ICONES AVIUM, FIGURES AND DESCRIPTIONS NEW AND INTERESTING SPECIES OF BIRDS FROM VARIOUS PARTS OF THE GLOBE. BY JOHN GOULD, F.LS,,. &c. A SUPPLEMENT TO HIS PREVIOUS WORKS. Eurylaimus (Crossodera) Dalhousie. Paradoxornis flavirostris. Todus multicolor. Pteroglossus (Selenidera) Gouldii. Tanthocincla phcenicea. Numida vulturina. Calliope pectoralis. Ortyx plumifera. Microura squamata. Cursorius rufus. LONDON: PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 20, BROAD STREET, GOLDEN SQUARE. AUGUST, 1837. SOW) ( lami UTTGTTy UU 3 e " om y HULU Genus CROSSODERA. CHARACTERES GENERICI Ut in Eurylaimo, at forma graciliore, rostro angustiore et compressiusculo, alis brevioribus ; caudd elongata, et gradatd. EURYLAIMUS (cCROSSODER4A DALHOUSLA, James. Frillnecked Eurylaimus. Cross. capite nigro, notd in vertice, alterd in occipite, et tertia in mediis alis, splendidé et metallicé ceeruleis, penicilld, elongata, et flavescenti-viridi, ad utrumque latus occipitis ; facie lined flavescenti-viridi cinctd ; fimbrid plumosd flava albd marginatd a gutture tendente, collumque cingente ; corpore intense-viridi, alarum primartis nigrescenti- fuscis, rectricibus caude intermediis viridi lavatis ; rostro nigrescentt-olivaceo, culmine marginibusque flavis tarsis brunnescenti-olwaceis. Long. tot. 10 unc.; rostri, 14; ale, 34; caude, 5+; tarsi, 1. A large patch on the crown of the head, another on the occiput, and a third on the centre of the wing of fine metallic blue; the remainder of the head black, with the exception of a lengthened tuft on each side of the occiput of a yellowish green; a belt of feathers surrounds the face of greenish yellow; a full frill of yellow feathers edged with white extends from the throat and surrounds the neck ; general plumage of the body fine deep green; quills blackish brown; two centre tail-feathers slightly washed with blue; bill blackish olive with the culmen and edges yellow; tarsi olive brown. Eurylaimus Dalhousie, Jameson, in Edin. New Phil. Journ. vol. xviii. p. 389. —____________—— Royle, IIL of the Botany, &c. of the Himalaya Mountains, pl. 6. In the first volume of the Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, I published figures and a descrip- tion of a new species of Eurylaimus, under the specific appellation of /vnatus, and gave a detailed account by way of Synopsis of all the species then on record: since that period the present very beautiful species has been made known to us. The first specimen was brought home by the Countess of Dalhousie, and was soon after dedicated to that lady by Professor Jameson, a figure also from the drawing of a native artist has been published in Mr. Royle’s Illustrations of the Botany, &c., of the Himalaya Mountains above quoted. We have had opportunities of examining several specimens, all of which were from those elevated and pro- ductive regions the Himalaya Mountains. It is unquestionably the most splendid species of the genus, and differs from all its congeners not only in the more brilliant colouring of its plumage, great elegance of its form, but its larger size, and in its lengthened and graduated tail. It possesses a beautiful frill of silky feathers, which nearly surrounds the neck ; two tufts also spring from above each eye, which from the more lengthened form of these feathers give the bird the appearance of having horns. These differences from the type of the genus have induced me to assign this bird provisionally as the type of a new genus, which I have named Crossodera, the value of which will however depend upon future observations, and upon other specimens possessing similar characters being discovered. Nothing whatever is known of the habits and manners of this species, but insects and berries doubtless constitute its natural food. Habitat. The Himalaya and Nepaul. The figure is of the natural size. PHEUITAILULATpay TTT a ‘i 7 ‘i yf TODUTS MI LTICOLOR; (COWWW / TODUS MULTICOLOR. Tod. fronte et loro flavis ; corpore superiore plumisque auricularibus viridibus ; ad basin mandibule inferioris lined alba oriente, et per semiunciam, in genis currente ; infra hance notd ceruled latera colli tegente, gulamque feré cingente ; guld splendide coceined ; pectore abdomineque medio cinerascenti-albis, hoc colore in coccineum ad latera transeunte ; crisso sulphureo ; rostro pallide fusco ; tarsis flavescenti-fuscis. Long. tot. 34 une.; rostri, 2; ale, 13; caude, 11; tarsi, %. Forehead and space between the bill and the eye yellow; all the upper surface and the ear-coverts green ; a stripe of white commences at the base of the lower mandible and extends for half an inch down the neck; this mark is succeeded by a patch of bright blue, which is widened so as nearly to surround the lower part of the throat, which is bright crimson ; chest and centre of the abdomen greyish white, passing into scarlet on the flanks ; under tail-coverts sulphur yellow ; bill light brown ; legs yellowish brown. Todus multicolor, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part V. 1837. I am unable to state the precise locality from whence this beautiful species was received: it has been for some years in the Museum of the Zoological Society of London, and formed a part of the extensive collection pre- sented to that Society by N. A. Vigors, Esq., but has never before been characterized as distinct from TZodus viridis. Of this peculiar form, distinguished by a bright scarlet throat, | am acquainted with three distinct species. The present bird may be distinguished from the others, by the diversity of colours, more particularly by the yellow mark between the bill and the eye, and by the bright blue mark on each side of the neck. It is also smaller than Zodus viridis in all its proportions. The sexes of this group do not offer any external difference in the markings. Their food consists of insects of various kinds, particularly spiders. They incubate in holes in the earth. They inhabit exclu- sively the islands of the West Indies, and the adjacent part of the South American continent. I have given two figures of the bird of the natural size. [IANTHOCINCLA PHCNICEA, Gow. lan. vertice, corpore supra et infra, nec non humeris intense olivaceo-fuscis ; lined supra-oculari niord. nota in ra-oculart ») > > 2 plumisque auricularibus sanguineis. Ale primariis secundariisque externé coccineo marginatis, illis per totam longi tudinem, his per dimidium apicale solummodo, ad basin namque cinereis nigrisque ; pogonits omnium internis nigrescenti- Suscis, rectricibus caude supra intense fuscis ; at infra, et ad apicem, @que ac crissa, igneo-aurantiacis, apicibus caude pallidioribus. Rostro pedibusque intense fuscis. Long. tot. 84 unc. ; rostri, 1; ale, 31; caude, 4; tarsi, 78 Crown of the head, all the upper and under surface, including the shoulders, dark olive brown ; over each eye a stripe of black ; feathers beneath the eye and the ear-coverts blood red; primaries and secondaries margined externally with rich scarlet, the former for the whole of their length, the latter for half their length from the tip, their basal portions being grey and black, and forming a bar half across the wing ; the internal webs of all these feathers blackish brown ; tail deep brown above; beneath, together with the under tail-coverts and the tips of all the tail-feathers, fiery orange, the tips being the palest ; bill and feet deep brown. Tanthocincla phenicea, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part V. 1837. Tue high lands of India would appear to constitute nearly the sole habitat of the peculiar race of Thrushes to which I have given the name of Janthocincla. A single specimen of the present beautiful species formed part of a collection made in the Himalaya, and is in all probability unique. It has all the peculiar markings of the wings and tail, which is found to adorn the typical examples of the genus; but in no species that I have yet had an opportunity of examining has the colouring been so vivid, nor with so bright a hue of the under surface of the tail; while the extremely short, round, and concave form of the wings is in strict accordance with the type of the genus, viz. Lanthocincla squamata. Habitat Himalaya Mountains. The Plate represents the bird of the natural size in two different positions. pen GNI Ny eT TT a oa a = an HAANGAULLONN0OAL0 LETTPIUET TTA UAH] ne " "i mi " ge RIE ar nay ot MEET TI = E CALLIOPE PECTORALIS, Gouid. Call. vertice, corporeque summo, intense cinereis ; linea alba latd a naribus supra oculos transeunte ; loro, lined infra- oculari, plumis auricularibus, pectoreque