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and ultramarine blue of the lower ; remainder of head, 

 neck, back and upper wing coverts, shining green, 

 washed more or less golden on the neck and down- 

 wards ; flight feathers, greyish-black, with their outer 

 webs light green, washed slightly dusky; upper tail 

 coverts, cobalt blue ; tail, black with ashy tips, the 

 two central feathers being much elongated, and deep 

 black ; breast and forechest, intense purplish blue ; 

 hind chest and abdomen rich saffron-yellow ; under 

 tail coverts, white ; under side of tail feathers, ashen, 

 blackish in the central portion. Beak, purplish-flesh 

 colour, tipped and lined rosy-carmine; legs and feet, 

 pinkish-flesh colour; iris, rich brow^n. Average length 

 by comparison of two dozen skins ; c? 4-5" ; ? 4-3" 



Adult female. — Much duller than the male, alto- 

 gether lacking the refulgence so characteristic of 

 his plumage, the carmine head and facial patches 

 more restricted, upper tail coverts pale emerald green ; 

 the central tail feathers but little longer than the outer 

 ones ; breast, rosy lilac ; abdomen, pale j^ellow. 



Young. — The nestling plumage is light dusky- 

 green, without any of the lustre or lovely markings of 

 the adult birds. While a change soon begins to take 

 place, it is a fairly protracted one. The back becomes 

 'bright green, (but not yet the green of the adult), blue 

 appears at the back of the neck, and a small black 

 patch on the chin ; the head becomes spotted and 

 streaked with red, the breast with purplish in the male 

 and pale lilac in the female, and the belly j^ellowish. 

 These changes, which are brought about by a growth 

 of colour in the plumage and not by an intermediate 

 moult, continue to increase in intensity till the Spring 

 moult; when the young assume the brilliance of the 



