Ill 



Ptiloris Victoria, Gould. (Aves, PL XII.) 



Sp. Ch. — Male: general plumage rich deep velvety black, glossed 

 on the upper surface, sides of the neck, chin and breast with plum- 

 colour ; feathers of the head and throat small, scale-like, and of a shining, 

 metallic bronzy green ; feathers of the abdomen very much developed, 

 of the same hue as the upper surface, but each feather so broadly 

 margined with rich deep olive-green, that the colouring of the basal 

 portion of the feather is hidden, and the olive-green forms a broad 

 abdominal band, which is sharply defined above, but irregular below ; 

 two centre tail-feathers rich shining metallic green, the remainder 

 deep black ; bill and feet black. 



Female : all the upper surface greyish brown, tinged with olive ; 

 head and sides of the neck dark brown, striated with greyish brown ; 

 over each eye a superciliary stripe of buff ; wing-feathers edged with 

 ferruginous ; chin and throat pale buff ; remainder of the under sur- 

 face, under wing-coverts, and the base of the inner webs of the quills 

 rich deep reddish buflp, each feather with an irregular spot of brown 

 near the tip, dilated on the flanks into the form of irregidar bars ; 

 bill and feet black. 



Total length, 10|^ inches; bill. If; wing, 5; tail, 3^; tarsi, 1^. 



Hab. Barnard's Isles. 



Remark. — This new species must be placed in the first rank of the 

 many beautiful birds inhabiting Australia ; indeed there are few from 

 any part of the world that can \ie with it in the richness of its colour- 

 ing ; and I cannot possibly have a better opportunity than now pre- 

 sents itself of paying a just tribute of respect to our most gracious 

 Queen, by bestowing upon this lovely denizen of the Australian forests 

 the specific appellation of Victories ; — I say of the Australian forests, 

 for although the specimen from which my description is taken is from 

 the Barnard Isles, within the Barrier Reef and only a few miles from 

 the north-eastern shore of Australia, I have evidence, in the notes of 

 the late Mr. Gilbert, that it inhabits the mainland, since he states 

 therein that the Rifle-bird inhabits the northern as well as the south- 

 em part of Australia ; in which he was in error ; the bird he saw in 

 the northern part of the country being doubtless the one here de- 

 scribed. 



It is very nearly allied to the Ptiloris paradiseus, but is a smaller 

 bird, with a still more gorgeous colouring. It may be distingmshed 

 from that species by the purple of the breast presenting the ap- 

 pearance of a broad pectoral band, bounded above by the scale-like 

 feathers of the throat, and below by the abdominal band of deep oil- 

 green, and also by the broad and lengthened flank-feathers, which 

 show very consjticuously. 



Sphecotheres flaviventris, Gould. 



Sp. Ch. — Male : crown of the head and cheeks glossy black ; orbits, 

 and a narrow space leading to the nostrils naked, and of a light bufly 

 yellow, or flesh-colour ; all the upper surface, wing-coverts, outer webs 

 of the secondaries, and a patch on either side of the chest, olive-green ; 

 chin, chest, abdomen and flanks beautiful yellow ; vent and under 



