&

if you approach carefully, especially early in the morning, you will find some small spaces about a yard and
4 half in diameter cleared of sticks and leaves, where one or two males are paying court to afemale. The
males then erect all their feathers; the skin of the neck swells up like a bladder ; the head seems like the
centre of an aureola, which is formed beneath by the expanded feathers of the breast, and above by those
of the yellow mantle, which are carried in a perfectly vertical position and spread like a fan. I kept a bird
of this species alive for some days. It is found sometimes at a little distance from the sea, on the plains,
but perhaps more often on the hills at 1000 to 2000 feet of elevation, preferring open places and the vicinity
of streams.”

Adult male. Crown of head covered with close-set velvety-brown feathers, deepening into dull orange
on each side of the crown; forehead slightly washed with metallic green; a spot at the base of the bill
and another above the eye velvety black, the latter slightly glossed in front with metallic green; from the
nape a little fan-shaped tuft of light brown feathers, each with a sub-terminal spot of darker brown; from the
hind-neck a broad fan-shaped shield of light yellow, flanked on each side by two long tufts of plumes,
brown in colour, with a sub-terminal mark of darker brown on each, the inner ones inclining to orange ;
feathers of the back metallic chestnut ; lower back and rump orange, the upper tail-coverts and tail dark
brown, the two centre feathers, produced and curved back on themselves, metallic steel-green; wing-coverts
dull ochraceous, the primary-coverts and quills dark brown, externally washed with ochraceous straw-colour ;
the whole of the inner secondaries bright ochraceous straw-colour 5 cheeks and throat metallic olive-green ;
the under surface of the body from the throat, occupying the whole of the breast in the form of a shield,
rich green, the external feathers tipped with metallic steel-blue, forming a fringe ; down the centre of the
breast a broad band of metallic emerald-green, formed by the tips to the feathers being of this colour; rest
of under surface of body purplish black ; under wing-coverts deep ochraceous, as also the lining of the
quills: bill pearly blue; feet leaden blue ; iris brown. ‘Total length 68 inches, culmen 0°95, wing 4:56,
tail 1:95, middle tail-feathers 9°5, tarsus 1°35.

Adult female. General colour dark olive-brown, the crown and sides of head rather inclining to ochraceous
brown ; wings and tail dark brown, the former washed externally with olivaceous ; tail clearer brown ; cheeks
and under surface of body fulvescent, the throat and cheeks whiter, the whole barred across very distinctly
with black : ‘bill pearly grey; feet bluish; iris black ” (D’Albertis). Total length 7°8 inches, culmen 0°95,
wing 4°45, tail 2°6, tarsus 1°35.

The descriptions are copied from mny third volume of the ‘ Catalogue of Birds,’ and the figures in the Plate
are drawn from specimens in the British Museum.