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Show 524 MR. D. G. ELLIOT ON THE GENUS PTILOPUS. [May 7, Another specimen from New Caledonia, marked as a female, differs from the male only in having the forehead slightly tinged with rose, and the abdomen mottled with rose and bright yellow. The under tail-coverts are deep rose on their apical half, as in the specimen from Vanikoro. The secondaries are more broadly margined with yellow, and the primaries tipped with white. I am inclined to regard this example rather as an immature male than a female. Three examples are in the British Museum from Erromango Island, one of the New Hebrides, which are in all respects like the one in the Paris Museum figured by Bonaparte from New Caledonia. 2. PTILOPUS NEGLECTUS. Ptilopus neglectus, Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas (1873), p. 7, Columbee. Hab. Oceanie! Vitil (Schlegel). Allied to the Pt. greyi, but differs in having the lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts tinged with sulphur, the abdomen and breast washed with olive-green, the purplish-red spot being placed upon the breast and not on the abdomen, and in the neck and upper part of breast being tinged with light grey (Schlegel). Wing 5 inches, tail 2 inches 3 lines. The locality suggested by Schlegel, as given above, "Viti," is without doubt incorrect, as there are no indications to support the idea, the relatives of this bird having been procured in quite a different group of islands. 3. PTILOPUS BONAPARTEI. Ptilopus purpuratus, Bon. (uec auct.) Iconogr. Pig. (1857) pl. xix. fig. a, adult, ex Balaou (nee Vanikoro). Ptilopus bonapartei, Gray, Hand-1. B. vol. ii. (1870) p. 225, descr. nulla, founded on pl. 19, Bon. Iconog. Pig. Hab. Balaou, Fiji Islands (Hombron and Jacquinot). This is the species figured by Bonaparte as Pt. purpuratus, fig. a (I. ci). The specimen is in the Paris collection ; and the plate gives no idea of the bird ; which is reddish in all lights, but in certain ones exhibits a brilliant coppery-red hue. Bonaparte committed two strange errors in reference to this bird. He stated that it came from the island of Vanikoro, and also figured as the young the Pt., purpuratus, Wagl., from Tonga-Tabou, a very different and distinct species. Gray (I. c.) bestowed the name of Pt. bonapartei (I. ci), ex Vanikoro!, on the bird represented by Bonaparte on plate 19 of his work, ' Iconographie des Pigeons.' Gray could never have seen the specimen ; or else he would have corrected Bonaparte's error, and stated that it did not come from Vanikoro, but from Balaou, and also that Bonaparte had confounded two species. Gray gives no description, which also strengthens the belief that he did not know the species autoptically. It is a question whether Gray's name should be noticed at all; for to name species without seeing them, on the chance of their proving new, is not a commendable practice ; and, as he did not designate which figure he bestowed the name of bona' |