BIRDS. 47 



The figure is about half the natural size. 



"The Cocos Island here indicated, is that situated in the vicinity of the Bay 

 of Panama, but still at some distance from the main land. It consists of moun- 

 tainous land, a few miles only in circumference, and having- been constantly 

 exposed to a warm and moist atmosphere, it exhibits a most luxuriant tropical 

 vegetation. This latter is a fragment from the continent, and possesses nothing 

 to distinguish it except its great luxuriance, and the present new bird is almost 

 without exception the only novelty our exertions here provided us with. The only 

 available indigenous productions of the island are cocoa-nuts ; and previous 

 voyagers having left some pigs and goats, they have multiplied in the higher land, 

 particularly the latter. Several attempts that have been made to introduce tropical 

 fruits have met with little success, though we were sanguine that some pine apples 

 and water-melons planted by ourselves would succeed." — Ed. 



Family— TETRAONID^. 



Pterocles personatus. Gould. 



Plate XXX. 

 Pterocles personatus, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part XI. p. 15. 



Spec. char. Mas. Pter. plumis a basi rostri, usque ad oculos, intense nigris ; capitis 

 rcliquis partibus, collo, et pectore arenaceo-cervinis, non sine tincture/ vinosd ad 

 basin colli; dorso viuoso-Jusco ; caudce tectricibus pallidefuscis, notis irregularibus 

 cervinis per plumas in lineis obliquis ordinatis, crebre guttatis. 



Fasmina facie nigra caret. 



Male. — Feathers surrounding the base of the bill, as far as the eyes, deep velvety black ; remain- 

 der of the head, as well as the neck and chest, sandy buff, tinged with vinous at the base 

 of the neck, both above and below ; back vinous brown ; wings sandy buff, the coverts 

 tipped with dark brown, which colour forms three semicircular fascia? across the wing . 

 primaries and secondaries dark brown, the latter marked irregularly with sandy buff on 

 the basal half of their outer margins ; rump and upper tail-coverts light brown, with 

 numerous irregular marks of buff, arranged in oblique lines down the length of the fea- 

 thers ; tail-feathers deep brown, crossed on their outer webs with decided, and on the 

 inner with irregular bars of buff, all the feathers largely tipped with huffy white, all the 

 under surface crossed with small bars of dark brown, light brown, and buff; under tail- 

 coverts sandy buff. 



Female. — Differs in not having the black face, in having all the upper as well as the under sur- 

 face of the body barred like the latter part in the male ; the wings numerously barred with 

 brown, and the under tail-coverts sandy red. 



