102 
allen’s naturalist’s library. 
quills blackish, the latter browner on the inner web ; the first 
two primaries with white shafts ; the innermost secondaries 
grey like the back ; tail-feathers slaty-grey, blackish towards 
the ends ; crown of head black, forming a cap ; the lores and 
sides of face up to the fore-part of the eye blackish, as also the 
fore-part of the cheeks at the base of the lower mandible ; rest 
of the sides of the face and a collar round the hind neck white, 
washed with ochreous-buff; throat and fore neck and chest 
white, with more or less of an ochreous tinge ; remainder of 
under surface of body from the chest downwards pale slaty- 
grey, including the under tail-coverts, under wing-coverts, and 
axillaries ; “ bill horn-colour ; tarsi bluish in life, drying oliva- 
ceous ; toes black ” (//. Saunders). Total length, 2 1 inches ; 
culmen, it; wing, ii'8; tail, 4’6 ; centre tail-feathers, ii‘5 ; 
tarsus, i‘65. 
Adult Female. — Similar to the male in colour, but with slightly 
shorter central tail-feathers. 
Adult in Winter Plumage. — Similar to the summer plumage, but 
as in the other species, there is, according to Mr. Saunders, a 
tendency, after the autumnal moult, to show striated feathers 
on the flanks, and on the upper and under tail-coverts. 
Immature Birds. — Differ from the adults in having very little 
yellow on the sides of the neck, and in having the under parts 
and upper tail-coverts barred with varying degrees of ash-brown. 
The young are ash-brown above, the head darkest, the feathers 
of the mantle and tail-coverts merely tipped with buff, but 
without any rufous tint, the under parts being dull greyish- 
white, barred with ash-brown (Saimders). 
Nestling.— Greyish-brown above and below, much paler and 
greyer than in S. crepidatus. 
Characters. — Mr. Saunders points out that in this species 
there is always a “very characteristic grey tint in all its phases.” 
The adult bird is certainly lighter grey than S. crepidatus, from 
which S. parasiticus also differs in its smaller size, comparatively 
shorter bill, and long centre tail-feathers, which sometimes 
project to a length of nine inches. Only the two outer 
primaries have white shafts. 
