Plumages, Molts, and Structure

The following description is based on Cleere (1998):

Adult male: Forecrown, crown, and nape pale grayish brown; the central feathers boldly spotted with blackish brown, and with tawny edges. Back pale grayish brown, lightly spotted with dark brown. Rump and uppertail coverts pale grayish brown, light spotted with dark brown and thinly barred with brown. Rectrices brown, broadly barred with cinnamon buff; central pair (R1) pale grayish brown, speckled and thinly barred with brown. Outer rectrices (R2-R4) with relatively broad (ca 10 mm) whitish or buffy white tips. Scapulars pale grayish brown, with blackish brown centers, with broad bases and narrow tips (in shape like an upside down Christmas tree). Lesser wing coverts grayish brown, barred with brown. Primary coverts cinnamon drab, speckled with light brown, and narrowly (ca 4 mm) tipped whitish. The primaries curve inward towards the body; the innermost primary (P1) is the shortest, but the adjacent primaries (P2-P4) are the longest. Primaries basally buff (but this are usually concealed); outer half of primaries dark brown. The outer primaries (P10-P6) with broad (ca 10 mm) white tips; the white tipping is more extensive on the outer webs. The secondaries are cinnamon drab, speckled with light brown and tipped (ca 4 mm) with whitish. Tertials pale grayish brown, boldly marked with blackish brown, star shaped spots. Indistinct pale grayish white supercilium, barred with brown. Submoustachial stripe grayish white, tinged with cinnamon. Chin buffish white, barred with brown. Throat brown, tinged with cinnamon, barred brown and streaked with buffy. Lower throat and upper breast brown, boldly spotted and streaked with buff. Belly and flanks pale buff, barred with brown. Undertail coverts pale buff.

Adult female: Browner than the male, and lacking the modified shape to the primaries. Primaries brown, barred with pale tawny, and very narrowly tipped with buffy white. The longest primary is the next to outermost (P9). Secondaries very narrowly tipped with buffy white. Rectrices narrowly (ca 5 mm) tipped with buff, and speckled with brown.

Immature: Undescribed.

Juvenile: Similar to adult female, but the upperparts are tinged cinnamon, especially on the wing coverts, and speckled or spotted with white.

Chick: Undescribed.

Undescribed.

Iris: dark brown

Bill: brownish or blackish

Tarsi and toes: brownish

Bare parts color data from Cleere (1998).

Total length: 18-20 cm (Cleere 1998)

Linear measurements (from Cleere 1998):

male (n = ?)

wing length: range 127-136 mm

tail length: range 70-77 mm

bill length: range 16.5-18.0 mm

tarsus length: range 20.0-22.0 mm

female (n = ?)

wing length: range 128-153 mm

tail length: range 76-90 mm

bill length: range 16.0-20.0

tarsus length: range 19.0-22.2 mm

Mass: male 43.7 g (n = 1; Cleere 1998)