Bill blackish above, greyish-blue beneath. Iris hazel. Feet greyish-blue, upper part of the head, the fore-neck, anterior part of the breast, and the sides, bright chestnut. Forehead and cheeks, including a small space over the eye, deep black, behind which is a transverse broad band of yellowish-white on the sides of the neck. Back and lesser wing-coverts yellowish-grey, spotted with blackish-brown. Larger coverts, quills and tail, blackish-brown, edged with light bluish-grey. Middle of the breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, white, tinged with reddish.
Length 5¼ inches, extent of wings 11; bill along the ridge nearly 5⁄12, along the gap 7⁄12; tarsus 5⁄6, middle toe ¾.
Adult Female. Plate LXIX. Fig. 2.
The female is somewhat less. The colours are similar to those of the male, and have the same distribution, but are much fainter, especially the chestnut of the head and under parts, which are converted into light brownish-red.
The Highland Cotton-plant.
- Gossipium herbaceum, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. ii. p. 462.—Monadelphia Polyandria, Linn. Malvaceæ, Juss.
This species, commonly known in America, where it is cultivated, under the name of Highland Cotton, is distinguished by its five-lobed leaves and herbaceous stem.
