52 COEVIDJE. 



gloss on the wings and on the rump having somewhat of a violet 

 cast ; head-and neck all round of a deep umbei'-brown shade, blacker 

 on the sides of the face and throat ; the chest glossed with purple, 

 and gradually shading off into the breast and abdomen, which are 

 dull purplish black, as also the under wing- and tail-coverts ; bill 

 and feet black ; iris azure-blue. Total length 23 inches, culmen 

 3'45, wing 13-5, tail 7*3, tarsus 2-4. 



Youny female. More dusk}' than the adult male, with less of a 

 purple gloss and decidedly browner underneath ; bill yellowish (in 

 skin), inclining to black at the tip. Total length 22 inches, culmen 

 3-1, wing 13-1, tail 7-3, tarsus 2-4. 



Ohs. Professor Hehlegel notes that the Waigiou birds are smaller 

 than those from Aru. The Museum has a male from Waigiou which 

 measures as follows : — total length 21 inches, culmen 3'2, wing 13, 

 tail 7'o, tarsus 2'15. With the exception of the tarsus the dimen- 

 sions are not much less. 



Hah. Aru Islands, Waigiou, and Ghemien. 



a. (S <id. sk. Aru Islands, 1857. A. R. AVallace, Esq. [0.]. (Type 



of species.) 

 h, c. $ iuv. sk. Aru Islands, 1857. A. E. Wallace, Esq. [C.]. 

 d. S juv. sk. Waigiou, 1860. A. R. Wallace, Esq. [C.]. 



13. NUCIFRAGA. rj.^^^^ 



Nucifraga, Briss. Om. ii. p. 58 (1760) N. caryocatactes. 



Caryocatactes, Cuv. Regn. Anivi. i. p. 399(1817). . N. caryocatactes. 

 Picicorvus, Bp. Consp. i. p. 384 (1850) N. columbianus. 



Range. Northern and Central Europe, Noi'thern Asia, Himalaya 

 Mountains, Western North America. 



Key to the Sjjeeies. 



a. Outer tail-feather white, with black basal half; 

 head brown or black ; back brown, spotted 

 with white. 

 a'. Eump and upper tail-coverts uniform, with 

 no mesial streaks of white ; central primaries 

 with a large patch of white near the base of 

 the inner web. 

 a". Outertail-featherstipped with white, form- . 



ing a terminal band ; sides of body brown, 

 largely spotted with white, like the rest 



of the breast caryocatactes, p. 53. 



b". Outer tail-feathers white for their apical 



half; sides of body brown, with few or 



no spots of white, as also the lower back, hemisjnla, p. 54. 



b'. Eump and upper tail-coverts centred with 



triangular spots of white, like the rest of the 



back ; primaries with no white patch on the 



inner web tnultipmicfata, p. 55. 



I. Outer tail-feather entirely white; entire head 



and upper parts uniform grey colmnbiana, p. 56. 



