250 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



specimens which I have had alive had the bill orange, tipped 

 with dark brown ; iris purple, with pale ochreous eyelid ; feet 

 pink. In the Bleeding-heart Pigeon the irides have been de- 

 scribed as dark brown, but when closely examined they are seen 

 to be plum-coloured. 



But it is not only in the soft parts that errors have crept into 

 scientific descriptions and illustrations. The feathers on the 

 head are often taken liberties with. In vol. xiii. of the ' British 

 Museum Catalogue of Birds ' the artist has represented the head 

 of the Crested Mynah (Acriclotheres cristatellns) with a crest from 

 the middle of the bill to the nape, whereas in life the crest begins 

 at the outer third of the bill, and terminates on the forehead ; 

 the feathers of the crown lie perfectly flat and smooth, nor can 

 they be erected* In like manner the plate in vol. xii. illustrating 

 the species of Paroaria is entirely incorrect, P. cucullata being 

 the only Crested Grey Cardinal, all the others, in life, having 

 perfectly smooth heads ; moreover, the Crested Cardinal has its 

 crest far more erect in life than in the illustration. I always 

 think it a mistake for taxidermists, when preparing skins of 

 crested birds, to fasten back and dry the crests in an unnatural 

 position; it must be most misleading for artists, if not for 

 describers. I have alwaj's insisted upon having the crests of my 

 dead birds left standing as in life. 



Touching young plumages and seasonal changes of plumage, 

 with the manner in which these changes are contrived, the 

 aviculturist is in a position to be of great use to the systematist. 

 The young of quite common birds are often wanting, even in the 

 best collections of skins, or are imperfectly represented. Thus I 

 found that my late colleague, Dr. Sharpe, was glad to have young 

 examples of the Saffron -Finch (Sy calls flaveola), with the ages 

 attached; whilst very young skins of the Zebra-Finch (Tcenio- 

 pygia castanotis) were in great request, the description of the 

 young having been necessarily omitted from the Catalogue for 

 lack of material. I believe that young examples of the Gouldian 

 Finch (Poephila mirabilis) in the green and grey plumage are still 

 in request, and I hope that any who are successful in breeding 



* Such errors are unavoidable when the skins of crested birds are not 

 left as in life, but are strapped down by the taxidermist. 