nigerrimis ; gutture splendide coccineo ; alis fuscis ; ventre, crissoque albis ; lateribus cinereis ; rectricibus caude duabus intermediis intense fuscis, reliquis mediam partem fuscam, basalem, apica- lemque albas habentibus ; rostro pedibusque fuscis. Long. tot. 51 une.; rostri, 2; ale, 22; caude, 2+; tarst, 1+. Crown of the head and all the upper surface deep grey; a broad stripe of white passes from the nostrils over each eye; space between the bill and the eye, line under the eye, ear-coverts and chest deep black ; throat rich scarlet ; wings brown; belly and under tail-coverts white; flanks grey; two centre tail-feathers deep brown ; the remainder brown in the centre with their basal half and tips white; bill and legs brown. Calliope pectoralis, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part Wo WEB7/. One of the few genera I found it necessary to characterize during the progress of my work on the Birds of Europe was that of Calliope, which was established for the reception of the Accentor Calliope of Temminck, to which genus, in my opinion, that bird had no immediate relation, and I conceive that the propriety of this separation is strengthened by the recent addition of the present elegant species, which has lately been sent from the Himalaya. One of the most important differences in this new species consists in the presence of the white markings of the basal portion of the tail-feathers, a circumstance which, together with some other particulars, tends much to show its close relationship to the birds forming the Saaicoline tribe, while in the markings of its throat it has a near affinity to the Blue-throated Warbler, genus Cyanecula, Briss. I possess a single specimen of this beautiful bird, which is the only one I have ever seen. Habitat Himalaya Mountains. The Plate represents the bird of the natural size in different positions. = VT — Rian SaaS 0 a TS ~- hi MICROURA SQUAMA’ a UMLHLAN LUAU LLAT COGENT TUTTE a ID " y i" Genus MICROURA, Gould. CHARACTERES GENERICI. Rostrum longitudine caput equans, fere rectum, acuminatum, gracile et lateraliter compressum, gonyde leviter imcurvato. Nares basales lineares, et operculo tecte. Sete basales desunt. Ales brevissime, molles, concave, et rotundate, prt- mariis, quartis, quintis, et sewtis longissimis et inter se equalibus. Cauda condita, mollis. Tarsi elongati, graciles, leves ; digito posteriore, cum ungue, magno et robusto, digitumque medium quoad longitudinem equante ; digitis ante- rioribus gracilibus, et unguibus parvis instructis ; digitis lateralibus brevioribus et equalibus. Plume corporis, densa, molles, et sericee. Color fuscus. MICROURA SQUAMATA, Gould. Scaly-breasted Little-tail. Mic. corpore superiore intense fusco leviter olivaceo tincto ; lateribus capitis flavescente fusco guttatis nec non tectricibus alarum corporisque lateribus, at pallidus ; gula, pectore, abdomineque fuscis singulis plums albido marginatis, squamas- que fingentibus, rostro intense fusco, tarsis pedibusque brunnescenti-carneis. In altero specimine margines plumarum gutturalium et abdominalium, qui m priore albidi, fuluum colorem ostendunt. Long. tot. 3% unc.; rostri, £; ale, 23; tarsi, 1. General colour of the upper surface deep brown, slightly tinged with olive; sides of the head spotted with yellowish brown, as are also some of the wing-coverts and the flanks, but more faintly ; feathers of the throat, chest, and belly dark brown edged with greyish white, giving to these parts a scaly appearance ; bill dark brown; feet and legs light flesh brown. In a second specimen the colouring is precisely the same, with the exception that those parts of the under- surface which are greyish white in the above are of a rich tawny brown. Microwra squamata, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part V. 1837. Turs curious little bird is almost tailless, this organ being so slightly developed that it consists of merely the rudiments of a few weak downy feathers scarcely one-fourth of an inch in length. Besides my own specimens, which were received from the Himalaya, I have examined two others from Nepal, all of which were alike in the rudimentary nature of the tail-feathers ; I am consequently led to believe that this character is permanent and have named it accordingly. The accompanying