274 
allen’s naturalist’s library. 
long scapulars margined with tawny-brown ; wing-covcrts 
ashy, with a few dusky frecklings; the median-coverts 
for the most part chestnut; the greater coverts velvety- 
black ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills dark ashy, 
paler on the inner webs ; the outer secondaries velvety- 
black and tipped with white, the inner ones white externally, 
forming a speculum, the innermost ashy-grey ; tail-feathers 
ashy-grey, edged with white towards the ends, and mottled 
with dark brown near the ends of the outer feathers ; crown of 
head dusky-brown, slightly mottled with paler edges to the 
feathers ; eyebrow and sides of face ashy, minutely spotted with 
dusky-brown ; lores and base of forehead more hoary ; cheeks 
and throat whitish, minutely spotted with dusky ; fore-neck and 
chest closely barred with dusky-blackish and white, the bars 
irregular in shape, but mostly circular ; remainder of under sur- 
face white, with a few dusky streaks on the abdomen ; the sides 
of the body and flanks thickly freckled with wavy lines of 
dusky-blackish ; under tail-coverts black ; under wing-coverts 
and axillaries pure white ; bill black ; feet orange, almost the 
whole of the web black. Total length, 19 inches; culmen, 
1-6; wing, 10-5; tail, 3'5 ; tarsus, 1-5. 
Adult Female. — Different from the male. General colour 
above brown, with edges of sandy-buff and irregular bars and 
frecklings of the same colour ; the wings as in the male, but the 
black of the greater wing-coverts much reduced in extent and 
the white speculum not so large ; the chestnut patch on the 
median-coverts entirely absent ; tail mottled with irregular 
bars of brown and buff ; head rather darker than the back and 
more uniform ; eyebrow, sides of face, and throat buff, minutely 
lined with streaks of blackish-brown ; the lower throat and fore- 
neck more rufescent, as also the sides of the body, flanks, and 
under tail-coverts, all these parts being strongly mottled, with 
blackish centres to the feathers ; the rest of the under surface 
white, more minutely spotted with dusky ; under wing-coverts 
and axillaries white. Total length, ip's inches; wing, 9^9. 
Young Males. — At first resemble the old females, but are 
more barred on the back and not so streaked with sandy-buff. 
They are densely spotted with brown on the under surfiice, and 
may be distinguished by having a little chestnut on the greater 
