NOVELTIES. 509 



Palaeornis Finschii, Sp. Nov. 



The forests of the Upper Sal ween are tenanted by a race 

 of Paroquets closely allied indeed to schisticeps, Hodgs., but at 

 the same time very distinguishable ; and as the points of differ- 

 ence are constant in all the ten specimens that I have obtained 

 from these forests, I think it may be as well to describe this 

 new form under the above designation. 



This present race or species differs from schisticeps, Hodgs. 



1st. — In its smaller size ; in the finest male of Finschii the 

 wing does not quite reach to 6 inches, whereas in schisticeps 

 the wings of ordinary males vary from 6 - 5 to 6"8. 



2nd. — In the greater length, different shape, and different 

 coloration of the tail feathers. In no specimens of schisticeps 

 Avhich I have seen does the tail, measured from the vent, quite 

 come up to 10 inches. In the present species the tail in the 

 adult male similarly measured varies from 11 to 12 inches. 

 Then the tail feathers are excessively narrow ; nowhere in the 

 terminal 6 inches are they quite 0*3 in width, and for the greater 

 part of the distance they are scarcely more than 0"2. In 

 schisticeps they are almost double this. Then the central tail 

 feathers are differently colored ; in schisticeps they are green 

 at the base, then bright blue, then bright yellow, while in 

 Finschii the basal halves are a delicate lavender blue, only tinged 

 with green on the margins quite at the base, and the terminal 

 halves are dingy white, rarely with a faint fulvous tinge at the 

 extreme tips. 



3rd. — The entire mantle and the upper tail-coverts exhibit a 

 golden fulvous tinge not present in any of the very numerous 

 specimens of schisticeps that I have examined. 



4th. — The red wing patch in the male is not confined to the 

 immediate neighbourhood of the elbow joint, as it generally 

 seems to be in schisticeps, but extends, in fine adults, a consider- 

 able distance towards the carpal joint in a line parallel or nearly 

 so to the radius. 



5th. — In the adult males the head appears to be much paler 

 than in schisticeps, a sort of lavender slaty, and without any 

 appreciable darkening towards the margin or dark line bound- 

 ing it on the back of the neck; the broad black moustachial 

 stripe being only continued as a line as far up the sides of the 

 neck as the ear-coverts. 



Besides these differences the lower wing-coverts are perhaps 

 slightly bluer, and the bird is altogether decidedly less bulky. 



