spots on the body, and nearly disappear on the vent : the edges of the 

 breast-feathers are tipt with yellow, which colour increases down- 

 wards on the vent and tail-covers, which latter are entirely yellow. 

 The wings are four inches long, uniform deep black with a blue gloss, 

 much pointed, and calculated for rapid flight. Tail the same colour, 

 the exterior basal margins olive : all the feathers are narrow, pointed, 

 and gradually lengthening, the middle pair being two inches three 

 quarters longer than the outer pair, which exceed those next them 

 by an inch. The feet are very pale yellow, and three-quarters of an 

 inch from the knee to the claws, the three foremost of Avhich are 

 equally connected together (though slightly) nearly as far as the first 

 joint ; the outer and inner toes equal, and rather shorter than the 

 hhid-toe : claws slender and much compressed. 



Whether this species is the same as the one mentioned by Tem- 

 minck as existing in the French Museum under the name of P.Jia- 

 virostris, it is quite impossible to say, as the description of that bird 

 has never been published. This leads me to notice a custom several 

 naturalistsofthe present day have lately adopted, of publishingnames, 

 and names only,ofnewor undescribed animals, which they then wish 

 to be considered as permanendy fixed, and as having thus secured to 

 themselves all the merit of first describing. Now this at best is but 

 a surreptitious path to fame, and in many instances bears the ap- 

 pearance of originating in a petty vanity, quite beneath the dignity 

 of true science : it is easily fixing a name to an object which we 

 have not before seen, or suspect may be new, without the trouble of 

 investigating authors and comparing synonyms : the name may re- 

 main, but if it should afterwards be discovered as hasty and erro- 

 neous, its author is in no way amenable to the opinions and criti- 

 cisms of odiers, for they cannot discover such mistakes when no 

 clue is given them beyond a name, which may frequently be appli- 

 cable to half a dozen species. If, on the other hand, the object is 

 really new, the scientific world is still in the dark, for without a de- 

 scription the name conveys nothing. Besides this, it has a tendency 

 to deprive those writers of their well-earned merit, who undergo the 

 laborious but necessary investigation of books, the examining and 

 comparing of specimens, and the construction of sound characters 

 previous to their publishing a new addition to the great volume of 

 Nature- Against this scientijic monopoly a stand should be made, 

 and all names cither of families, genera, or species should be totally 

 rejected, unless their meaning is clearly defined. Let those who run 

 the race, receive the wreath ; and not let it be snatched from the 

 winning-post by another, who jumps from behind and claims it as 

 his own. 



On a careful examination of my specimen, I find the nostrils are 

 not covered by a membrane, as observed by Temminck, but are 

 open, obliquely and ovately round, and a narrow rim round the 

 margin. That excellent ornithologist likewise remarks that the first 

 and second quill-feathers are the longest; but my bird (which, how- 

 ever, is in full pkimage) has the first and third of equal length and 

 shorter than die second, which is longest. These nice distinctions 

 lead me to suppose the species from which his generic character was 

 taken, is distinct from this. 



