throat orange-ferruginous, growing paler towards 
the sides of the neck, and terminated below by a 
black triangle: the neck is whitish-grev, and covered 
by feathers of a truncated shape, strong, and elastic 
like those of a pigeon: the remainder of the neck, 
and the back with pale testaceous feathers, each 
marked at the tip with a black ring including a 
yellowish spot: the abdomen, thighs, and vent are 
black: the smaller wing-coverts, and the quill-fea¬ 
thers are pale grey ; but the larger coverts are of an 
orange-yellow, forming a speculum or oblong spot of 
that colour on the wings. The female, which is 
rather larger than the male, is almost entirely of 
a pale yellowish colour, marked on the head and 
neck with black specks, and variegated on the back 
by transverse streaks of the same colour. This 
bird is an inhabitant of the sandy deserts in the 
neighbourhood of the Caspian Sea. 
