DESCRIPTION
Of a male, killed at Cumberland House, lat. 54°, May 26, 1827.
Colour.—Upper aspect of the head and nape pearl-grey ; back (the anterior part), pitch-
black ; centres of the posterior feathers the same, their margins greenish-yellow. Rump
crossed by a broad band of gamboge-yellow; tail coverts pitch-black; lesser wing coverts and
scapularies black, the former broadly bordered with pearl-grey, the latter with pearl-grey and
yellow ; quills and primary coverts blackish-brown, their outer webs narrowly edged with
grey; the tertiaries and greater secondary coverts broadly edged with white, and the adjoining
row of lesser coverts tipped with the samfe, forming together a large white patch, streaked
or spotted with black. Tail black; inner webs of all the lateral feathers (midway) white
for half an inch ; the exterior webs siightiy bordered with grey. Under surface__A narrow
velvet-black streak runs round the base of the upper mandible, and, passing backwards,
includes the lores, eyelids, and cheeks: this is separated from the grey of the crown by a
narrow white line above the orbit. Throat and belly bright gamboge-yellow, with black spots
on the breast and flanks, and crowded into a band across the base of the neck. Inner wing
coverts and under tail coverts white. Bill and legs dark umber-brown.
Form, &c.—Wings shorter, with webs proportionably broader than those of S. coronata;
the first quill is half a line shorter than the second, third, and fourth. Tail rather long,
and moderately rounded, the exterior feathers being about a line shorter than the others!
In sonic specimens, the central pair are a little shorter than the adjoining ones.
Our specimens, three in number, agree exactly with each other in size and plumage; but
the sex of one only, which was a male, is known. The dress of the female has not been
ascertained.
Dimensions
Of the male.
Inches. Lines.
Length from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail . . . . . Length of the tarsus 5 0 „ of the middle toe „ of the tail . . . . . . 2 2 „ of its claw . „ of the folded wing . . . 2 5 „ of the hind toe „ of the bill on its ridge . . 0 4 „ of its claw . „ of the bill from the angle of the mouth 0 5 |