THE GOULDIAN FINCH. 165 



feathers blackish grey, with pale and partly greenish edges to the 

 outer webs ; the lower back and upper tail-coverts peacock green, 

 shading into cobalt blue and with ashy tips to the feathers ; the two 

 central tail-feathers black, elongated and tapering to a fine point (and 

 probably lengthening with age) ; remaining feathers blackish with pale 

 tips ; breast and fore-chest completely covered by a broad belt of 

 intense violet ultramarine, or pansy blue (fading after death to mauve) ; 

 hind chest and abdomen bright golden or saffron yellow, under tail- 

 coverts white; lateral tail feathers ashy grey, central feathers blackish. 

 Length 4-5 inches. Beak flesh-pink, tinted and tipped with rosy 

 carmine ; legs flesh-pink ; iris dark brown. 



The female is very different, altogether duller ; the edging of the 

 crown and gorget pale green ; the carmine, when present, represented 

 by a much restricted patch ; the neck, back and upper wing-coverts 

 much more olive in tint ; the lower back and upper tail- coverts pale 

 emerald green, scarcely paler at the tips of the feathers, the central 

 tail feathers much shorter ; the breast band rosy lilac, the hind chest 

 and abdomen pale yellow, excepting at the sides, and fading into 

 white on the vent. Length about 4.5 inches. Beak less pure in 

 colour. 



There is not the slightest doubt that the typical female has been 

 described as the young plumage of this bird, whilst two males have 

 been described as sexes. Thus the zeal of bird-lovers has cleared up 

 a rather important point. 



The example figured by Gould, as the male of his Amadina gouldice 

 is unquestionably a female of the Black-headed form ; the colouring 

 and the short tail at once indicate this. Mr. B. P. Ramsay, many 

 years ago, came to the conclusion that it was the female of P. miradilis, 

 and in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1877, he writes: 

 " One female sent confirms the fact of P. gouldice being the female of 

 P. mirabilis. Mr. Armit found them breeding. The male bird had, 

 he states, the face carmine red." 



That the Black and Red-faced forms pair, and breed together in 

 confinement, is clearly proved ; but it is now also known that both 

 sexes occur in both varieties, and the cause of the difference was, 

 until recently, not satisfactorily cleared up. On the one hand, Mr. 

 Arthur Thompson, of the London Zoological Gardens, (Sept. 1893), 

 informed me that a pair of Black-faced Gouldians belonging to the 

 Society had moulted into Red-faced birds ; which seemed clearly to 

 indicate that the increase of the brilliance in plumage was a sign of 

 advanced age; then, on the other hand, Mr. Abrahams wrote to me: 



