72 ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 



round the eye is white, the irides reddish hazel, and the 

 bill pale inclining to yellow. In the female the head is 

 of a dull brownish green ; the throat brown ; the belly 

 white ; and the rest of the body, including the neck, 

 chest, back, wings, and tail, of a beautiful bright green. 

 The length of the body is from nine to ten inches. 



This elegant bird is a native of Java and Sumatra, 

 where it inhabits the woods of the interior, and lives 

 chiefly on the berries of a species of Ardisia. It was 

 first observed in the latter locality by Mr. Marsden, 

 who described it, in his History of Sumatra, under the 

 name of Pooni-Jamboo; an appellation which it is said 

 to derive from the similarity in colour between the 

 upper part of its head and the flower of the Jamboo, 

 one of the most highly esteemed of Indian fruits. On 

 his authority it was adopted by Latham, Gmelin, and 

 other zoologists. But it was not by any means clearly 

 known to science until both the male and female birds 

 were figured in M. Temminck's magnificent work on 

 the Pigeons, containing splendidly coloured represen- 

 tations of no less than sixty-three species of the genus 

 from the pencil of the celebrated Madame Knip. The 

 colouring, however, of this species, which was probably 

 taken from stuffed specimens, is defective as regards 

 the throat, eyelids, and bill. 



