300 Letters, Anauunccments, S^'c. 



London, 28tli March, 1870. 

 Sir, — When iu Paris last week, I observed iu the Garden of 

 the Societe d^Acclimatation two Guinea-fowls, which, upon exa- 

 mination, appear to me to be undescribed, aud I therefore wish 

 to bring the species to which they belong before ornitholo- 

 gists as 



NUMIDA VERREAUXI. 



A^. capite cristato intense nigro ; gula rubra, collo caeruleo, re- 

 gione ophthaluiica nigra; cinctu collari pectoreque nigris, 

 hoc castaneo tincto, corpore reliquo nigro cserulescenti- 

 viridi punctato : reniigibus nigris : 5o., 60., et 7o. albo-fim- 

 briatis. 

 Long. tot. 22, alse 10, caudse 6, rostri 1, tarsi ] "75 unc. 

 Hab. Natal. 



Head with a full, long, upright, jet-black crest, as in N. cris- 

 tato, the rest with the face bare. Black about the eyes, sides 

 and back of neck light blue, and throat, from the base of the 

 bill to the feathers of the breast, bright red. The skin of the 

 neck full behind, forming a plait about midway, and falling in 

 a kind of fold over the feathers of the lower part. Lower part 

 of the neck behind, and upper part of breast, black, having a 

 rich chestnut tint on the breast. Rest of the plumage black, 

 thickly spotted with light bluish-green. Wings spotted like 

 the body; primaries dark brown; secondaries black, with their 

 inner webs spotted; outer webs of the first four, with the excep- 

 tion of a narrow line along the shaft, white ; outer web of the rest 

 unspotted, black, with lines of bluish-green running their entire 

 length, as though the spots had become confluent. Tip of tail 

 black, the spots being almost obsolete. Thighs black. Bill 

 light horn-colour. Legs and feet black. There is no differ- 

 ence in the plumage of the sexes. 



This species is nearest to N. cristata, but presents various 

 diflferences distinguishing it therefrom. The black on the breast 

 is much more extensive, and the red throat is very conspicuous 

 in the living bird ; aud the form of the plait aud fold of the 

 skin of the neck would seem to distinguish it from all its allies. 

 The first example was brought to France by the late M. 

 Edouard Verreaux, and is now in the Paris Museum. This, as 

 well as the other specimens subsequently received, came from 



