NAME Wf,

Po Fee ee

sig

. rs of the mantle also mottled with black, the bases of the feathers being of this colour ; crown of
“Ss Cc » als

er. velvety black, with a purplish gloss when seen away HU ive light ; wing-coverts and
secondaries chestnut-red, like the back, the primaries black, chestnut on their outer mere tail uniform
chestnut 3 space around and behind the Je oa as also a po on the ana ales remo ear-coverts
black: sides of face and throat greyish white, faintly mottled ee dusky bars of blackish; rest of under
| f body buffy brown, washed here and there with pale rufous, the whole transversely barred with
; cross lines of blackish brown, broader on the fore-neck and breast, and more faintly

long flank-feathers and under tail-coverts; under wing-

surface 0
somewhat irregular
indicated on the abdomen, and especially on the ea ;
coverts bright chestnut, with dusky blackish cross bars: ‘‘iris orange” (Guillemard). — Total length
12°5 males: culmen 2°55, wing 6:0, tail 4°3, tarsus 1:7.

Young male. At first resembles the adult female. A specimen collected by Dr. Wallace is in perfect
plumage as regards its head, mantle, and breast, the rest of a body patie; 1 the chestnut plumage of
the female, the tail being still entirely chestnut. At the same time the beautiful purple colour is being put
on the wings by a gradual change of feather, and not by a moult half the inner secondaries are chestnut,
but more OF jess mottled with black, the purple colour appearing very plainly on the inner webs.

With regard to the method of change in this species, Dr. Guillemard remarks as follows :—* The head
first agains its black plumes, with darkening of the feathers, from within outwards, on the neck: the
shield appearing gradually meanwhile. The neck then gets darker, and the wing-feathers begin to be tinged
with violet, apparently commencing with the secondaries. As yet the lower breast and abdomen have
remained unchanged, except that on the flanks the feathers are more plumose. In the next stage the upper
parts, head, neck, and breast are complete, the wings tolerably so, while the tail is tinged with violet. The
sub-alar plumes have appeared, but are short, of a dull buff, and barred with brown, though the wires are
almost as long as in the adult, but are black with pale tips. The breast is still almost unchanged, except
that it is somewhat yellower. ‘The final change that appears to take place is the assumption of the yellow
on the breast and plumes, and the deep violet-black tail. The native name for this bird in Salwatti is
‘Palengo.’”

The Plates are the same as those published by Gould in his ‘ Birds of New Guinea,’ the adult male
being figured in two positions; while the adult female, and the young male in two stages of plumage,
form the subject of the second Plate. The descriptions are copied from my third volume of the
‘Catalogue of Birds.’