Cu. IIT] BIRDS IN BOURBON. 59 
to the Zoological Society of London, which I hope will not be allowed to remain much longer 
unpublished.* He not only confirms the accounts given by Tatton, Bontekoe, and Carré, of 
a brevipennate bird in Bourbon, but gives us a clear proof that a second species of the same 
group of birds inhabited that island. Speaking of the land-birds of the island, he 
enumerates, 
1. “ Solitaires: ces oiseaux sont nommés ainsi, parce qu’ils vont toujours seuls. Ils sont gros 
comme une grosse Oye, et ont le plumage blanc, noir 4 |’ extremité des ailes et dela queue. A la 
queue il y a des plumes approchantes de celles d’ Autruche, ils ont le col long, et le bee fait comme 
celui des Bécasses, mais plus gros, les jambes et pieds comme poulets d’ Inde. Cet oiseau se prend & 
la course, ne volant que bien peu. 
2. “ Orseaus bleus, gros comme les So/itaires, ont le plumage tout bleu, le bec et les pieds rouges, 
faits comme pieds de poules, ils ne volent point, mais ils courent extrémement vite, tellement qu’un 
chien a peine d’ en attraper a la course; ils sont trés bons.” ! 
Translation :— 
1. “Solitaires. These birds are so called because they always go alone. They are the size of a 
large Goose, and are white, with the tips of the wings and tail black. The tail feathers resemble those 
of an Ostrich; the neck is long, and the beak is like that of a Woodcock, but larger; the legs and 
feet like those of Turkeys. ‘This bird has recourse to running, as it flies but very little. 
2. “ Oiseaux bleus, the size of Solitaires, have the plumage wholly blue, the beak and feet red, 
resembling the feet of a hen. They do not fly, but they run extremely fast, so that a dog can hardly 
overtake them; they are very good eating.” 
I should have been disposed to refer the ‘Oiseau bleu” to the genus Porphyrio, were 
we not told that they were the size of the Solitaire, i. e., of a large Goose, that the feet 
resembled those of a hen, and that they never fly. Moreover, Bory St. Vincent in his list of 
the Birds of Bourbon (Voy. aux quatre Iles de la Mer d’Afrique, vol. i.), makes no mention 
of any species of Porphyrio. 
It is evident from these statements, 
lst, That Bourbon was formerly inhabited by a brevipennate bird called the Solitaire, 
whose white or light yellow plumage, and Woodcock-like beak proves it to have been 
distinct from the Dodo of Mauritius and from the so-called Solitaire of Rodriguez. 
2ndly, The account given by the Sieur D. B. seems to imply that this bird possessed 
some, though very imperfect, powers of flight; but as Tatton and Bontekoe distinctly assert 
the contrary, we may presume that this statement of the former author was inaccurate. 
And 3rdly, it is clear that a second brevipennate species, the “ Orseaw bleu”’ of Sieur D.B., 
was also a native of Bourbon, though from its speed in running it probably escaped the 
notice of the earlier voyagers. 
5. Of this Ozseau dleu, the only other indication which I have met with is in Rees’ 
Cyclopedia, art. “ Bourson,” where it is stated that in Bourbon there is “a kind of large 
1 This passage was first published in a paper which I communicated to the Zoological Society, Apl. 23, 1844. 
(Proc. Z.S. pt. xii. p. 77.) 
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