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Show 586 MR. D. G. ELLIOT ON THE GENUS PELECANUS. [Nov. 25, The P. philippensis of Jerdon is undoubtedly the immature bird of P. rufescens; and the young, as described by him, is a bird of this species in its first stage of plumage. Riippell's figure exhibits very fairly the adult in perfect plumage, and is the only one yet given by which the species is properly represented, although the drawing may not be so artistic as could be wished. A specimen of this bird in the British Museum, from Nepaul, Hodgson's collection, is very interesting, as it is just changing to the adult plumage, and exhibits very distinctly the reddish colour on the back and rump, while still retaining the black marks on the upper mandible, thus combining the characteristics of rufescens and philippensis, and showing that the latter supposed species is but the young of the former. It is very difficult to decide what species Jerdon intends by his P. javanicus, as he seems to confound three in one, viz. P. javanicus, P. minor, and P. rufescens. H e describes his bird as having broad black margins on each side of the tertiaries, which is truly a character of javanicus; but then he speaks of an occipital crest and golden-yellow breast, which, with the dimensions given, would seem to refer his specimen to " minor;" while, at the conclusion of the article, he says, " forehead with the frontal plumes not narrowed in front, bnt truncated and emaginate; bill with a double series of impressed dark spots." Now the form of the frontal feathers here described renders it impossible that the bird he had in view could belong to any species of the onocrotalus style, and therefore both javanicus and minor are excluded from all further consideration ; while the truncate and emarginate frontal plumes, with the dark spots upon the bill, are characteristics of young rufescens; therefore I have referred Jerdon's birds to the present species. PELECANUS FUSCUS. Pelecanus fuscus, Linn. Syst. Nat. (1766) p. 215; Vieill. Gal. Ois. t. 276 ; Licht. Abhand. Akad. Wiss. Berl. (1838) t. 3. f. 6 ; Donnd. Ornith Beitr. vol. ii. pt. 1, p. 848 ; Aud. B. of A m . t. 251. fig. 421 ; id. Orn. Biog. vol. iii. p. 376; Reich. Syst. Av. t. 37. figs. 382, 383 ; Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas. 4 m e livr. p. 28 ; Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1868) pp. 268 & 269; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. vol. ii. p. 163 ; Lawr. B. of Am. p. 870 ; Lath. Ind. Orn. vol. ii. p. 883. sp. 3 ; Bonnat, Ency. Meth. Ornith. (1790) p. 43. Pelican brun d'Amerique, Buff. Plan. Enl. 957. Charlestown Pelican, Penn. Arct. Zool. vol. ii. p. 308. sp. 506 ; Lath. Syn. vol. iii. p. 580. sp. 3. Pelecanus carolinensis, Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. pt. 2, p. 571; Bonnat. Ency. Me'th. Ornith. (1790) p. 52; Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 884. sp. 7. Onocrotalus fuscus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. vol. ii. p. 163. Lep>topelecanusfuscus, Reich. Syst. A\. pl. 70. Dusky Pelican, Penn. Arct. Zool. vol. ii. 308. sp. 507. Brown Pelican, Lath. Syn, vol. iii. p. 585. sp. 7. |