Ibis olivacea of Dubus. 179 



' Grallatores ' (t. 133. f. 2384) ; but while Dubus carefully 

 figured the tarsi covered anteriorly with small hexagonal 

 scales, Reichenbach represented them covered anteriorly with 

 transverse scales ! 



G. R. Gray, in 1849 (Gen. B., App. p. 26), included Ibis 

 olivacea in the genus Geronticus, while Reichenbach, in 1852 

 (Av. Syst. Nat. p. xiv), placed it in the genus Comatibis, 

 and Hartlaub, in 1854 (J. f. O. 1854, p. 295), in the genus 

 Harpiprion. Bonaparte, in 1855, included it first (Compt. 

 Rend. xl. p. 725, n. 166) in the genus Bostrychia, and after- 

 wards (Consp. Gen. Av. ii. p. 153) in the genus Hagedashia, 

 adding that 7. olivacea was represented not only in the 

 Museum of Brussels, but also in the Paris Museum. I am 

 not aware that the latter statement has been confirmed. 



We now come to Cassin, who first, in 1857 (Pr. Ac. 

 Philad. 1857, p. 39), attributed to Ibis olivacea a young bird 

 obtained by Duchaillu on the River Muni, saving: — "A 

 young bird, but evidently of this species. . . . General 

 colours as figured by Baron Dubus, but with the feathers 

 of the neck and breast having large central spots of dark 

 fulvous, with which also a few of the feathers of the crest 

 are striped longitudinally." 



Two years later (Pr. Ac. Philad. 1859, p. 174), in a 

 ' Catalogue of Birds collected on the Rivers Camma and 

 Ogobai by Duchaillu,' Cassin again mentioned Ibis olivacea, 

 saying : — " Several specimens from the Camma, and formerly 

 from the Moonda. The adult of this handsome species is 

 described and figured xery accurately by the Baron Dubus. 

 Young <$ . General colours as in the adult, but paler. 

 Under parts of the body with large oval spots of dull 

 yellowish." I think that as Cassin was able from his 

 specimens to judge of the great accuracy of Dubus's de- 

 scription and figure, we may assume that his identification 

 was correct. 



Schlegel, in 1863 (Mus. P.-B., Ibis, p. 9) made the rash 

 supposition that 1. olivacea was the same as Ibis comata, 

 but Heuglin, in 1873 (Orn. N.O.-Afr. ii. p. 1145), shewed 

 that the surmise was quite untenable. 



N 2 



