Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London 1870

Page 95

1870.] MR. R. B. SHARPE ON THE GENUS PELARGOPSIS. 63 Total length 14 inches, of bill from front 3*3, from gape 3*5, wing 5*9, tail 3*7, tarsus 0*45, middle toe 1*1, hind toe 0*5. Hab. Celebes and Sula Islands (Wallace). This is the most distinct species of the genus, easily recognizable by its jet-black bill. It appears to be by no means rare in the island of Celebes, several beautiful specimens having been forwarded to me from thence by my friend Mr. W . T. Fraser, from one of which the above description has been taken. 2. PELARGOPSIS AMAUROPTERA (Pears.). Halcyon amauroptera, Pears. Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 1841, p. 635; Blyth, Ann. Nat. Hist. xii. p. 94 (1843); Grav, Gen. of Birds, i. p. 79 (1846); Blyth, Cat. Birds Mus. As. Soc. Beng. p. 313 (1849); Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 155 (1850); Cass. Cat. Hale. Phil. Mus. p. 10 (1852); Horsf. and Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 124 (1854); Jerdon, Birds of India, i. p. 224 (1862); Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 347. Ramphalcyon amauroptera, Reich. Handb. Alced. p. 17, t. cccclxxxi. f. 3407 (1851); Bonap. Consp. Vol. Anis. p. 10 (1854). Pelargopsis amauroptera, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. ii. p. 157 (1860). Entire head, neck, and under surface of the body yellowish cinna­mon ; upper part of the back, scapularies, and wing-coverts choco­late- brown ; entire back and rump silvery cobalt; quills chocolate-brown, the inner web light cinnamon at the base ; tail-coverts and tail chocolate-brown, darker underneath ; bill and feet sealing-wax red. Total length 13 inches, of bill from front 3, from gape 3*5, wing 5'8, tail 4, tarsus 0*5, middle toe 1, hind toe 0*5. Hab. Bengal (Sundurbuns especially); Arakan ; Tenasserim pro­vinces ; very abundant along the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, not yet observed on the western. Not rare in the vicinity of Cal­cutta (Blyth), Assam (Mus. H. B. Tristram). I cannot understand how this very distinct and clearly characterized species could ever have been united under any circumstances to the more common P. gurial. The whole distribution of the colouring and the brown scapularies at once distinguish it. M y description is from an Assamese specimen, kindly lent me by the Rev. H. B. Tristram. 3. PELARGOPSIS GOULDI, sp. n. Whole head and neck and the whole of the under surface of the body rich ochre ; upper part of the back, scapularies, wing-coverts, upper tail-coverts, and upper surface of the tail green, slightly in­clining to blue on the latter ; whole of the back and rump silvery cobalt; quills blackish, the inner web pale orange at the base, the exterior web of the primaries and nearly the whole of both webs of the secondaries bright cobalt; bill rich vermilion; feet dark red. Total length 13 inches, of bill from front 3*2, from gape 3*6, wing 6, tail 3*5, tarsus 0*5, middle toe 1, hind toe 0*5. Hab. Philippines, Island of Luzon (Cuming,- mus. J. Gould).