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of the head and neck of a glittering emerald green 

 colour ; the back is velvety black in front, and 

 brilliant orange or bright cadmium yellow behind, 

 the wings and tail are black, edged above with 

 purple, and blackish below ; the outer secondaries 

 are brilliant orange : the lesser wing-coverts emerald 

 green ; the under surface of the body deep purplish 

 blue, becoming silvery blue on the breast ; the middle 

 of the throat and the chin are black, divided one from 

 the other by a line of greenish blue ; length of bird 

 five inches and eight-tenths; bill black; legs dark 

 brown ; iris of eye brown. 



The female is like the male, excepting that its 

 colour is less brilliant. 



The Superb Tanager is a native of Pernambuco, 

 and, according to W. A. Forbes, is believed to be 

 peculiar to that province, from which place "skins are 

 "occasionally received by the dealers in Paris and 

 " elsewhere. 



" It is a species often seen, too, alive in the 

 "Zoological Gardens of Europe, though no naturalist 

 " seems to have j^et met with it in the wild state. It 

 "does not appear to be common in Pernambuco, at 

 "least I only met with it twice: once near Macuca, 

 " where I shot a female out of some bushy capceira, 

 " and again at Quipapa, where I saw what I believe was 

 " this species in the virgin forest. The bird, however, 

 " was perched at a great height from the ground on 

 "the topmost branches of a large tree, and only the 

 "brilliant orange of the rump was visible. Whilst 

 "staying at Cabo a freshly-shot adult of this bird was 

 "also brought to me to skin." 



The nest and eggs of the Superb Tanager and its 



