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Show 500 LETTER FROM MR. R. SWINHOE. [Nov. 3, pared the bird with the drawing, and vouches for the latter being very correct. He subsequently purchased the specimen, and has placed it in the N e w Museum at Brisbane, of which he is the Honorary Curator. " I trust that before many months I shall be able to exhibit the actual specimen to this Society, as I have written and asked the favour of its being forwarded to m e to enable m e to figure it in m y forthcoming number of the ' Supplement to the Birds of Australia.' " For the present it will be sufficient to say that the bird is evidently allied to the genus Aprosmictus, of which the well-known King Parrot of Australia is the type. " The colouring may be roughly given as follows :-Crown of the head brilliant red, separated from the bill by a narrow band of green, which green colour extends all over the face and cheeks, back of the neck, and back, interrupted, however, by certain dashes of red on the side of the neck ; throat and under surface fine red ; wing greenish, with a splendid large patch of bright yellow dashed with a little red occupying the shoulders and great part of the secondaries-such a mark as is seen in Ptistes, but of course of a different colour; the rump is blue, as is the colour of the under shoulder according to M r. Coxen ; the long tail is green. " Compared with Aprosmictus the wing appears to be longer, in which respect it would approach Ptistes, as it would also in having its upper and under mandibles uniform in colour, viz. red ; feet dark. " The dimensions of the various parts of the drawing are-total length 15 inches, wing 7|, tail 7\. " I wish to record m y obligations to Mr. Wallace and to Mr. Coxen for having forwarded the drawing to m e and enabled m e to make this communication to the Society; and as they have neither laid m e under restrictions in the matter, nor suggested any name, I propose assigning to this fine species the characteristic name of Aprosmictus insignissimus. " I am, dear Sir, " P . L. Sclater, Esq., "Yours very faithfully, Secretary of the "JOHN G O U L D ." Zoological Society of London." " 33 Carlyle Square, S.W., July 7, 1874. " D E A R S I R , - I return, with thanks, Prof. Peters's letter. The Bat in spirits he refers to therein, which you kindly forwarded to him for me, was one of the ' four specimens of a light reddish-brown species' mentioned in m y letter from Ningpo (P. Z. S. 1872, p. 818). Prof. Peters writes, ' It is not a Phyllorhina, but a Rhino-lophus, not different from R. nippon, Temminck, which may turn out to be the same as our R.ferrum-equinum. It is only a little larger, and the saddle point a little lower; but this may be an individual difference.' " I should like also to record that the specimen of Phyllorhina swinhoii mentioned in the letter of mine referred to, I put into spirits and sent also to Dr. Peters. On the strength of this specimen, |