plate represents the bird in two different states of plumage, which in all probability are indicative of a difference of sex, as both specimens appear to have arrived at maturity and to have been preserved at the same time. The great length of its tarsi, and the rounded and concave form of its wings, at once indicate its partiality to the ground. Its plumage is thick, soft, and silky, a covering admirably adapted for an inhabitant of dense underwood, beneath the canopy of which it in all probability is an habitual resident. The specimens from which the figures are taken have lately been added to the fine collection of the Zoolo- gical Society of London. Habitat, the Himalaya Mountains and Nepal. The figures are of the natural size. em pe Sy DT TT aT a a mera SS TS) ee IE a Ree a aT PARAD OX ( IRNIS | FLAVIROSTRIS: ! COW Genus PARADOXORNIS, Gould. CHARACTERES GENERICI. Rostrum altitudine longitudinem superans, ad basin vibrissis instructum : mandibulé superiore valde compressa ; culmune acuto, valde arcuato ; tomio edentulo, apicem versus valde incurvo, ad basin producto : mandibuld inferiore ad basin lata, robusta ; tomio emarginato. Nares parve, rotundate, pone rostrum site. Ale. breves, rotundate ; remigibus quartd, quintd, et seatd longioribus. Cauda mediocris, gradata. Tarsi robusti, laves. Pedes magni, subtis lati : digitis magnis ; halluce ungueque postico maximis. Ptilosis ampla, laxa. PARADOXORNIS FLAVIROSTRIS, Gouid. Yellow-billed Paradoxornis. Par. arenaceo-brunneus, subtis pallidior ; capite nuchdque rufo-brunneis ; auribus partim aterrimis; facie guttureque albis nigro variis, pectore nigro 5 rostris splendidé aurantiaco-flanis ; pedibus corulescentibus. Long. tot. 8 une. ; rostri, £; ale, 34; caude, 43; tarsi, 11. Crown of the head, and back of the neck rich rufous brown; all the upper surface, wings, and tail sandy brown ; face and throat white, mottled with black ; part of the ear-coverts jet black ; upper part of the chest greyish white clouded with black ; under surface pale sandy brown ; bill rich orange yellow; tarsi and feet bluish. Paradoxornis flavirostris, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part IV. 1836. p. 17; and Magazine of Zool. and Bot. vol. eGo In the year 1836 I procured a single example of this anomalous bird, together with the Eurylaimus Dalhousie, and several other rare Himalayan species of a person who was not aware of the precise locality they were from. I believe that my specimen, which bas been since added to the collection of the Zoological Society, is quite unique, and that no other bird even approaching it in form has yet been discovered : in its soft lax plumage, rounded wing, and tail, and powerful foot and tarsi, it offers a striking resemblance to the members of the genus Pomatorhinus ; its arched and compressed bill, however, at once distinguishes it from that form: the situation of the nostrils, which are behind the bill, together with the stiff hairs which spring from the base of this organ, also serve to distinguish it from the Pomatorhini ; but a knowledge of its habits and the examination of other allied species, which in all probability are yet to be discovered, will alone enable the ornithologist to determine its real situation in the natural system. The figures are of the natural size. RST TTL Genus SELENIDERA. CHARACTERES GENERICI. Rostrum brevius et crassius quam in genere Pteroglosso, nec non cauda brevior est ratione ad magnitudinem corporis habita ; inter sexus color differt, mare caput pectusque nigra habente ; his partibus foemind castaneis ; plume auri- culares flave ; lunulaque flava cervicem imum cingit. Ad hane notam titula generica refert. PTEROGLOSSUS (Selenidera) GOULDII. Ptero. summo capite, nucha, gutture, pectore, abdomineque nigris ; plumis auricularibus aurantiaco-flavis ad apicem strami- neis ; fascia semilunari nuchali flava ; dorso, alis, cauddque olivaceo-fuscis ; hujus rectricibus sex intermedits apice castaneo ; lateribus aurantiaco-flavis ; femoribus castaneis, crisso coccineo, cute circa oculos viridi ; rostri mandibuld superiore nigra, apicem versus livide corned, apice albo, fascidque angustd alba ad basin ; mandibuld inferiore alba fascia nigra, apiceque vide corneo, pedibus plumbeis. Femina differt partibus, que, in mare