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Show 582 MR. D. G. ELLIOT ON THE GENUS PTILORIS. [Julie 20, PTILORIS PARADISEUS. Ptiloris paradiseus, Swain. Zool. Journ. vol. i. p. 481 ; Gray, Gen. of Birds, p. 1 5; Cab. Mus. Hein. Theil i. p. 214; Reich. Hand, der Spec. Orn. p. 328 ; Gould, B. of Austr. vol. iv. pl. 100 ; id. Handb. B. of Austr. vol. i. p. 591 ; Gray, Hand-1. Birds, parti. p. 105. sp. 1271. Epimachus brisbani, Wils. 111. of Zool. pl. 9. Epimachus regius, Less. Zool. Voy. de la Coq. pl. 28. Hab. South-east Australia (Gould). Male. Top and back of head, with a large diamond-shaped mark upon the throat, bright metallic green ; neck, back, and upper part of the breast rich deep purple ; secondaries velvety black with purplish gloss ; primaries black ; flanks, lower part of breast, and abdomen very dark rich green; two central feathers very brilliant metallic green ; rest of feathers rich blackish brown, with a purplish gloss on the outer webs ; bill, feet, and legs black. Female. Upper part of the head dark brown, each feather having a central line of light buff; line over the eye, extending to the occiput and throat, yellowish white; entire upper parts uniform olive-brown ; primaries dark brown, with the edges of both webs rufous brown ; tail same colour as the primaries, without the light edges ; entire underparts light buff, each feather having an irregular blackV-shaped mark diagonal with the shaft; bill, feet, and legs black. PTILORIS VICTORI-E. Ptiloris victoriee, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1849), p. Ill, pl. 12; id. Birds of Austr. Suppl. pl.; id. Handb. Birds Austr. vol. i. p. 593 ; Reich. Handb. der spec. Orn. p. 329 ; Gray, Hand-1. Birds, p. 105, parti. (1871), sp. 1272. Hab. Barnard Islands, N.E. Australia (Macgillivray, Gould). Male. Smaller in size but very similar in plumage to the preceding species, the principal difference being that the purple on the upper part of the breast is apparently restricted, and forms a band across that portion of the body between the metallic throat and the green of the lower parts. Bill smaller than that of P. paradiseus, and, with the legs and feet, black. Female. Also closely resembles that of P. paradiseus, but m a y be distinguished by its smaller size; upper part of head dark brown, striated with greyish brown; superciliary stripe and throat buff; upper parts greyish brown, shaded with olive; underparts deep buff, the feathers having a brown spot near the tips and irregularly barred on the flanks with the same. For the two following species, as in the colour of their plumage and texture of feathers they differ considerably from those just described, M r . Gray has proposed the generic term of Craspedophora, which it may be well to retain as a subgeneric division ; but there does not appear sufficient reason for removing them from the genus proposed by Mr. Swainson. |