147



There are in the Indian Museum several specimens of P.

atrigula showing an admixture of yellow with the buff of the

breast, some of them procured by myself in Calcutta alive and

kept so for a time to see if they would develop more of the

yellow colouring—which they did not. Had I remembered this

when I looked up P. megarhynchus and found that the types were

in winter plumage and had been united with P. atrigula by the

distinguished authors of the volumes of the “Fauna” and the

“ Catalogue ” above quoted, I might have escaped following their

very pardonable mistake which suppressed this magnificent

species, by far the finest of the Asiatic Weavers.


Excluding, then, the two very easily distinguishable

species P. bengalensis and P. manyar , typical males in summer

plumage, of the remaining species, may be distinguished as

follows :—


Size largest; entire under-surface yellow, . . P. megarhynchus.

,, smaller ; throat dull blackish ; breast buff, P. atrigula.


,, smallest; throat dull black ; breast yellow,


abdomen white . . .. . . P. baya.


For the distinction of males in undress and females size will be

the best guide, though this may not be very reliable in view of

probable occurrence of many intermediate specimens.



NOTES ON THE ST. VINCENT PARROT.


f Chrysotis guildingi J.


By Mrs. H. E. Thompson.


I have lived for five years in the West Indian island of St.

Vincent, the home of the Chrysotis gitildingi , but my personal

acquaintance with the bird dates only from the time of the great

hurricane of Sept., 189S. Before that, I had, when camping out

with my husband at the head of a remote valleyq heard the curious

harsh cries of the Parrots, when they came down in the early

morning from the high ground to feed, and just seen a glance of

brown and orange wings in the trees. But the terrible destruction

of the high woods caused by the great storm drove the birds

to lower ground and even into the cultivated parts round the

villages to find food, and so weak were they from hunger and

from the battle they must have fought with the wind, that a

considerable number were easily caught by the natives, some of

which were, I fear, eaten as very acceptable fare in that time of

distress and starvation. Two of these Parrots came into my

hands. They were very weak, but they' were uninjured, and to



