124 Dr - A - **• Butler,


moult elsewhere. I extracted some and found them identical

with corresponding breast feathers of an adult hen. There is no

change of colour here.


Evidently the assumption of the adult plumage is a very

slow process as compared with M. flaviprymna, and, iu fine, I

think we may say that, as with the adults, so in the case of the

young, these two species show equally remarkable similarities

and dissimilarities.



DESCRIPTION OF NESTLING GOULDIAN FINCHES.

By Dr. A. G. Butler.


Owing to the fact that I left my Gouldian and several

other Australian finches out-of-doors until December 21st, I

lost one of my Ringed-finches and a young Gouldian-finch :

the cold they did not mind in the least, but the frequent rains

and morning fogs were too much for them.*


As no accurate description has hitherto been published

to my knowledge, of the first plumage of Poephila mirabilis and

I have the dead body before me now, I think it well to note

its colouring.


The blue metallic warts at the base of the bill are retained

for a month or two after the young bird leaves the nest, but have

disappeared from the specimen before me which flew either on

the 12th or 14th September; in this specimen also the upper

tail-coverts are just beginning to assume their adult peacock-

green colouring, of which there is no trace when the bird leaves

the nest: otherwise the infant-plumage is retained. Upper

surface ash-grey washed with olive-green, the forehead darker

grey, inner webs of flights and inner portion of outer webs of

primaries dark smoke-grey ; central tail feathers blackish

towards the tips, outer feathers grey, the remainder with grey

inner webs : sides of face whitey-brown with a faint olivaceous

tinge, cheeks slightly browner, chin whitish with barely

perceptible tinge of olive at the sides; breast pale dove-brown ;

abdomen white, slightly washed with golden buff at the sides ;


* The Ringed-finch, however, was probably killed by a Yellow-rump as all one

side of its face was bare of feathers.



