CO129-538-2 Hong Kong University 23-6-1932 - 15-3-1933 — Page 103

Birds of Hong Kong.-Part XII

grey

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and

Mantle and upper scapulars with narrow crescentic bands blackish; rump blackish; basal upper tail-coverts grey, vermiculated with Upper breast black, the longer ones black and entirely hiding the tail. waved with alternate crescentic bars of black and white, producing a regular scaly appearance; lower breast whitish, each feather with black bars, one of which is subterminal. Sides, flanks, and abdomen waved with narrow black and greyish bands; tail; on each side of the under tail-coverts a very distinct buff patch, the bases of the feathers being black, showing a beautiful black bar, which separates the buffy patch from another milky white band formed by the tip of lowest flank-feathers. Scapulars grey, narrowly waved with black, and more or less distinctly whitish on the edges; a black patch on the outer scapulars; wing-coverts grey, the last row whitish; wing- speculum on the secondaries dark glossy green, bounded below by a nar- row whitish band at the tip of the secondaries; tertials very long and nar- row, sickle-shaped, with the shafts whitish, the webs velvety glossy black, the edges and part of the inner webs grey; quills dark grey, almost blackish towards the top; under wing-coverts white, but the greater ones grey; Feet dull axillaries white; tail-feathers grey, with narrow white edges. blue-grey, darker on the web; iris brown. Total length 19 inches, wing 10, tail culmen 1.8, tarsus 1.35.

3,

FEMALE.

Head striped with blackish, each feather margined with fulvous; sides of the face and neck lighter, dotted with small black points and stripes, Feathers of the back black, varied with rufous V-shaped marks and edges; rump blackish; upper breast and sides rufous, with black crescentic bars. Lower breast and abdomen white, with black crescentic bars or spots, but almost uniform in the middle; under tail coverts reddish, with blackish marks; upper wing-coverts dusky grey, the greater row whitish at the tip; wing-speculum black, faintly glossed with green; pri- maries greyish brown; under wing-coverts and axillaries white. feathers brown-grey, with reddish eges. Bill, feet, and irides as the male.

Tail-

The female resembles that of Chaulelasmus streperus, the Gadwall, but differs in having the visible portion of all the later secondaries black, with a metallic green reflection, narrowly tipped with white, and the ter- minal portion of their greater coverts, or last row of the wing-coverts, whitish, while in the female Gadwall the entire visible portions of the later secondaries are pure white, and the terminal portion of their greater coverts black. Besides, the tail-feathers of E. falcata Q are almost uniform brown- grey, except the reddish edges, while in the female Gadwall the outer Finally, the upper tail-feathers are whitish, with irregular brown marks. mandible of the female E. falcata is uniformly dark coloured, whereas in the female Gadwall it is only dark along the culmen and the remainder pale.

December 1932.

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