wing, and primary-coverts blackish, some of the latter 
tipped with whitish ; median wing-coverts dark brown with grey edges, the major 
coverts broadly tipped with white ; primary-quills are much the same in colour 
as the summer- and-winter birds described above ; the long innermost secondaries 
differ from the winter-plumage in being dark with rufous or sandy-buff margins ; 
lower-back blackish with slightly paler margins to the feathers ; upper tail-coverts 
and tail also similar, but differ in having dusky tips to the latter ; throat whitish ; 
lower-breast, abdomen and under tail-coverts white, washed with grey. 
Nest. A depression in the grass. 
Eggs. “ Clutch four ; surface not glossy ; ground-colour pale olive-green to pale yellowish, 
covered all over with small spots of a more or less olive-brown ; some on the larger 
end being of an indistinct olive-grey to reddish-grey. Dimensions : Axis 51-2 
to 55 mm. : diameter 35 to 37.” (Taczanowski.) 
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