| |MIPODIUSfaJ^INTILLAN& Gould.
Sparkling** Hemipode.
Hemipodius scintittans, Gould in Eroc. of Zool; Soc., Part XIII. p. 6?.
THis^fjsry beautiful species of Hemipode js-an '^ i^ ab ita^ b f“ the Houtman’s Abrolhos,'argfoup of islands so
c aU ^ ly in g ^ ff the western coast two of them named East and
West Wallaby Islands,. where ^^pprineipally met with among th^pW|s|pneWags,
In its g e n e r a l|a p ;^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ |th e style of its markings it much resembles theffem ipodius varins, but on
comparison will be found to be buf little more than half the size f^^Ma|^|pe^|es; independently of which,
pauch l ip te r , more varied and sparkling, the wb|fe margins '^i^|be back-feathers more
numerous and conspicuous, and.the markings of the throat and breast of a crescentic instead of an elongated
Nothing whatever is known of its habits and economy, but they doubtless closely resemble those of the
other spemlSof the genus.
The whole of the upper surface is light chestnut-red, each feather crossed by broad bars of brownish
black and margined with grey, within which are two narrow lines of black and white; wing-coverts and
tertilfries!light chestnut-red, crossed by irregular zigzag bars of black, the interspaces of the outer margins
greyish white ; chin and sides of the face white, with a narrow crcscent-sbaped mark of brown at the tip of
each feather; sides of the chest chestnut, each feather tipped ^ if f l white,. within which is an indistinct
mark of deep black j^chest and under surface pale bufly white,' the featbers offth^^hcst^wj^m^row of dark
grey spots on each margin, giving that part a speckled appearance; p#m^iCslh^pM, narrowly edged with
white ; irides reddish yellow; bill greenish grey, darkest on the culmen and bccblhmg ashy grey beneath;
legs and feet orange-yellow.
The % u r ^ la f e off|he natural size.