of the Indian and Australian Regions. 29 



found in Brisson^s account. It is thus expressed : — " rectricibus 

 intermediis 2 longissimis ." Brisson's words are, '^ rectricibus binis 

 intermediis nigris." Linnseus placed C.philipjnna third in a Hst 

 of four species, which certainly do all possess elongated central 

 rectricesj C.jmlchella, Cfamosa, and C. violacea. His diagnosis 

 of all four species begins with the phrase above quoted. They 

 are the only species Linnseus described thus characterized, which 

 looks as if he intentionally grouped the four together on account 

 of this character. Yet the remainder of the diagnosis of C.plii- 

 lippina agrees with that of Brisson^s " no. 4 ; " and in the absence 

 of evidence of its being original, it is most likely that Linnseus 

 committed an error when compiling, and that thus the word 

 '^ longissimis " slipped from his pen instead of " nigrisJ" Should 

 it be shown that the Linnsean species did possess elongated mid- 

 dle rectrices, it is clear that it was not an Arachnechthra. 



Sparrman's plate represents either a male moulting into post- 

 nuptial plumage, or else a male assuming full nuptial dress. 

 Prof. Sundevall, in his critical exposition of Sparrman's ' Mu- 

 seum Carlsonianum ' (K. Vet. Akad. Handl. 1857) states that 

 the type is a Javan bird ; but this must be a mistake, unless it 

 be a young example of A. pectoralis (Horsf.) with the frontal 

 patch undeveloped, in which case Horsfield's title would be super- 

 seded*. Figure B, in Sonnerat's plate, may have been taken 

 from a female or very young male of C. sperata, L. Figures 

 3 and 4 of the 'Planches Enluminees' no. 576, were perhaps 

 drawn from the original Brissonian type-specimens in the col- 

 lection of De Reaumur and Aubry, or else coloured after Brisson's 

 description. P. L. S. Milller, clearly, describes from figure 4 of 

 the plate just mentioned, although he does not indicate the 

 source whence he obtained his description, beyond giving Buf- 

 fon's name. Montbeillard's account (Hist. Nat. Ois. v. pp. 506- 

 510) is not original, but copied from Brisson, the dimensions 

 included. 



Accordmg to Sir W. Jardine's description of this species, the 



* Do all the Suu-birds of this group, after breeding, doiF their metallic 

 feathers, except on the mesial line, in the same manner as A. asiatica and 

 A. lotenia ? If they do, C. gidaris, SpaiTm., may he A. pectoralis (Horsf.), 

 in partly postnuptial plumage. 



