Nostrils roundish, with a central papilla, and placed close to the edge of the
cere. Head rather large, flattened, neck short, body of moderate size. Legs
of ordinary length ; tarsi roundish with two rows of large scales before,
three only below being transverse, with small scales on the sides ; toes
scutellate above, scabrous and tuberculate beneath ; middle toe much
longer than the outer, which is connected with it by a small web ; claws
longish, curved, rounded, very acute.
Plumage compact on the back, blended on the head and under parts. Feathers of the head and neck narrow, of the breast oblong, of the back broad and rounded. Space between the bill and eye covered with bristly feathers. Wings long, much pointed, the primaries tapering, the second and third with their outer webs, the first and second their inner ones sinuated ; second quill longest. Tail long, moderately rounded, of twelve rather narrow, rounded feathers.
Bill light blue, the tip black, the cere yellow. Iris brown. Feet yellow ; claws black. A circular patch of deep orange-brown on the crown of the head, which is surrounded by a band of dark greyish-blue, with which is in contact a black spot on the nape ; a patch of black de- scends from the fore part of the eye, another immediately behind it, the cheek between them being white, and there is a third farther back, and surrounded by pale brown. A narrow line between the forehead and the bill, and another over the eye, white. The back and scapulars are brownish-red, with a few transverse black bars, the rump unspotted and deeper. Tail of the same colour as the rump, with a broad sub-termi- nal band of black, the tips white, as is the outer web of the lateral feather, which on its inner web has five black bars (including the sub- terminal one), the spaces between them white. The next feather has also frequently a few marks of black and white. The wing-coverts are greyish- blue, spotted with black. Quills brownish-black, their inner webs trans- versely spotted with white. The throat, hind part of the belly, and under tail -coverts, white ; the breast brownish-white, its fore part and sides, with the lower part of the neck, marked with guttiform black spots. Under wing-coverts white, spotted with black.
Length 12 inches, extent of wings ; bill along the back ; tarsus 1 /^ ; middle toe and claw 1^'j.
Adult Female. Plate CXLII. Fig. 3.
The female is similarly coloured, but the crown of the head is marked
