Revieio of Dr. Finsch's ' Die Papageien.' 291 



for 1847 (p. 560) its specific validity, its claim to rank as distinct 

 from the red-billed birds, is maintained. Mr. Blyth (J. A. S. 

 B. 1846, p. 21, note) stated, '' in P . pondicerianus , the upper 

 mandible of the female is usually black, but often more or less 

 mingled with red ; that of the male being always bright coral- 

 red." Writing in 1850 [op. cit. xix. p. 234) the same author 

 states of this bird^ " In a presumed female observed in captivity, 

 the upper mandible changed from black to coral-red when the 

 bird was about 18 months old." Later on (Ibis, 1866, pp. 

 353, 354), the last time Mr. Blyth wrote on the species, he 

 says, " From an early age (before leaving the nest) the sexes 

 differ in the male having the upper mandible coral-red*, while 

 that of the female is black .... and in many females it per- 

 haps remains permanently black, while in others it changes 

 sooner or later to red." And he adds that he is " tolerably 

 well acquainted with it, having spent a month in forests " with 

 the species. Jerdon [op. cit. p. 263) describes the female in 

 these words, "The female merely differs from the male by 

 having a black bill at first, which changes to red in old or fully 

 adult females." In the face of these confiicting opinions, is Dr. 

 Finsch to be blamed for adopting an opinion of his own ? and 

 anyhow ought he to have been exposed to the insolent and in- 

 sulting criticism which Mr. Hume, in relation to this species, 

 heaps upon him ? " (poor Jerdon and Blyth, always wrong ! 

 Finsch, the clever fellow, always right! !) " and then this obser- 

 vation on a remark of Dr. Finsch, " He adds with that de- 

 liciously bland assumption of superiority and omniscience 

 which irradiates his pages " {t.c. p. 20) . I will quote Dr. 

 Finsch^s opening words, " Ohne der Auctoritat eines Blyth 

 oder Jerdon zu nalie treten zu wollen " (/. c. p. 68). As 

 to Jerdon's opinion on the moot point, it may be stated that 

 up to the last he had not arrived at any decided conclusion. 

 So uncertain was he, that by his advice, and in order to settle 

 the question, a friend in Burma was written to and asked to 

 collect and carefully mark the sex of as many specimens as he 



* This ia in direct opposition to what Mr. Hume lays down in the 

 passage beginning " I too, who have seen thousands, and shot hundreds " 

 {t. c. p. 20). 



