70 



part of back, rump, and upper tail-coverts of a beautiful bronzy-green, shaded with brown, the colours 

 having a slightly wavy appearance and the surface of the plumage changing in certain lights ; the outer 

 primaries and their coverts intense indigo-blue, the inner primaries showing a little mixture of green ; 

 the scapulars of a rich bronzy-green changing to blue along the shafts ; under surface of quills dull 

 black ; tail feathers dull bronzy-green ; under tail-coverts pure white, forming a conspicuous tuft of 

 broad, incurved feathers. 



The specimen gave the following measurements : — Extreme length 22 in. ; wing from flexure 10 in. ; 

 tail 4*75 in. ; culmen (measuring from outer edge of frontal shield to tip of upper mandible) 3*25 in. ; 

 along the edge of lower mandible 2 in. ; tarsus 3"5 in. ; middle toe and claw 3'5 in. ; hind toe and 

 claw 1*5 in. 



Obs. Although a comparatively young bird, the claws are much worn at the tips, indicating scratching 

 habits on the part of this species. The bill, too, is a little worn and flaky towards the tip. The frontal shield 

 measures 1 in. in its widest part, and extends three-quarters of an inch above the bill, the greatest depth 

 of which is 1*75 in. As will be seen above, the middle toe is of the same length as the tarsus ; the inner toe 

 measures (with claw) 2*80 in. and the outer 2*75 in. The tarsus presents a series of twelve anterior scutes. 

 The blue of the upper parts is least intense on the vertex and sides of the head, the plumage of these parts 

 being in reality indigo-black. The bright colours change according to the point of view. Seen from the 

 front, the blue takes on a lovely sapphire hue ; looked at from behind it is duller, whilst the bronzy-green of 

 the back is decidedly browner, and is without the metallic glint which characterizes it when viewed from the 

 side. The irides are said to have been bright red in the bird when freshly killed. 



This example does not exhibit the crescents on the wing coverts. As mounted, it is a fine, thickset, 

 upstanding bird, Mr. Jennings having copied the attitude represented in the ' Birds of New Zealand.' 



Professor Benham, with the fresh specimen before him, writes : " The colour of the 

 beak is not uniform. The base is red, much more scarlet than in the pictures either of the 

 first or second edition of Buller. Not only is the soft frontal plate red, but this colour ex- 

 tends along the upper surface of the horny beak itself for a distance of 1^ in. ; also, down 

 the sides, in front of the eye, to a distance of i in. ; and along the lower jaw for nearly 

 the same extent. Thus the whole base is bright red. This tint then fades into a dull 

 reddish-pink, which extends to the tip ; but immediately in front of the red base is a band 

 of much paler pink, imperceptibly deepening in tone towards the tip. . . . On the foot 

 and leg the scales are reddish-pink — the same colour as the greater part of the beak— 

 without any trace of orange, such as is shown in the figure in the second edition, while 

 the colour is a brighter red than in that of the first edition. . . . 



" A comparison of the plate in the second edition with the bird itself, freshly killed, 

 and with our oil-paintings, done from the Dresden specimen when it arrived in Dunedin, 

 shows very considerable differences. The colour in the plate is not that rich indigo-blue 

 characteristic of the bird when seen from in front, with the light well on it, but a dull 

 greyish-blue, which does not do justice to the bird's beauty. The wings, again, are not 

 uniformly green, but varied, as is correctly represented in the first edition. The long quills 

 are dark-blue, like the breast, but scarcely so rich in tone ; and the major coverts of the 

 primaries are olive-green or, rather, bronzy-green, like the back. There is a broad band of 

 the same tint across the base of the wing. Each individual quill has the lower part of the 

 vane blue, its upper part brownish, or, in some lights, nearly black. The tail-feathers have 

 not brown shafts nor are they dark brown below. I am here only calling attention to defects 

 in the drawing, for nothing can be added to Buller's careful description beyond the expression 

 of opinion that ' purplish-blue ' does not seem to me quite the right term. I have called it 

 ' indigo-blue,' as it appears to me that the colour is a pure rich blue." 



In reference to this my artist, Mr. Keulemans, writes me : " The Professor is certainly 

 wrong in calling it a rich indigo-blue, for indigo is a dull, not a rich blue. I think he 

 should have said ' deep cobalt.' In fact, the proper name for that colour is peacock-blue, 

 but this is a shop-name and scarcely admissible into scientific description." 



