442 Bulletin of the British 



that there was white at the tips of the second pair of tail- 

 feathers (as well as on the first pair) at all ages in the Water- 

 Pipit, but never so in Aalhus obscurus, nor in the Scandinavian 

 A. rupestris. 



Mr. Philip Crowley exhibited an interesting albino speci- 

 men of a Starling [Sturnus vulgaris) which had been shot 

 at Merstham, near Keigate, on the 28th of February last. 



Mr. Ernst Hartert exhibited an example of a new species 

 of Humming-Bird, which he described as follows : — 



— Phaethornis stuarti, n. sp. 



Top of the head brown, with more or less of a metallic 

 green gloss. Hind-neck_, interscapulium, back, and upper 

 wing-coverts metallic green. Rump and upper tail-coverts 

 rusty cinnamon. Rectrices dark purplish brown, with dark 

 bronzy-green bases and white tips, the central pair about 10 

 millimetres longer than the next, and nearly all bronzy green 

 with white tips. Wings deep purplish brown. Chin and 

 upper throat buffy white or whitish buff. Rest of under surface 

 tawny ochraceous, the under tail-coverts lighter, almost 

 white. Breast with a bunch of broad and elongated feathers 

 of a bronzy-brown colour, with paler edges and a sub- 

 terminal darker line. Auriculars black. A whitish-buft' 

 superciliary line, beginning above the eye, but not before. 

 Maxilla and tip of mandible black; mandible, except the tip, 

 . yellowish flesh-colour (in skin). Total length about 95 mm. ; 

 wing 41-42; tail — central rectrices 38-39, next pair 9-10 

 mm. shorter, lateral pair only about 15-17; bill 22-23. 

 Mr. Hartert made the following remarks : — 

 "This new species belongs to the section of the genus 

 Phaethornis which most authors separate as Pygmornis. In 

 the Pygmornis section it must be grouped with the species 

 which have a dark pectoral zone (Section b in the ' Key ■" of 

 Pygmornis, Salvin, Cat. B. xvi. p. 280). From the three 

 forms in that section described in the ' Catalogue of Birds ■* 

 it differs principally in having broad white tips to the 

 Rectrices, and in its large size. The tail beneath is darker 



