VISCOUNT WALDEN ON THE BIRDS OE CELEBES. 31 



p. 319). Dr. O. Finsch (I. c. p. 298), on the contrary, says that he has seen undoubted 

 Celebean examples with the iris almost black. Mr. G. R. Gray (Hand-list, no. 8395) 

 enumerates C. cequatorialis, Temm., as the title of a second Celebean species of Cacatua : 

 Temminck's title was given in fact to C. sulphured (Gm.), and there is no evidence of 

 two species of Cockatoo occurring in Celebes. 



PSITTACID^E. 



Tanygjstathus, Wagler. 

 2. Tantgnathus mulleri (S. Miiller & Schlegel), Verhandl. Land- en Volkenk. p. 108, 

 " Celebes " (1839). 



Psittacus sumatranus, Raffles, Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 281, "Sumatra" (1822). 

 Tanygnathus albirostris, Wallace, P. Z. S. 1862, p. 336, "Celebes and Sula Islands." 

 Eclectus mulleri (Temm.), O. Einsch, Papag. p. 357; Schlegel, Nederl. Tijdschr. 1866, p. 185. 



Hab. Macassar, Menado, Sula Islands {Wallace); Sanghir Islands (Schlegel); Sama 

 Island (Cuming). 



Professor Schlegel and Dr. O. Finsch affirm that the white-billed form (T. albirostris) 

 represents only a phase of colouring, and is not a species distinct from the red-billed 

 T. mulleri. The evidence which they have produced in support of this view (O. Finsch, 

 Papag. ii. p. 361) is strong; and examples of both forms in my own collection appear 

 to belong to the same species. Mr. Wallace, on the other hand, maintains that the two 

 birds are distinct species, and recently has written to me that " T. albirostris is certainly 

 distinct.'' While Dr. O. Finsch (I. c.) states that he has seen living examples in the 

 Amsterdam Zoological Gardens with the white bill passiug into the red bill of T. 

 mulleri, Mr. Wallace informs us (I. c.) that the cry of T. albirostris is different from that 

 of T. mulleri, and that the white-billed form " is universally recognized by the natives 

 of Celebes as another bird." Between the highest authority on the Psittaci and the 

 greatest field-naturalist of the day it is difficult to decide ; and we must leave the ques- 

 tion open for further investigation. 



If the white-billed species prove distinct, it will have in strictness to take the title 

 of sumatranus of Raffles. And if both forms prove to be the same species, the iitle 

 of mulleri will have to fall. In his remarks on Raffles's title, Dr. O. Finsch (I. c.) has 

 somewhat misunderstood Sir Stamford's words. That author distinctly left it to be 

 understood that his P. sumatranus was an indigenous Sumatran species. That it is not 

 an inhabitant of Sumatra seems to be quite established. 



