The body is of a light dun or yellowish colour, and marked over with little brown touches, whilst the larger feathers of the wing are black, with each of them a white spot near the middle; those of the neck are whitish with black streaks, and are long and erected when the bird is attacked.

Abdomen above black, the base and the edges of four of the segments whitish, last segment bright crimson; below, whitish at the base, crimson beyond the middle.

Round black tail with whitish tips, and some whitish on the wings.

It is said that those eyes and tongues of serpents are only found by the Maltese when they dig into the earth, which is whitish throughout the island, or draw up stone, especially about the cave of St. Paul.