Adult Male. Plate CXXXIII. Fig. 1, 1.
Bill shortish, nearly straight, subulato-conical, acute, nearly as deep as broad at the base, the edges sharp, with a slight notch near the tip, the gap line a little deflected at the base. Nostrils basal, elliptical, lateral, half-closed by a membrane. Head of ordinary size, neck short, general form slender. Feet of ordinary length, slender; tarsus covered anteriorly by a few scutella, the uppermost long, sharp behind; toes scutellate above, the inner free, the hind toe of moderate size; claws arched, slender, extremely compressed, acute.
Plumage soft, blended, slightly glossed. Wings of ordinary length, the first quill longest. Tail of moderate length, emarginate.
Bill brownish-black above, pale beneath. Iris deep-brown. Feet pale yellowish-brown. Upper part of the head deep black. Hind neck, back, and tail-coverts, bluish-grey, each feather with a broad central stripe of deep black. Wing-coverts and secondary quills brownish-black, the latter margined, the secondary coverts margined and tipped, and the first row of small coverts broadly tipped with white, that colour forming two bands on the wing. Primary quills clove-brown, edged with paler. Tail-feathers blackish-brown, the two outer on each side with a white patch on the inner webs near the end. A broad band of white crosses the cheek, and all the lower parts are of the same colour, an interrupted line of black spots running down the sides of the neck and breast.
Length 5¼ inches, extent of wings 8½; bill along the ridge 5½⁄12, along the edge 7⁄12; tarsus 9½⁄12.
Adult female. Plate CXXXIII. Fig. 2.
The female has the whole of the upper parts oil-green, tinged with grey, with central blackish-brown spots on the feathers, the rump and tail-coverts with the dark spots inconspicuous. Wing-bands tinged with yellow, as are the sides of the breast. The sides of the head, neck, breast, and flanks, marked with blackish-brown spots. In other respects the colouring is similar to that of the male.
Length 5¼ inches.