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Show 652 MR. A. D. BARTLETT ON A NEW NUMIDA. [June 19, Fig. 1. Paphia uzita, p. 643. 2. offa, p. 644. 3. catinka, p. 644. Fig. 1. Paphia phoibe, p. 648. o -polyxo, p. 648. 3. bertha, p. 649. PLATE LXIII. Fig. 4, 5. Paphia victoria, p. 645. 6. lyceus, p. 646*. PLATE LXIV. Fig. 4. Paphia nenia, p. 647. 5. falcata, p. 648. 8. Description of a new Species of Numida. By A. D. B A R T L E T T , Superintendent of the Society's Gardens. [Received June 19, 1877.] (Plate LXV.) Having had some correspondence with the owner of some Guinea-fowl (Mr. Gerald Waller) that were on their way to this country from East Africa, and having offered to take charge of them on their arrival, in order to restore them from the effects of the voyage, on the 4th of June I received five living birds, three Crested (Numida cristata) and two Vulturine (N. vulturina). Mr. Waller informed me that a sixth bird, which he believed to be a male, had died on the passage, and that the skin in a mutilated condition was then in his possession -^and he kindly gave it to me upon m y telling him it might prove to be a very interesting specimen. On examining the skin, it struck m e at once to be unlike any thing I had seen. I therefore examined the splendid work by Mr. Elliot, and came to the conclusion that I had found a new and hitherto undescribed species of Numida. After a careful examination of Mr. Elliot's work, I wrote to Colonel Grant to ask if the figure of Numida granti, which came nearest to my bird, quite agreed with his original drawing. Colonel Grant has this day kindly shown me the original coloured drawing, and convinced me that the bird originally figured belonged to a species easily distinguished from the bird now before you, which, I have been informed by Mr. Waller, was obtained at Mombassa, on the east coast of Africa. This bird differs from Numida granti (to which species it appears most nearly allied), by the entire absence of the black ring or collar and black patch on front of the neck. Tbe whole of the neck, breast, belly, back, upper and under tail-coverts are finely and minutely spotted with white on a black ground. The sketch (Plate LXV.) fairly shows the colour of the face and wattles at the time it came into my hands. I may state that the blue wattles differ considerably from the same parts in N. cristata, being much longer and falling lower down; the bird appears smaller than the last-named species. It may be interesting to know that the three Crested birds that came, as Mr. Waller tells me, from Mozambique, differ from all the figures of N. cristata in having the throat up to the edge of the under mandible covered with black feathers. I consider them to be young birds, and that the throat will (as the birds become adult) lose* these feathers and exhibit the naked red skin, so well marked in the figure in Mr. Elliot's work. I propose the name of Numida ellioti for this new bird, after Mr. D. G. Elliot, F.Z.S., who has devoted so much time and attention to this interesting familv. |