354 WATGIOU. [chap. XXXVI. 



and the feathers are elongated on the forehead into two 

 little erectile crests. The side plumes are shorter, but are 

 of a rich red colour, terminating in delicate white points, 

 and the middle tail-feathers are represented by two long 

 rigid glossy ribands, which are black, thin, and semi- 

 cylindrical, and droop gracefully in a spiral curve. Several 

 other interesting birds were obtained, and about half-a- 

 dozen quite new ones ; but none of any remarkable beauty, 

 except the lovely little dove, Ptilonopus pulchellus, which 

 with several other pigeons I shot on the same fig-tree 

 close to my house. It is of a beautiful green colour above, 

 with a forehead of the richest crimson, while beneath it 

 is ashy white and rich yellow, banded with violet red. 



On the evening of our arrival at Muka I observed what 

 appeared like a display of Aurora Borealis, though I could 

 hardly believe that this was possible at a point a little 

 south of the equator. The night was clear and calm, and 

 the northern sky presented a diffused light, with a constant 

 succession of faint vertical flashings or flickerings, exactly 

 similar to an ordinary aurora in England. The next day 

 was fine, hut after that the weather was unprecedentedly 

 bad, considering that it ought to have been the dry 

 monsoon. For near a month we had wet weather ; the sun 

 either not appearing at all, or only for an hour or two 

 about noon. Morning and evening, as well as nearly all 

 night, it rained or drizzled, and boisterous winds, with dark 



