PTILORIS VICTORIA, Gould.
Victoria Rifle Bird.

Ptiloris Victoria, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., 1849, p. 111, Aves, pl. xii.

aS

Tue discovery of a new and beautiful Rifle bird has enabled me to fulfil a wish I had long entertained, of
RS . ~ . . . :

dedicating to our most gracious Queen one of the loveliest of the ornithological productions of her anti-

podal dominions; and I had therefore no ordinary pleasure in naming the present species /ictorie, as a

ave endeared Her Majesty to all classes of her subjects,
and as some slight acknowledgment on my part of her

just tribute of respect for the many virtues which h
kindness and liberality in permitting me to dedicate
to her my great work on the ‘ Birds of Australia’

The Priloris Victorie is one of the many novelties which have rewarded the researches of Mr. MacGilli-
vray, the able Naturalist of the late expedition of H.M.S. Rattlesnake.

The value of its acquisition is greatly
enhanced by the notes he has recorded of its habits ;

which are particularly interesting to myself, inasmuch
as they tend to confirm the opinion I have expressed in the Introduction as to the alliance of the mem-
bers of this genus to the Climacteres. The present species is smaller in all its admeasurements than the
Ptiloris paradisea, but is still more resplendent in colour; it may be distinguished by the purple of the
breast presenting the appearance of a broad pectoral band, bounded above by the scale-like feathers of the
throat, and below by the abdominal band of deep oil-green, and also by the broad and much-lengthened
flank feathers which show very conspicuously.

It appears to be strictly an inhabitant of the north-eastern portion of Australia, and the chain of islands
lying between the Barrier Reef and the mainland. The following notes respecting it have been transmitted
to me by Mr. MacGillivray :—

“This bird was seen by us during the survey of the N.E. coast of Australia on the Barnard Isles, and
on the adjacent shores of the mainland at Rockingham Bay, in the immediate vicinity of Kennedy’s first
camp. On one of the Barnard Isles (No. III. in lat. 17° 43’ S.) which is covered with dense brush I found
the Victoria Rifle Bird (supposed at the time to be the P. paradisea), in considerable abundance. Females
and young males were common, but rather shy; however, by sitting down and quietly watching in some
favourite locality, one or more would soon alight on a limb or branch, run along it with great celerity, stop
abruptly every now and then to thrust its beak under the loose bark in search of insects, and then fly off as
suddenly as it had arrived. Occasionally I have seen one anxiously watching me from behind a branch, its
head and neck only being visible. At this time (June) the young males were very pugnacious, and upon
one occasion three of them were so intent upon their quarrel that they allowed me to approach sufficiently
near to kill them all with a single charge of dust shot. The adult males were comparatively rare, always
solitary and very shy. I never saw them upon the trees, but only in the thick bushes and masses of climbing
plants beneath them; on detecting the vicinity of man they immediately shuffled off among the branches to-
wards the opposite side of the thicket and flew off for a short distance. I did not observe on to utter
any call or cry; this, however, may have arisen from my attention not having been so sale directed oO
them as to the females and young males, which I was more anxious to procure, the very different style of
their colouring having led me to believe they were a new species of Pomatorhinus.”

The male has the general plumage rich deep velvety black, glossed on the Ce sides of the
neck, chin and breast with plum-colour; feathers of the head and throat small, scale-like, and of a shining,
metallic bronzy green; feathers of the abdomen very much developed, of the same hue: as the upper surface,
but each feather so broadly margined with rich deep olive-green, that the Salon, of the basal portion of
the feather is hidden, and the olive-green forms a broad abdominal band, which is sly defined above:
but irregular below; two centre tail-feathers rich shining metallic green, the remainder deep black ; bill
and feet black. ;

The female has all the upper surface greyish brown, tinged wae ale: ead and sides : ne fie ee
brown, striated with greyish brown; over each eye a superciliary stripe of buff; ea ee a is
ferruginous ; chin and throat pale buff; remainder of the under SHULEES, under We ou ee
of the inner webs of the quills rich deep reddish buff, each feathien wiih an irregular spot of bro
tip, dilated on the flanks into the form of irregular bars ; bill and feet black.

The Plate represents two males and a female of the natural size.