lxvii j Vol. x. 



[The following is a brief abstract of the exhibits at the 

 Meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club on April 25, 

 1900.— R. B. S.] 



Mr. Ernst Hartert exhibited, on behalf of the Hon. 

 Walter Rothschild (who was, to his great regret, unable to 

 be present at the Meeting), a very large selection of the 

 numerous albinos, melanisrns, and other colour-variations in 

 the Tring Museum. He explained that he had tried to exhibit 

 as many species as possible, but of nearly all the common 

 European birds, especially of the Passeres, there were many 

 more examples of colour-variation in Mr. Rothschild's 

 Museum. The most interesting and the most different types 

 of varieties were, however, exhibited on the present occasion. 

 Mr. Rothschild wished to call attention to the fact that 

 nearly all, if not all, green birds showed yellow varieties ; 

 for example, all the green Parrots. The grey Parrot, on 

 the other hand, had white varieties. In the Chlorodrepanis 

 of the Sandwich Islands, and even in the green portions of 

 the plumage of other birds, yellow varieties predominated, 

 instead of white, in albinistic individuals, as shown by various 

 specimens on view. This seemed to suggest that the yellow 

 pigment was extremely strong, and the same might be said 

 of the red colouring, inasmuch as it often remained quite 

 normal or only became paler in otherwise quite albinistic 

 specimens (cf. the albino grey Parrot with a red tail, the 

 white Bullffinches with red under surface, the Texan 

 Cardinal, Rhamphoccelus brasilius, and others). There 

 wei'e, of course, also exceptions, as exhibited by the grey 

 Parrot now deposited by Mr. Rothschild in the Zoological 

 Gardens, which had its normal grey plumage, but had a 

 white tail. 



Mr. Hartert further called attention to the vital difference 

 between true albinos, which w r ere born white, and in 

 [May 31st, 1900.] a vol. x . 



