18/1.] MR. D. G. ELLIOT ON THE GENUS PTILORIS. 581 



some other important member, and it is only lately that fine exam- 

 ples have been obtained. Mr. George Robert Gray, some time ago, 

 perceived that there were differences among the specimens of this 

 section of the Rifle-birds in the British Museum, and in his manu- 

 script notes affixed to the one from Australia the name of Pli- 

 loris alberti, but never published or wrote any account of it ; and 

 in his latest published work, the ' Hand-list of Birds,' he has placed 

 his manuscript name among the synonyms of Ptiloris magnificus, 

 which he rightly applies to the New- Guinea bird. Although among 

 ornithologists it is generally conceded that manuscript names should 

 not be recognized or adopted, I propose, in this instance, to make 

 an exception to the practice, and to retain the name of alberti for the 

 Australian bird. It is not to be denied that I should be perfectly 

 right if I gave a new appellation to the species, as even the adoption 

 of a manuscript name is not to be commended, as it is a kind 

 of recognition that they may be noticed ; but my desire is and 

 always has been to clear up imperfectly known facts, and not to 

 continue existing confusion ; therefore as alberti has been employed 

 in Mr. Gray's list, it is perhaps better to retain it, although an 

 apology to my fellow ornithologists is due for so doing. Resem- 

 bling each other very closely, there is nevertheless a considerable 

 difference in the size and plumage of the two species, especially 

 between the females, where the variations are very great and visible 

 at once. 



The true P. magnificus is much the larger bird, has a longer, 

 stouter bill, stouter legs and feet, and longer wings. The chief 

 difference in their plumage is to be seen upon the lower part of the 

 breast, which in the New-Guinea bird is rich purplish violet, as men- 

 tioned by its describer, Vieillot, while the P. alberti is dark grass- 

 green upon the same parts, the ends of the flank-feathers only being 

 tinged with violet. The metallic colours of the throats and breasts 

 are apparently the same, as are also the central tail-feathers. But 

 it is in the females that the greatest variation in the hue of the 

 plumage is to be seen, that of P. magnificus being of a rich brownish 

 red upon the entire upper parts, the uuder parts white, closely barred 

 with black ; while the female of P. alberti is a light olive-brown 

 upon the upper parts, wings and tail being rufous brown, and the 

 under parts are very much lighter than in the female of its relative, 

 the bars being narrower and wider apart. The throat is also pure 

 white, that of the female P. magnificus being closely barred like the 

 breast. I give below a list and description of the known species of 

 Ptiloris with their proper synonyms added. 



Genus Ptiloris. 



Ptiloris, Swainson, Gen. and Class. Birds (182.')), vol. ii. p. 331. 



The name Epimachus, which has been usually applied to these 

 birds, was originally bestowed by Cuvier upon the E. magnus, a form 

 totally different from the Rifle-birds ; and consequently Mr. Swain- 

 sou's term is the oue next in order to be employed. 



