Length to end of tail 20-1/2 inches, to end of claws 21; extent of wings 34-1/2; bill to frontal processes 1-(7-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1-7/12; wing from flexure 11; tail 4-1/2; tarsus 1-7/12; hind toe 4/12, its claw (2-1/2)/12, middle toe 1-8/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12. Weight 1 lb. 14 oz. Adult Female. Plate CCCXLV. Fig. 2. The female is considerably smaller. The bill, feet, and iris are coloured as in the male. The head and upper part of the neck all round, are white or reddish-white, longitudinally streaked with brownish-black, the top of the head transversely barred; the lower part of the neck in front and behind, the fore part of the back, and the scapulars, are blackish-brown, the feathers broadly margined with brownish-red, and barred with the same, the bars on the back narrow; the hind part of the back dusky; the upper tail-coverts barred with white. The wings are greyish-brown; the secondary coverts tipped with white; the secondary quills are brownish-black, the inner greyish-brown, all margined with white. The tail-feathers are greyish-brown, margined with white. All the lower parts are white, excepting the feathers of the sides, and under the tail, which are broadly barred with dusky and light reddish-brown. Length to end of tail 18 inches, to end of claws 19-1/2; extent of wings 30; bill along the ridge 1-6/12; wing from flexure 9-3/12; tail 3-9/12; tarsus 1-6/12; middle toe 1-9/12, its claw 3/12. Weight 1 lb. 5 oz. A very great diversity of colouring exists in this species, which, however, is not yet properly understood. Although males are often found as described above, and as represented in the plate, others have a very different appearance. Thus, an individual shot at the mouth of the Mississippi, in the beginning of April 1837, has the head and neck brownish-orange, the feathers all minutely tipped with dark green, the lower fore neck lilac; all the upper parts finely undulated with white and dusky, as are the sides; the wing-coverts light brownish-grey; the other parts as described above, but the upper tail-coverts black at the end. In some individuals the top of the head is reddish-white, in others light red, in others pure white; in some, most of the smaller wing-coverts are white, in others grey or brownish-grey; in some the throat is whitish, in others black. These differences, no doubt, depend upon age and season.