18/1.] MR. W.T. BLANFORD ON A NEW HIMALAYAN FINCH. 693 



and about three weeks after their arrival built a nest in the interior 

 of the compartment assigned to them. A few days after this, as our 

 head keeper, Mr. B. Misselbrook, informs me, two eggs were laid, and 

 incubation was commenced, the male taking turns with the female 

 on the uest. In sixteen days one young one was hatched, on the 

 17th or 18th of July, and is still living in the aviary. The other 

 egg turned out to be addled ; and I now exhibit its shell, which, 

 like that of all Pigeons, is of a spotless white. It measures 1-35 

 inch by -95 inch. About the end of September the hen sickened 

 and died. I now exhibit her skin, from which the accompanying 

 figure (Plate LXXIII.) has been prepared. 



Mr. Newton tells me that this Dove has also bred in the Mauritius. 



The Aldabran Dove is, as above pointed out, closely related to 

 Turtur picturatus of Madagascar and T. rostratus of the Seychelles, 

 the three species forming together a small section of the typical 

 Turtures. Turtur picturatus is now found in Mauritius, but is 

 believed by Prof. Newton to have been originally introduced there 

 from Madagascar. It has certainly been introduced into the Sey- 

 chelles, whence I now exhibit a skin not differing from Mauritian 

 examples. 



I am greatly indebted to Prof. Newton for placing at my disposal 

 his series of skins of these birds, which is now before the Society. 



5. Description of a new Himalayan Finch, Procarduelis 

 rubescens. By William T. Blanford, C.M.Z.S. 



[Eeceived November 6, 1871.] 



(Plate LXXIV.) 



Amongst a collection of birds sent to me for determination some 

 time since by Mr. Mandelli, of Darjeeling, was a female Procarduelis, 

 which I found, on comparison, to be the same as Linotafusca of 

 Blyth, whilst it differed much from both Hodgson's and Jerdon's 

 description of the female of Procarduelis nipalensis. I wrote to 

 Mr. Mandelli about this ; and he has sent me five specimens alto- 

 gether of Procarduelis, two males and three females, adding that it 

 appeared to him that more than one species was represented. This 

 is certainly the case ; one male and two females agree both in colour 

 and structure with the types of Mr. Blyth's Linota saturata and 

 L.fusca in the Asiatic Society's collection; and there can, I think, be 

 no question of the identity of the male with the same sex of Hodg- 

 son's Procarduelis nipalensis, described in the ' Asiatic Researches,' 

 vol. xix. p. 157. The description, however, of the female of P. nu 

 palensis given by Hodgson, and copied by Jerdon in the ' Birds of 

 India' ("from the chin to the breast dirty yellowish, from breast to 

 tail white"), does not agree with any of the birds before me. The 

 remaining male and female sent by Mr. Mandelli appear to me to 

 belong to an undescribed form. 



