"The Carimang" (a variation sent to Glengrant October 1894) 

Wing and back feathers

of the South American Bittern

Tigrisoma lineatum

Some called these the lineated Bittern

others the Tiger Bittern.                                            

Those were George Mortimer Kelson's personal note, handwritten on a paperfolder, containing  barred wing and shoulder feathers from the Tiger Bittern. This pattern has never been published in any litterature as far as I know, and I haven't seen it tied before. I added ostrich herl in the head, as many of Kelson's flies featured ostrich herl head.

My experience tying this fly in hand, in the old fashion way, was that the shoulder feathers that are called for the wing are not so long fibered. So this fly should be tied on smaller hook, I think size 1/0 to 2/0 are good sizes for this pattern. He wrote "wing and back feathers", but after examening a complete skin, those back feathers were in reality the secondary feathers (inner wing feathers near the shoulder). 

The throat is rather a mystery, where he calls for "Black Partridge". Black partridge (Melanoperdix niger), features no speckled feathers that are black and white. The only black and white feathers are the body feathers, that are black with white dots. There are theories that Kelson's was calling for capercaillie cock feather, as the neck feathers from the maile has the right feature. Those feathers are black and white speckled, which fits perfectly to the desciption. 

This fly feature hackle and feathers for wing that are rather unusual materials, as the Tiger Bittern were never a big hit for Victorian fly dressers. This species is rather common in South America, and are not in any list of endangered species. It's simply a bird we didn't know we could use for fly tying! 

The Carimang is a mysterious pattern, and it's always a pleasure to discover new and uknown patterns that have been hidden for over 100 years!