462 Zoological Society. 



neck and breast grey ; chin and centre of the abdomen white ; flanks 

 and under tail-coverts rufous ; upper mandible reddish brown ; tomia 

 of both mandibles tile-red ; legs and feet oil-green, blotched with 

 light ash-colour. 



Total length, 6^ inches; bill, 1; wing, 3J; tail, 2; tarsi, 1|. 



Hah. Port Essington and Northern Australia. 



Remark. — This bird differs from every other species of the genus 

 inhabiting Australia, in having a superciliary stripe of white, in the 

 black colouring of the lores, and in the olivaceous tint of the plumage. 



Plotus NOViE-HOLLANDi.E. Plot. (Mas) guld figurd sagitta cus- 

 pidis alba notatd ; laid fascid albd a mandihularum hasi quatuor 

 unciis in colli latera extensd ; scapularibus lanceolatis, lanceolatd 

 maculd in medio, et caulibus atris ornatis. 



Male. — An arrow-head-shaped mark of white on the throat ; a 

 broad stripe of the same colour commences at the base of the man- 

 dibles, extends for about four inches down the sides of the neck, and 

 terminates in a point ; head, neck and all the upper surface of the 

 body greenish black, stained with brown and with a patch of deep 

 rusty red in the centre of the under side of the throat ; under surface 

 deep glossy greenish black ; wings and tail shining black ; all the 

 coverts with a broad stripe of dull white, occupying nearly the whole 

 of the outer and a part of the inner web, and terminating in a point ; 

 scapularies lanceolate in form, with a similar shaped mark of white 

 down the centre, and with black shafts, the scapular nearest the body 

 being nearly as large as the secondaries, and having the outer web 

 crimped and the inner web with a broad stripe of dull white close to 

 the stem ; the secondaries nearest the body with a similar white stripe 

 on the outer web, close to the stem ; centre tail-feathers strongly and 

 the lateral ones slightly crimped ; orbits naked, fleshy, protuberant, 

 and of a yellowish olive, mottled over with brown specks ; irides of 

 three colours, the ring nearest the pupil being dull orange-buff^; to 

 this succeeds another of marbled buff" and brown, and to this an 

 outer one of orange-buff^ ; naked skin at the base of the lower man- 

 dible wrinkled and yellow ; upper mandible olive, under mandible 

 dull yellow, both becoming brighter at the base; feet yellowish 

 flesh-colour, becoming brown on the upper part of the outer toes. 



Female. — Upper surface blackish brown, each feather margined 

 with greyish white ; under surface huffy white. In other respects 

 similar to the male. 



Total length, 36 inches ; bill, 4 ; wing, 13|- ; tail, 9 ; tarsi, 2. 



Hab. The rivers of the whole of the southern coast of Australia. 



Remark. — Very nearly allied to the Plotus inhabiting Java, but 

 distinguished from it by the shortness of the scapularies and by its 

 larger size. 



Mr. Gould also exhibited to the Meeting a specimen of the Anthus 

 minimus of Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield, and having pointed out the 

 particulars in which it diff*ers from the members of the genus Anthus, 

 proposed to constitute it the type of a new genus, with the following 

 appellation and characters : — 



