grass-, busies, o r » in the low fo^ks .onbr anches-©f trees; ®b© female
layingi'-foumor five round eggs, ’emfcely^hite, nr-whitish, without
spots, -During the nuptial* season# the-malesare observed
■tp a i n s i d e r able hdght^and. romain suspended air. foma
lejigth of time. .tv?
;*. p.^t>.n.t; the bilhis hlackish horn^olpjtej Ihe^cere-.p?eenish yellow, ;
almost hiddenb^sthe bristles.^ejecting from the bake «tithe bill;
the ir id ^ a f e u p lw v . H
bluish, gray,v somewhat darker on the*sc?f)uOprs ;ithe upper coverts'
h#B8g pure w h it% ® p® ^ ^ e . what- is eajled a v vlite rump,-ihpM!gfe
th a t part is o f the, cohtor ,p£ ikc.baek, b u t a shadt* lighter.; hreaR#
heR y,. flanks,: thighs,; under .^wing-coverts, and- under tail-coverts
p u® e -,,w h% :^^ f^fc ;^ y » ^o t,-.« ;;# ^e ak .if:-^ ^^ -tV 0 ag s.
nearly fourteen-inches, and w hen chased, reach only .two-thirds, the
length p f the; tail,
by more, than two inches bepoiogl them; the tprinmadesy of which
♦•Vo fifeat in, shorter ^kaamAe s k i , the second and fifthisuibeqraffe
and.-the^third and fourth longest, ^areyhlaelsish, paler on?thfoe%€p,
flfiit wlwte at their -origin, whichbis moBe Gonspieuousr ontfeeir
inferior • surface; the secondaries have -more ,of; the white, being,
chiefly bluish gray^n-flte outeaiJW#k o»lf^and ab theupoint, which
• T h e 'ta il is- but .very5, «lightly .rounded*
All thbtail-feathers kaveyridte-shafts, and are pure white bfeneitij^jp
‘.'the middle ones, are bkdshgray, the lateral -almbstipurely white ;
somewhat grayish on the muter vane, and obsqletely barred with
blackish gray on
ujasws black y;thevtarsus is three inches-dong, and feathered- in front
for an ineh.
The -Female is; larger, being between twenty and twenty-tone
inches long, uuddbetween forty-four and'JpMpsseiifete iwieptent; the
tat si,-wings', and -tail;r proportionally longer,- but strictly 'corresponding
,with "those1, of Ä e? male: 'T h e general colour above'is
©hoeofate-bro’^n, - more, o r tobss vafeied* with yellowish rufous-; the
-§ipstéb „round the orbits isjéwhitish, < and the aniriculars are brown;
the" small,tstiff feathcp-b, forming <thef wélt«-marked‘ cóllar, or ruff,
a®e>wMi>i-sk*pusty# Slackisk brown aleng the -shaft; the feathers of
■tkedtead and necki arëiof a,darker brow®yeobspicUmusly margined
withi-yeHowish'^Us^j- on the nucbu/foriäilarfgef’sjpaoe,*the plumage
is.-whifoiat’ the base, as well | as%on‘nhed^rde^. bf^tHe-feathers, .s:®
th a t.a- little-.of ;that>pólour appears -even withèÉ^isepawatiplg them;
ÄaiiiSipf i^i^ifhÄk* and'rumpnape'-'-hardlyl-if at all, skirted with
yellowish rusty;« biit thc -seapnlar s * and wfog-oovertsi have? eaeji four
réguktï' lange-found spofoof that colour, of -w-hick those farthest
from tbd&baseilie generally uncovered'; IStftónpper tail-obvéfts-/ are»
pume ,whitejci'offceBsy# but . not« always-, with a'few ’rusty spo^p, consti?
tating th e so-called white rumpv which is aye©|lstunt»>mark of the»
species in all-its states of plumage^ÄShb .-thronf; breast, belly;
vent; and fern-dr als;- pale yellowish rusty; -sträeliike'dderigthwi&urwith
la rg e aeuminateMbr<S#ntäp0ts darkervandda#gter on the l» e |ii| and
especially the under wing-coverts, obsoleteon the lowerfffaifts-of thé
body, which are not spotted!? ^Bh^quil'ls are’dark brown, whitish, on
t^eitónér värie, and transversely banded with blackish;. the bands
are’ xnudh more dcmspicUous1 on, the inferior: surface;-wheref’the
ground-colour is grayish white* The tail isofoabright- yellowish
rysty, I the-iwb misddlé tadsfeafhehst da#k; I-all |are- jpure
white at thevorigin, and regularly,'cr®s * d with four or five broad
hlaekish' hands-;-* ^heir tips are morn whitish, and the »Memor
surface of a grayii^h|*wiilitej like that of the 'quills-; but very slightly
tinged with rubty, the blackish bands appearhig to.great advantage,
except on the outer, feathers, where' they-are obsolete, being less-
defined even above, -
T h e young male is almost perfectly similar in appearance to