nigra, in illd castaneis, et lateribus plumisque auricularibus pallidioribus. Long. tot. 11 une. ; rostri, 21; ale, 5; caude, 42; tarsi, 1+. Mate. Crown of the head, back of the neck, throat, chest, and centre of the abdomen jet black; ear-coverts orange yellow, passing into fine straw yellow at the apex; across the top of the back a semilunar mark of pale yellow; back, wings, and tail dark olive, the six centre feathers of the latter tipped with chestnut brown ; flanks deep orange yellow; thighs chestnut; under tail-coverts scarlet, bare space round the eye green ; upper mandible black, passing into greenish horn colour towards the tip ; the latter and a narrow line surrounding the base white; under mandible white for three-fourths of its length from the base ; an irregular band of black separates this from the tip which is white with a tinge of olive; feet lead colour. Femate. Differs from the male in having all those parts which are black in that sex of a fine chestnut; and in the flanks and ear-coverts being of a paler tint. Pteroglossus Gouldu, Natt. in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part V. 1837. Turs species of Aragari having been made known to science since the completion of my Monograph of ce Family, I take this opportunity of publishing figures of both sexes from specimens presented to the Zoological Society of London by M. Natterer, who procured them in the Brazils on the banks of the River Madeira, ae who has been pleased to name them after myself at a meeting of the above Society on the Hoa of eye 1837. In its affinity the Preroglossus Gouldit is very nearly allied to the TOA, maculirostris, but differs from that species in being considerably less in all its proportions, in the single large patch of black on the upper mandible (which in Ptero. maculirostris is regularly marked with transverse oval-shaped spots), oe in the more intense orange colouring of the sides of the body: I may add that these differences are found to be constant in the several examples of this species contained in M. Natterer’s collection. In the Introduction to my Monograph of this interesting group, the members of the family are thrown “we sections, and I am now inclined to add to the best marked of these sections a generic, or at ace a subpenetie name. The genus Aulacorhynchus having been very generally adopted, L take this opportunity of making a further subdivision of the family by separating from the true Pteroglossi (of which Piero. Gas ane Ptero. ) pluricinctus are typical examples, ) the following species, Viz. Ltr es Gould, Ne maculirostris, ee. Nattereri, Ptero. Reinwardsu, Piero. Lang sdorffii, and Ptero. Culthe, under the generic name of Selenidera. The members of this minor group differ not only in the modifications ee Se bat are adorned with a different style of plumage, the sexes offering a decided contrast in their colouring, which is not the case with rue Pterogloss?. oe are panauisted by yellow ear-coverts, and a lunar-shaped band of the ae: ee a ne ae part of the neck, to which latter peculiarity our subgeneric title alludes. The ma Ge so has the head, : and centre of the abdomen black, while the same parts in the female are chestnut brown. The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size. v be “hea a ( “PO) ONT NUM ALLA WCHL LLIN i 5 (ANN mi mim 3 Oy om 4 WnN}LUTIANT VILLA OW" WIL.71P 1 IRLITN A. : DMT ITD AL WW Us N NUMIDA VULTURIN A, Hardw. Num. capite, guld colloque superiore plumis egentibus, pilis attamen mgris adspersis ad collum longioribus ; ° me + TR Ne a iA ee ne . ee r Me lanuginosis fuscis crebré vestitd ; collo inferiore plumis elongatis lanceo centralem ostendentibus ; hance lined sordide migra et albo irroratd, nucha plumis latisque ornato, singulis strigam albam he ae cingente, margineque exteriore ceruleo ; plumis a eres las simulantibus, latioribus attamen, striga alba centrali angustiore, guttisque parvulis albis in lineam nigram oblique currentibus ; alarum tectricibus, dorso, uropygio, caudd, tectricibus caude, erissoque, cum Femoribus, nigrescenti-fuscis, guttis rotundatis crebré ornatis singulis nigro circumdatis, intervallis guttis parvulis sordide albis irroratis ; primariis fuscis, pogoniis externis apicibusque guttis sordidé “cle ornatis ; secundariis