6.52 MR. A. D. BARTLETT ON A NEW NUMIDA. [JuUC 19, 



Plate LXIII. 



Fig. 4, 5. Paphia victoria, p. 645. 

 6. lijceus, p. 646. 



Fig. 1. Pciphia %isifa, p. 64.''>. 



2. offa, p. 644. 



8. catinka, p. 644. 



Plate LXIV. 

 Fig. 1. Paphia ph<xbe, p. 648. I Fig. 4. Paphia nctiia, p. 647- 



2. poly.ro, p. 648. I 5. falcata, p. 648. 



3. bertha, p. 649. | 



8. Description of a new Species of Numida. By A. D. 

 Bartlett, Superintendent of the Society's Gardens. 



[Eeceived June 19, 1877.] 

 (Plate LXV.) 



Having had some correspondence with the owner of some Guinea- 

 fowl (Mr. Gerald Waller) that were on their way to this country from 

 East Africa, and having offered to take charge of them on their 

 arrival, in order to restore them from the effects of the voyage, on 

 the 4th of June I received five hving birds, three Crested {Numida 

 cristatd) and two Vuljurine {N. vulturina). Mr. Waller informed 

 me tliat a sistii bird, which he believed to be a male, had died on the 

 passage, and that the skin in a mutilated condition was then in iiis 

 possession ; and he kindly gave it to me upon my telling him it might 

 prove to be a very interesting specimen. 



On examining the skin, it struck me at once to be uillike any thing 

 I had seen, I therefore exammed the splendid work by Mr. Elliot, 

 and came to the conclusion that I had found a new and hitherto 

 undescribed species of Numida. 



After a careful examination of Mr. Elliot's work, I wrote to Colonel 

 Grant to &%'k\^ the ^g\ix& oi Numida granti, which came nearest to my 

 bird, quite agreed with his original drawing. Colonel Grant has this 

 day kindly sViown me the original coloured drawing, and convinced 

 me that the bird originally figured belonged to a species easily distin- 

 guished from the bird now before you, which, I have been informed by 

 Mr. Waller, was obtained at Mombassa, on the east coast of Africa. 



This bird differs from Numida granti (to which species it appears 

 most nearly allied), by the entire absence of the black ring or collur 

 and black patch on front of the neck. The whole of the neck, breast, 

 belly, back, upper and under tail-coverts are finely and minutely 

 spotted with white on a black ground. 



The sketch (Plate LXV.) fairly shows the colour of the face and 

 wattles at the time it came into my hands. I may state that the blue 

 wattles differ considerably from the same parts in N. cristata, being 

 much longer and falling lower down ; the bird appears smaller than 

 the last-named species. 



It may be interesting to know that the three Crested birds that 

 came, as Mr. Waller tells me, from Mozambique, differ from all the 

 figures of N. cristata in having the throat up to the edge of the under 

 mandible covered with black feathers. I consider them to be young 

 birds, and that the throat will (as the birds become adult) lose these 

 feathers and exhibit the naked red skin, so well marked in the 

 figure in Mr. Elliot's work. 



I propose the name of Numida ellioti for this new bird, after 

 Mr. D. G. Elliot, F.Z.S., who has devoted so much time and atten- 

 tion to this interesting family. 



