530 MR. D. G. ELLIOT ON THE GENUS PTILOPUS. [May 7, 



type of Peale's species to compare it with, I cannot say if the 

 difference mentioned is sufficient to separate the present form as dis- 

 tinct, and for the present leave it under the designation given to it 

 by its describer. 



Forehead amethyst. Crown, occiput and nape pale green. Throat 

 yellowish ; sides of neck and breast greyish ash ; abdomen pale 

 green. Back and wings bronzy-green. Primaries and secondaries 

 with a coppery-red hue in certain lights. Tail coppery red, with 

 a greenish shade ; but in the majority of lights the feathers are 

 bright copper-colour. Crissum and under tail-coverts pale yellow. 

 Bill, legs, and feet yellowish in the skin. Wing 5g, tail 4in. (Type.) 



8. Ptilopus pictiventris. (Plate XXXIII.) 



Ptilonopus fasciatus, Whitmee (nee Peale), Proc. Zool. Soc. 

 1873, p. 152 (spec, exam.) 



Ptilonopus apicalis, Lay. (nee Bon.), Proc. Zool. Soc. 1876, p. 495. 



Ptilopus pictiventris, Elliot, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 5, vol. i. 

 p. 349 (1878). 



Hab. Nukahiva, Marquesas Islands (?) (type Paris Museum) ; 

 Samoa {Whitmee); Savage Islands (JBrenchley) ; Navigators' and 

 Friendly Islands {Layard). 



This species was sent from Samoa by the Rev. S. J. Whitmee, 

 and marked by him Pt. fasciatus. I have examined his specimens 

 now in the British Museum, from one of which the figure (Plate 

 XXIII.) is taken ; and they agree exactly with my type in the 

 Paris Museum. Mr. Whitmee states {I. c.) that this bird is kept 

 generally in captivity by the natives of the Samoan Islands, and 

 they train it to act as a decoy for the wild bird. I described 

 this species from a specimen in the Paris Museum, stated to have 

 been brought by Hombron and Jacquinot from Nukahiva of the 

 Marquesas. I am inclined to think this locality may be erroneous, 

 as I find on the bottom of the stand that it is first stated to have 

 come from " Upolu," Samoan group. This was erased and Nuka- 

 hiva substituted. It seems to me, in view of the Rev. Mr. Whitmee' s 

 examples, that Upolu is probably the correct locality of the type. 

 Mr. Layard, in the 'Proceedings' of this Society, 1876, p. 495, 

 has erroneously referred this bird to the Pt. apicalis, Bon. This 

 latter species, the type of which is before me, has a rufous spot 

 mixed with yellow in the centre of the abdomen, without any black 

 line about it. The secondaries are also uniform bronzy green without 

 any lilac spots near their tips; and the under tail- coverts are bright 

 yellow inclining to an orange hue at their tips. The present species 

 and Pt. apicalis are readily distinguishable from each other, the pur- 

 plish-black line above the rufous on the abdomen of the present bird 

 being at all times sufficient to separate it. Mr. Layard states that he 

 found this species abundant, feeding on wild berries, and having a 

 pleasing rolling " coo." The females were not so brightly coloured 

 as the males ; and the young have the whole of the underparts scaly 

 with yellow edges to their green feathers. They exhibit no trace 

 of the bifurcation in the breast-feathers, as in the adults ; nor is the 



