ODONTOPHORUS STELLATUS, Gould.
Starred Partridge.
Sp e c if ic C haracter.
Od. pectore, abdomine crissoque splendide rufescenti-castaneis ; pectoris plumis lateralibus g u tta
' centrali alba annulo nigro angusto circumdatd stellatis.
yjalc.-- X;ikecl skin before and behind the eye yellowish ; bill black; crest rather lengthened
and fu ll; forehead and ear-coverts clouded chestnut, the former passing into reddish
chestnut on the crown, and gradually brightening towards the occiput; throat and neck
both before and behind grey, all the feathers margined with rufous ; scapularies and wings
(except the primaries) beautifully marked with rich chestnut, buff and black, the black
predominating on the scapularies, which feathers are rendered very conspicuous by having
a whitish buff line down the centre; the tertiaries also are marked with a bold edging of
rich buff, bounded on the inner side by a well-defined band o f black, which surrounds the
feather, while the buff occupies the upper edge only; at the tip o f all the wing-coverts is
a triangular spot o f buffy white ; primaries blackish brown, marked on their outer edge
with indistinct but regular bars o f reddish brown; back and rump dull greyish buff, each
feather minutely dotted and freckled with brown and black; tail-coverts and tail rufous
brown and black, the markings and colour so disposed that neither predominate, being
dispersed over each feather in alternate narrow zigzag lines, interspersed with minute dots
and freckles; chest, abdomen and under tail-coverts rich rufous chestnut; the feathers of
the chest with a small white mark in the centre, very nearly surrounded by a narrow irregular
line o f black, giving it a very sparkling appearance ; feet and legs in the dried specimen
horn-colour.
Female.—-Diffefs in being smaller in size and in having the white markings o f the chest more
lengthened in form and less conspicuous than in the male; in all other respects the
colouring o f the two sexes is very similar.
Male.—Total length, 10a inches ; bill, a ; wing, 5$.; tail, 3.i ; tarsi, 2.
Female.— Total length, f in c h e s ; bill, $ ; wing, 5p; tail, 2a; tarsi, U.
O rty x (Odontophorus) stellatus, Gould in Proc. o f Zool. Soc., Part X . p. 183.
O rty x leucostictos, Natt. MSS.
Odontophorus stellatus, List o f Birds in Brit. Mus. Coll., Part III. p. 43.
T his species fully equals in size the 0 . ientatm ; it also inhabits the same country—Brazil; but from its
extreme rarity in our collections, it must reside in the more remote and less frequently visited districts ot
that fine country. Specimens are contained in our own national collection, and in the Imperial Museum at
Vienna.
In form it is very nearly allied to 0 . dentatus and 0. Guianensis, hut is readily distinguished from both
of those species by the rufous tint of the breast and by the feathers of that part having a spangle of white
near the centre of each.; it has also a fuller and rounder crest than either of those species.
Habitat. M. Natterer states that it inhabits the borders of the River Madeira in Brazil.
The figures are of the natural size.