The Sussex breed originated in Sussex County, England to be used for table poultry. Speckled Sussex chicks are dark brown with two light brown streaks down the back. They have white wing tips, chests and abdomens. They have single combs and clean, white legs and feet. Adult females have mahogany bay plumage on their head, neck, back, breast, body, lower thigh and tail coverts and each feather is tipped with a small white spangle. The main tail is black mottled with brown and tipped with a white spangle and the wing primaries are black and white. Adult males have similar plumage to the female except that the plumage of the head, neck and back is more lustrous, and the sickles and coverts of the tail are greenish black tipped with white.