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Show 1871.] MR. *W. T. BLANFORD ON A N E W HIMALAYAN FINCH. 693 and about three weeks after their arrival built a nest in the interior of the compartment assigned to them. A few days after this, as our head keeper, Mr. B. Misselbrook, informs me, two'eggs were laid, and incubation was commenced, the male taking turns with the female on the nest. In sixteen days one young one was hatched, on the 17th or 18th of July, and is still living in the aviary. The other egg turned out to be addled; and I now exhibit its shell, which, like that of all Pigeons, is of a spotless white. It measures 1*35 inch by -95 inch. About the end of September the hen sickened and died. I now exhibit her skin, from which the accompanying figure (Plate LXXIII.) has been prepared. Mr. Newton tells me that this Dove has also bred in the Mauritius. The Aldabran Dove is, as above pointed out, closely related to Turtur picturatus of Madagascar and T. rostratus of the Seychelles, the three species forming together a small section of the typical Turtures. Turtur picturatus is now found in Mauritius, but is believed by Prof. Newton to have been originally introduced there from Madagascar. It has certainly been introduced into the Seychelles, whence I now exhibit a skin not differing from Mauritian examples. I am greatly indebted to Prof. Newton for placing at m y disposal his series of skins of these birds, which is now before the Society. 5. Description of a new Himalayan Finch, Procarduelis rubescens. By W I L L I A M T. B L A N F O R D , C.M.Z.S. [Eeceived November 6, 1871.] (Plate LXXIV.) Amongst a collection of birds sent to me for determination some time since by Mr. Mandelli, of Darjeeling, was a female Procarduelis, which I found, on comparison, to be the same as Linota fusca of Blyth, whilst it differed much from both Hodgson's and Jerdon's description of the female of Procarduelis nipalensis. I wrote to Mr. Mandelli about this; and he has sent m e five specimens altogether of Procarduelis, two males and three females, adding that it appeared to him that more than one species was represented. This is certainly the case ; one male and two females agree both in colour and structure with the types of Mr. Blyth's Linota saturata and L. fusca in the Asia-it** Society's collection; and there can, I think, be no question of the identity of the male with the same sex of Hodgson's Procarduelis nipalensis, described in the ' Asiatic Researches,' vol. xix. p. 157. The description, however, of the female of P. nipalensis given by Hodgsois and copied by Jerdon in the ' Birds of India' ("from the chin to tbe breast dirty yellowish, from breast to tail white " ) , does not agree with any of the birds before me. The remaining male and female sent by Mr. Mandelli appear to m e to belong to an undescribed form. |