Mr. J. Gould on a new species 0/ Kuticilla. 511 



Gould liad observed that the like difference existed between spe- 

 cimens of the same species inhabiting Van Diemen's Land and the 

 continent of Australia. He attributed this principally to the greater 

 density and cloudiness of the atmosphere in islands, and countries 

 bordering the sea ; and in further illustration of the influence of 

 light upon colour, he stated, that the dyers of this country are never 

 able to produce tints equal in brilhancy to those obtained by their 

 continental rivals, and that in England they never attempt to dye 

 scarlets in cloudy weather. 



Description of a new Species of Ruticilla from 

 Erzeroum. By John Gould, F.R.S. etc. 



Ruticilla erythropbocta, Gould. 



Forehead black ; crown of the head clouded silvery-grey ; back, 

 shoulders, throat, chest, and the upper part of the abdomen, jet- 

 black ; lower part of the abdomen, upper and under tail-coverts dull 

 red ; tail-feathers dull red, except the two middle ones, which are 

 brownish-black ; wings both above and beneath brownish-black ; 

 some of the secondaries slightly fringed with silvery-grey ; bill and 

 feet black. 



Total length, 5^^ inches ; bill, f ; wing, 3i ; tail, 2| ; tarsi, |. 



Hab. Erzeroum. 



Remark. — Nearly allied to, and about the size of, R. Tithys ; but 

 differing from that species in the under surface of the shoulder being 

 darker, and the lower part of the abdomen being red instead of 

 greyish-white. 



In my own collection. 



Notes on the Birds of Western India. 

 By Lieut. Burgess. 



Family Rallid^e. 

 Genus Fulica, L. 



FULICA ATRA. BaLD CoOT. 



I found some of these birds breeding on the Singwa tank, situ- 

 ated about eighteen miles north of the station of iVhmednuggur, on 

 21st August, 1849. I obtained three eggs and three nestlings, which 

 were marked as follows : head, neck, breast and back covered with 

 bright orange-red, hair-like feathers ; beak crimson, tip white ; lower 

 part of the back dark lead-colour, nearly black ; near the beak the 

 face was covered with bright scarlet pustules ; irides brown ; legs 

 and feet dark lead-colour. The young birds swam with surprising 

 rapidity. I was attracted at first by the unusual movements of the 

 old birds, who swam backwards and forwards with great swiftness at 

 some distance from the nest, showing great uneasiness, and when I 

 was handling their young appeared quite distracted. 



The e^^ is rather more than 2yV in. in length, by nearly 1^ in. 

 in width, of a stone-colour, spotted with numberless small specks of 

 brown, and some larger spots of dark brown and grey. 



