DRYMOICA ABERRANS.
posteriorly; toes moderately long and rather strong; claws short, considerably
curved and pointed; the claw of the hinder toe the strongest.
DIMENSIONS.
Inches. Lines. Inches. Lines
Length from the point of the bill to Length of the tarsus............
the tip of the ta i l ............ 5 10£ of the inner toe . . . . . . . . 0 3
of the bill to the angle of the of the middle toe . . . ___ 0
mouth ............................ 0 - 8 of the outer toe . . . . . ... . (1 3f
of the wings when folded. . . 2 4 of the hinder toe . . . . ___ 0 2£
of the tail.............. 3 2
M ale.— Colour of upper surface of head brighter, and the dusky umber-
brown stripes or shades on the back more defined and clearer ; in other respects
the colours are like those of the female.
The only specimens of this species which I have seen, were shot near Port Natal, while
perched upon some brushwood which skirted a tract of marshy ground. Before they resorted
to the brushwood, they were observed flitting to and fro among strong rushes, as if in quest of
their food, which was found to have consisted of insects.
Although this bird does not exhibit what may be considered all the typical characters of
D rym o ic a , it must, in my opinion, nevertheless be regarded as appertaining to that genus, and as
being a species which must be ranked as one of the first in the division which includes the
aberrant forms. The species represented in Plates 79 and 80 present characters still more
remote from those of the true Drym o ic a , yet I cannot bring myself to separate them under
another designation, inasmuch as I cannot discover any characters possessed by them which
render them more distinct from the less perfect forms in the division comprising the typical
species of the genus, than I can perceive between the latter and the more highly typical species.
When the species figured in this number and the preceding are viewed in succession, and when
each species is compared with the one which appears naturally to stand next to it, no such
modifications of structure can be discovered as to justify any one of them being regarded as
appertaining to a form different from the rest.