6 DIE PAPAGEIES". 



the truth of a foregone conclusion/* by examining the tickets of 

 a few specimens in a museum, but he went to the woods and the 

 wild living birds, and there acquired the truths he has be- 

 queathed to ns. 



But passing by my late friend and master (for it was from him 

 that I first imbibed a taste for ornithology when eyes over-taxed 

 with desk work, could no longer bear the extra strain of the 

 microscope), are Blyth, Hodgson, Hutton, and half a dozen 

 others who all went over the same ground and arrived at the 

 same results, to be equally set aside in favour of Dr. Finsch's 

 pi'econceived. theories ? 



At any rate Dr. Finsch is an honest and simple-hearted man, 

 or he would not have prefaced his new revelation as to the 

 similarity of the sexes in the Paroquets with the naive admission 

 that before investigating the matter, he had long anticipated 

 that the facts would prove to be just as he has now stated 

 them. 



It is only fair to Dr. Finsch to quote in full what he says on 

 the question generally, before proceeding to take up in detail his 

 statements in regard to the ten species which I have myself 

 dissected. He says, after lamenting our general ignorance about 

 this genus : 



" In the mean time we must content ourselves" (and it would 

 perhaps have been well for him had he done so) " with what 

 Blyth, Jerdon, and other Indian ornithologists impart. Accord- 

 ing to these observers, there occurs in most species a difference 

 between the sexes, especially noticeable in the colouration of the 

 bills which are red in the male, but remain black in the female. 



" My investigations, however, have led me to wholly different 

 results, and have confirmed the view which I had long antici- 

 pated, viz., that the plumage which had been attributed to the 

 female, in most cases indubitably pertained to the young bird. 



" However much this view may be opposed to that of the 

 above-named Indian enquirers, who were doubtless in the best 

 position f to give us information on the subject, I still venture to 

 maintain it. On the one hand I have noticed from the writings 

 on this subject, that the investigations have not always been 

 sufficiently exact, on the other hand I will in the following 



* Dr. Finsch p. 4. — " My investigations however have led me to wholly dif- 

 ferent results, and have confirmed che view ivhich I had long anticipated, Sfc." 



f Admitting this and knowing as all the scientific world who dabhle in orni- 

 thology do know how accurate Blyth and Jerdon usually are, how does Dr. 

 Finsch justify his contradicting them, point blank, on a point like this which is 

 not one of opinion, hut of fact, without himself doing as they did, viz., dissecting 

 numerous specimens of numerous species. 



