1874.] 



Long, 

 tot. 



12-20 



SPECIES OF FRUIT-PIGEON. 



alae. 

 6-70 



caud. 

 4-90 



rostr. rostr. 

 a front, a rict. 



•75 1-15 



tars. 

 1-20 



dig. 

 med. 



•95 



93 



ung. 



•35 (poll.Angl.). 



Hab. Island of Rapa or Opara, South Sea. 



I he unique specimen of this bird was forwarded to me through 



he kindness of my fnend Capt. F. W. Hutton, now Professor of Na- 



New 7^1 7 7> G i° l0 H ! n the Universit y of Otago, Dunedin, 

 New Zealand, after whom I have the pleasure of naming it. 



lhe specimen is marked in the collector's handwriting "female." 

 It may be expected that the male would exhibit a somewhat 

 brighter coloration although we know that in the members of the 

 genus Ptilonopus the plumage of both sexes is nearly exactly alike. 



Ft huttoni is one of the most extraordinary Ptilonopi known. 

 In the pattern of its coloration it shows some resemblance to PL 

 roseicapillus,Le SS . (Pt. purpureocinctus, Gray), and Pt. mercieri, 

 haying, as in these species, a red spot on the base of the lower jaw 

 but it is easily d.stmguishable from all the other Polynesian Fruit- 

 Pigeons by its pale purplish-red chin, and the extraordinarily large 

 pectoral patch of dark purplish violet. But far more than by the & se 

 peculiarities of colours, Pt. huttoni is distinguished by its large 

 size and the unusually long and strong bill, as will be seen in the 

 accompanying drawing of the head, of its natural size. The bill, in- 



Head of Ptilonopus huttoni 



deed differs very much from that of the typical Ptilonopi, and re- 

 emb les rather that of the true Columbce, but is still more elongated 

 and slender The first primary shows the peculiar attenuate on 

 the terminal portion , and the two basal thirds of the tarsus are 

 feathered as in true Ptilonopus; the tail is proportionally longer 

 even at the end, and has 14 rectrices. y uu 5 er > 



The island of Rapa, erroneously called on our maps Onara i, 



8 KlS IatItUde ' "? U4 ° W o l0D ^e, about 70^1 

 S.J3. of the Society group, and some 40° S. of the tropic of Capri- 

 corn' and as nearly as possible two thirds of the distance between 

 Panama and Wellington. It was first discovered by the EngS 

 navigator Vancouver, and is now under the protectorate of the 

 French. During the toe when a direct steamer-line was runnhS 



Po°rT f a cT a t0 NeW Zea v! a \ d ' '* WaS SeleCted as a coal-stat on anl 

 port of call, possessing a harbour. A full account of the island has 



