1891.] ON NEW PARROTS OF THE GENUS PLATYCERCUS. 129 



nearly allied than to any other existing suborder of birds. One 

 good genus of linking forms, at least, is the South-American 

 Picumnus, as Parker has already shown ; and Parker believed that 

 the Pici '• have a Passerine foundation." 



I here venture to state that as our knowledge of the morphology 

 of Aves becomes more perfect, the fact will be appreciated that the 

 Pici and the Passeres are divergent groups from a common stock in 

 time ; and that the former have simply become highly specialized and 

 modified in accordance with their mode of life and habits. This 

 common stock Fiirbringer has referred to as the 'Pico-Passeriformes,' 

 and the root-stock just prior to the divergence the ' Pico-Passeres,' 

 which latter he again subdivides into his families. This also appears 

 to be in keeping with our present knowledge of the subject, and what 

 the osteology of the groups in question seems to indicate. 



2. Descriptions of two new Species of Parrots of the Genus 

 Platycercus. By T. Salvadori, C.M.Z.S. 



[Eeceived February 2, 1891,] 

 (Plate XII.) 



1. Platycercus xanthogenys, sp. nov. 



Head, sides of the neck, and all the under surface dull scarlet ; 

 the feathers of the breast and abdomen with narrow pale yellow edges ; 

 cheeks pale yellow ; feathers of the nape and back black, bordered 

 with red ; feathers of the rump and upper tail-coveits also black, 

 broadly margined with olive-grey, the longest upper tail-coverts 

 stained with red at the tip ; a black patch on the upper wing-coverts, 

 the exterior ones from the bend of the wing down to the primary- 

 coverts and also the base of the outer webs of the primaries blue ; 

 inner greater wing-coverts and inner secondaries with grey edges, 

 stained with yellowish or reddish ; under wing-coverts blue ; quills 

 underneath black ; sides of the body tinged with yellowish ; thighs 

 grey ; central tail-feathers dull blue, the next pair of tail-feathers 

 blue, brighter on the outer webs and tipped with white, the remaining 

 tail-feathers light blue tipped with white and with the basal portion 

 deep blue ; bill horn-colour ; feet brown. Total length 12-5 inches, 

 wing 5"45, tail 6, bill 0-56, tarsus 0"63, 



Hab. Unrecorded, but no doubt Australia. 



This species is nearly allied to P. icterotis (Temm.), from which it 

 differs in being larger and in having the cheeks of a paler yellow, the 

 feathers of the back edged with red, the rump-feathers and upper 

 tail-coverts edged with greyish olive, and the central tail-feathers blue, 

 with no green. There are also other minor differences. 



The type of this species, formerly in Gould's collection, is now in 

 the British Museum ; unfortunately it has no original label. 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1891, No. IX. 9 



