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Show 1869.] EXHIBITION OF A HYBRID PHEASANT. 149 March 11, 1869. St. George Mivart, Esq., F.Z.S., in the Chair. The Secretary exhibited, on behalf of Mr. E. P. Ramsay, of Dobroyde, C.M.Z.S., specimens of some of the new birds described in Mr. Ramsay's paper read before the Society on the 11th of June, 1868. Amongst these were examples of both sexes of Orthonyx spaldingi (P. Z. S. 1868, p. 386), Glyciphila subfasciata (I. c. p. 385), and of a supposed new species of Podargus. These skins were to be placed in Air. Gould's hands to be figured in the Supplement to his work on the ' Birds of Australia.' The Secretary called the attention of the Meeting to the following remarkable additions to the Society's Menagerie during the months of January and February :- 1. A Black Ape (Cynopithecus niger), purchased January 1st, being an example of a form of Monkey that had long been unrepresented in the Society's collection. 2. A young specimen of the Two-wattled Cassowary (Casuarius bicarunculatus), purchased January 13th from the Zoological Society of Rotterdam. This Cassowary had been originally described in 1860* from a specimen living in the Society's collection. The original specimen had subsequently died, and was now in the British Museum. As in the former example, the present bird was in the immature brown plumage, but was nevertheless of great interest as serving to confirm the validity of this species. 3. A n American Badger (Taxidea americana), purchased January 23rd, and believed to be the first living example of this species exhibited in the Society's Menagerie. 4. A Fennec Fox, captured at Mount Sinai by the members of the Sinai Survey Expedition, and presented to the Society on the 19th of February. This animal was obviously distinct from the true Fennec (Canis cer do, Gm.), and appeared to be referable to the species described and figured by Riippell as Canis famelicus (Atlas, p. 15, t. 5). The Secretary exhibited, on the part of Mr. G. F. Westermann, For. Memb., a stuffed specimen of a hybrid Pheasant, which had been transmitted living from Japan to the Zoological Gardens, A m sterdam. The bird appeared to be due to hybridism between a Silver Pheasant (Euplocamus nydhemerus) and a Gold Pheasant (Thaumalia picta), but was remarkable for a curious tuft of feathers on the back of the head. * See Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. iv. p. 358, and P. Z. S. 1860, pp. 211, 248. |