nmigrescenti-fuscis, pogoniis externis lineis albis imperfectis tribus longitudinaliter notatis ; pogoniis internis seriem triphicem guttarum albarum ostendentibus ; pectore lateribusque abdominis metallice ceruleis ; abdomine medio nigro ; lateribus sordidé rosaceis guttis albis nigro-cinctis crebré notatis ; rostro sordidé rubro ; pedibus fuscis. Long. tot. 18 une. ; rostri, 2; ale, 11; caude, 52; tarsi, oe Head, throat, and upper part of the throat destitute of feathers but besprinkled with hairs of a black colour, which are longest on the neck ; nape thickly clothed with short velvet-like brown feathers ; lower part of the neck ornamented with long lanceolate and flowing feathers, which have a broad stripe of white down the centre, to which on each side succeeds a line of dull black, finely dotted with white, and margined with fine blue ; feathers of the anterior part of the back of a similar form, but broader and with a narrower line of white down the centre, and with the minute white dots disposed in irregular and obliquely transverse lines; wing- coverts, back, rump, tail, upper and under tail-coverts and thighs blackish brown, ornamented with numerous round and irregular spots of white surrounded with circles of black, the intermediate spaces filled with very minute dots of dull white; primaries brown with light shafts and spots of brownish white on the outer web, and the tips of the inner; secondaries brownish black, with three imperfect lines of white disposed lengthwise on the outer web, and three rows of irregular spots of white on the inner web ; breast and sides of the abdo- men beautiful metallic blue; centre of the abdomen black; flanks dull pmk with numerous spots of white surrounded with circles of black ; bill brownish red; feet brown. Numida vulturina, Hardw., in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part I. 1834. p. 52. Tue Guinea Fowls, as they are familiarly termed, constitute one of the most isolated groups among the Gallinacee ; five or six species are now known, all of which are from Africa. Independently of the chaste and delicately spotted markings which adorn the whole a this tribe, the neck of the present species is ornamented by a ruff of lanceolate flowing plumes, ee new feature, as well as the head being entirely devoid of fleshy appendages, render it conspicuously different from all its congeners. . We ; 1 account of its history, further than that our figure is taken from an example, in all are not able to furnish any Service Museum, to which it was presented ee 4 : j : A a probability unique, forming a part of the collection of the United by Captain Probyn. It is certainly one of the most noble birds that has been discovered for some years, and Yates 5 y to eee oe i es ; : . caer a aati we indulge in the hope that the period may not be far distant when we shall become better acquainted with the species, and that living individuals may eve rn er would doubtless thrive equally as well as its allied congener, which is so familiar to all and whose original stock is still found in a wild state in the part of Africa which the present lovely species is supposed to inhabit. Habitat Western Africa. The figure is of the natural size. n become denizens of our menageries and farmyards, where it (P7R Das Vu wl wl Il IW [ Wl Ne A WL ©) ORTY X PLUMIFERA, Gow. rt. capite, nuchd, pectoreque intense cinereis - : is : Ts . O pte, cy i niense cimereis ; plumis duabus gracilibus et subpendentibus e vertice nigris ; castaned ad latera lined alba circumdatd, ufra oculos notéd nigra ; loro sordide albo : . . a . . . ° é ‘ 2 2 rectricibus caude fuscis nigro irroratis ; guld intensé ee corpore superiore olivaceo-fusco ; ; es ale primariis brunneis, pogonits externis, pallidioribus ; abdominis lateribus miense castanes ; supra lined albd marginatis ; infra fasciis nigris atque albis ornatis ; castaneis ; rostro nigro ; pedibus pallidi-brunnescentibus. | Long. tot. 93 unc.; rostri, 2; ale O73 caude, 31; tarsi, 18. abdomine medio crissoque Crown of the head, back of the neck, and chest deep ash grey ; a plume consisting of two long slender arched feathers rising from the vertex of the head, black ; throat deep chestnut, bounded on the sides by a line of white, and immediately under the eye by a small patch of black ; space between the bill and the eye dirty white ; all the upper surface olive brown; tail-feathers brown freckled with a darker tint; primaries brown margined with a lighter tint ; sides and abdomen deep chestnut, the outer line of feathers above bemg edged with white ; on each side of the abdominal line the feathers are strongly and elegantly marked with alternate bands of black and white. The female or young male differs from the adult male in being less in size, in having the plumage less bright, and in having the plumes on the crown of the head considerably shorter. Ortyx plumifera, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. 1837. Havine been always particularly interested with this New World group, it was with almost inexpressible pleasure that [ hailed the arrival of this lovely species of Ortyx, three specimens of which formed a part of the ornithological collection of the late Mr. David Douglas, which collection was forwarded to England shortly after his lamentable death and was finally consigned to the Museum of the Zoological Society of London ; and it is to the Council of that Society that I am indebted for permission to figure this species in the present work. Had the gentleman who procured this valuable addition to our ornithological stores been permitted to return to his native land, we should doubtless have been put in possession of some details venypacliing its history, which deficiency I am unable to supply ; and in all probability a considerable pouee will aS before another equally intrepid traveller and enthusiastic naturalist a Seu) Ho: ne oe e ae a his life in pursuit of the unknown treasures of the little-explored regions of California, of which this bird is he thi are ornamented is in no instance so much The plumed crests with which all the members of this group are oe z Te ae developed as in the present species, in which this peculiar a would are 2 ie : ieee maximum ; and if we may be allowed to conjecture, other species will yet be discovered m which the crest- feathers will not be so long nor assume so narrow and lanceolate a form. ie ceca aioe In their habits, manners, and food the members of this group closely assim ate to |‘ iG iW - a of the Old World, but differ from them in possessing the power of perching on trees, which they are c stantly in the habit of doing. Habitat California. The figures are of the natural size. UYUUVIAVA YUU AUTTTTNpATT TTT ANT ay y " y' ‘ » (Coulda / JFUS ll R CURSORIUS CURSORIUS RUFUS, Gowid. Curs. fronte castaneo-rufo ; occipite griseo, fascid alba cincto ; hdc supra et infra lined angustd nigrd marginatd ; nuchd rufescente ; corpore summo rufescenti-brunneo ; guld albidd ; pectore pallide-fulvo, hoc colore in fasciam ventralem nigram mergente ; abdomine posteriore, crissoque albis ; remigibus primariis nigris ; secundariis albis ; prymno rectri- cibusque caude ad basin brunneo-griseis, harum duabus intermediis nota nigra apicali, externis fere albis, reliquis plis minisve ad apicem albis, nec non nigrd macula griseum colorem cingente ; rostro nigro ; digitis nigrescentibus ; tarsis albido-flaris. Long. tot. 9 une.; rostri, 11; ale, 54; caude, 2; tarsi, 3. Forehead chestnut red; occiput grey, bounded by a line of white, which is externally margined with black ; back of the neck and all the upper surface and breast rufous brown, passing into black on the centre of the belly ; throat white ; hinder part of the belly and vent white; primaries black; secondaries tipped with white, form- ing a bar across the wing; bill black; tarsi yellowish white; toes darker. Cursorius rufus, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part JW, UBIO, jo, Sil. Tuts new species of Cursorius is a native of the islands of the Indian Ocean, but from what particular locality Ihave not been able to ascertain. In size it is directly intermediate between Cursorius Temmincku and Cursorius Asiaticus, to both of which species it is very closely allied ; but it differs from either in the rich rufous colouring of the upper surface of the body, in the triangular mark of grey on the occiput, in the band of white which passes obliquely across the wings, and in not possessing a band of white across the rump, as 1s the case with Cursorius Asiaticus. The figure is of the natural size.