500 LETTER FROM MR. R. SWINHOK. [Nov. 3, 



pared the bird with the drawing, and vouches for the latter being 

 very correct. He subsequently purchased the specimen, and has 

 placed it in the New Museum at Brisbane, of which he is the Hono- 

 rary Curator. 



" I trust that before many months I shall be able to exhibit the 

 actual specimen to this Society, as I have written and asked the 

 favour of its being forwarded to me to enable me to figure it in my 

 forthcoming number of the ' Supplement to the Birds of Australia.' 



" For the present it will be sufficient to say that the bird is evi- 

 dently allied to the genus Aprosmictus, of which the well-known 

 King Parrot of Australia is the type. 



" The colouring may be roughly given as follows : — Crown of the 

 head brilliant red, separated from the bill by a narrow band of green, 

 which green colour extends all over the face and cheeks, back of the 

 neck, and back, interrupted, however, by certain dashes of red on the 

 side of the neck ; throat and under surface fiue red ; wing greenish, 

 with a splendid large patch of bright yellow dashed with a little red 

 occupying the shoulders and great part of the secondaries — such a 

 mark as is seen in Ptistes, but of course of a different colour ; the 

 rump is blue, as is the colour of the under shoulder according to Mr. 

 Coxen ; the long tail is green. 



" Compared with Aprosmictus the wing appears to be longer, in 

 which respect it would approach Ptistes, as it would also in having 

 its upper and under mandibles uniform in colour, viz. red ; feet dark. 



" The dimensions of the various parts of the drawing are — total 

 length 15 inches, wing 7i, tail 7k. 



" I wish to record my obligations to Mr. Wallace and to Mr. 

 Coxen for having forwarded the drawing to me and enabled me to 

 make this communication to the Society ; and as they have neither 

 laid me under restrictions in the matter, nor suggested any name, I 

 propose assigning to this fine species the characteristic name of 

 Aprosm ictus insignissimus. 



" I am, dear Sir, 



" P. L. Sclater, Esq., " Yours very faithfully, 



Secretary of the "John Gould." 



Zoological Society of London." 



"33 Carlyle Square, S.W., 

 July 7, 1874. 



" Dear Sir, — I return, with thauks, Prof. Peters's letter. The 

 Bat in spirits he refers to therein, which you kindly forwarded to 

 him for me, was one of the ' four specimens of a light reddish-brown 

 species' mentioned in my letter from Ningpo (P. Z. S. 1872, 

 p. 818). Prof. Peters writes, ' It is not a Phyllorhina, but a Rhino- 

 lophus, not different from R. nippon, Temmiuck, wbich may turn out 

 to be the same as our R.ferrum-equinum. It is only a little larger, 

 and the saddle point a little lower ; but this may be an individual 

 difference.' 



" I should like also to record that the specimen of Phyllorhina 

 swinhoii mentioned in the letter of mine referred to, I put into spirits 

 and sent also to Dr. Peters. On the strength of this specimen, 



