POEPHILA MIRABILIS, Homd. et Jacq:

Beautiful Grass-Finch.

Poéphila mirabilis, Homb. et Jacq. Voy. au Pole Sud.—O. des Murs, Icon. Orn., pl. 3. fig. 1.

 

Fine examples of this, one of the most lovely of the Finches yet discovered, are contained in the gallery of
the Museum of Natural History of Paris; they were procured by Messrs. Hombron and Jacquinot in the
neighbourhood of Raffles’ Bay, on the north coast of Australia, where it is so rare, that those gentlemen
only met with three examples, and were unable to make themselves acquainted with its actions and manners.
In the works above-quoted my Poéphila Gouldie is figured as the female of the present bird, but this I
believe to be a mistake, the specimen from which my description and figure were taken being to all appear-
ance an adult male; and as an evidence that such may be the case, I may mention that no female of the
group has yet been discovered so gorgeously arrayed ; the females of all the Poéphile I have seen resemble
their respective males in the colouring of their plumage, but have all the hues much less brilliant ; it is not
probable therefore that a bird so gaily coloured as the P. Gouldie should be the female of the P. merabilis ;
besides which, Mr. Gilbert procured an example of P. Goulhe during Dr. Leichardt’s Expedition from
to Port Essington, which dissection proved to be a female, and which although similarly,

Moreton Bay
was much less highly coloured than the bird I have represented.

Crown of the head and cheeks of a beautiful carmine, bounded posteriorly by a narrow line of black ;

throat black; to this succeeds a band of pale blue, narrow on the throat and broad on the back of the neck ;

back and wings green, passing into yellow at the nape of the neck ; breast crossed by a broad band of lilac,

separated from the yellow of the abdomen by
n; bill fleshy white, becoming redder at the tip ; feet flesh-colour.

a narrow line of orange; rump and upper tail-coverts pale

blue ; quills brow

The figures represent a male in two positions of the natural size.