154 Mr. J. H. Gurney Notes on 
(No. 2.) The Norwich Museum possesses a specimen^ shot 
near Potchefstroom on 20th July^ which is evidently in the 
same stage of plumage as No. 1, hut much more worn and 
abraded. In this example the abrasion of the margins has 
removed all rufous tint from the upper parts_, except some 
very slight remains of it on the lesser wing-coverts; on the 
lower parts the rufous plumage remains as in No. 1^ but is 
much paler^ and evidently faded; the feathers of the under 
tail-coverts are also for the most part white; no white tips 
are visible on the abdominal and tibial feathers, having pro¬ 
bably been worn off; the tail is greyish brown, with five ex¬ 
tremely indistinct darker transverse bars just perceptible on 
the middle rectrices, and four similar bars, more plainly dis¬ 
tinguishable, on the paler inner webs of the remaining tail- 
feathers. The primaries and secondaries are similarly coloured 
to those of No. 1 ; but the inner webs are on the greater por¬ 
tion of their surface pure white, and without transverse mark¬ 
ings, except in the case of a single secondary feather, appa¬ 
rently more recently acquired, in which the dark portion is 
rather deep grey, as in the adult bird, with three dark trans¬ 
verse bars crossing the whole of the outer web and the ad¬ 
jacent parts of the inner one. Mr. Ayres, who obtained this 
specimen, records the colour of the irides as light gamboge- 
yellow.'’'’ 
The next stage appears to be attained by the acquisition of 
new feathers on the under, but, judging from the specimens 
species of botli colours, wliicli might possibly have been different sexes.. 
The primary quill-feathers are the same as in old birds; but the secon¬ 
daries are less distinctly banded, and the proportion of the white in the 
bands is smaller, or, indeed, almost wanting, grey being the prevailing- 
colour ; the tips are white. The tail is banded ] but the colours are in a 
reversed proportion, dark brownish black or black being the most abun¬ 
dant or ground-hue, and reddish white the most scanty. The latter 
occurs in the form of narrow transverse bands, about four or five on each 
feather; and the tips of all have, besides, a narrow edging of dusky 
white. The tail is also considerably longer in young specimens than in older 
ones. Legs and toes shaded with brown ; claws nearly black ; bill dark 
liorn-coloured, shaded with yellow; eyes yellow; length of tail ]0|. 
inches.” 
