70



Rare Fo?'eign Birds at the Crystal Palace.


Cardinal ( Paroaria cervicalis'), and Messrs. Thwaites and Lloyd

sent a very nice specimen of the Crested Himalayan Bunting

(.Meloplms melanicterus'), a well-known species, but one that we

never remember to have seen on the show-bench before.


The class for Tanagers contained several gems. Mr.

Frostick sent an absolutely perfect specimen of the shrike-like

Magpie Tanager ( Cissopis leveriana ) and another which looked

like Tanaora palmarum, Mr. Housden the rare Yellow-billed

Tanager ( Saltator aurantiirostris) , and Mr. Townsend a Tricolor

( Calliste tricolor ) and a Yellow Tanager (C. /lava'). A very

perfect Blue Sugar-bird ( Dacnis caya?ia ) was shown by Mr. J. A.

Swan.


Mr. Russell Hutnphrys’ magnificent Rufous-bellied Niltava

Flycatcher (figured in our last number) was quite perfect; and

it would be hard to imagine a more beautiful bird.


Amongst other birds, less noteworthy than the above, but

still of some rarity, may be mentioned Brown’s Parrakeet

( Platycercus browni), the Tui Parrakeet ( Brotogerys tui ), Yellow-

Sparrow ( Passer luteus), Rufous-tailed Grassfinch ( Bathilda

rudcauda). Red-faced Finch ( Zonogastris melba), Wiener’s

Waxbill (. Pytelia afro), Black-rumped Bicheno Finch ( Stictoptera

annulosa ), Parrot-finch (. Erythntra psittaced), Pintail-Nonpareil

(A. prasina), Desert Trumpeter Bullfinch (. Erythrospiza

githaginea ), Blue-winged Chloropsis ( Chloropsis hardwickii ),

Superb Tanager {Calliste fastiiosa ), Andaman Starling (Poliopsar

andamanensis), Red-headed Hangnest (Amblyrhamphus holoser-

iceus'). Aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus'), and Yellow-backed

Why dak (Coliopasser macrurus').


It is not the intention of the present writer to criticise the

judging, except to remark that most of the rarest exhibits were

absolutely ignored, and in one or two cases the leading awards

were bestowed on quite common and comparatively worthless

birds. D. S.-S.



