52 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



In 1889 the Government of Mauritius appointed a Com- 

 mission to inquire into the "Souvenirs Historiques" of the 

 island. Under the able direction of Mr. Theodore Sauzier, the 

 party continued the exploration of the marshy Mare aux 

 Songes, which had already yielded many Dodo relics to pre- 

 vious workers. A considerable number of valuable specimens 

 rewarded the industry of the Commission. Bones of the extinct 

 Parrot (or rather Cockatoo), Lophopsittacus mauritianus, were 

 unearthed, together with relics of the Fulica newtoni, and many 

 other species. Ornithologists may perhaps remember this 

 exploration from the magnificent Dodo skeleton then obtained, 

 perhaps the finest in the world. ■ Our present interest, how- 

 ever, centres on the fact that amongst the remains were the 

 bones of a bird believed to be the Pigeon Hollandais. Thus 

 associated with the vanished Dodo and Mauritius Cockatoo, 

 perhaps the Alectoroenas was itself already on the wane. Un- 

 known natural causes may have been working its downfall long 

 before the day of Sonnerat and Dufresne. 



Una avulso, non deficit alter. The Pigeon Hollandais lives 

 again, Phoenix-like, in its near relation, the Alectoroenas pulcher- 

 rima of the Seychelles. Indeed, the Seychelles bird is now 

 actually called the Pigeon Hollandais ! This understudy cer- 

 tainly bears some likeness to its lamented cousin. Grey on 

 neck and breast, the pulcherrima has the upper parts and tail 

 black shot with blue ; a crimson patch decorates the crown of 

 the head, and the orbits, lores, and forehead are bedecked with 

 wattles. 



Long may the Seychelles Pigeon flourish, and may it escape 

 the fate which has overtaken its predecessor in the title ! Man 

 has exterminated the Labrador Duck, the Spectacled Cormorant 

 of the Aleutian Islands, and the Black Emeu. During the last 

 five years the greed of the museum collector has all but finished 

 the Chatham Island Eail. The enlightened action of the New 

 Zealand Government in establishing a bird sanctuary in Dusky 

 Sound will appeal to all nature lovers, while in the three museums 

 of Edinburgh, Paris, and Port Louis the remains of Alectoroenas 

 nitidissima plead silently yet unceasingly the cause of bird 

 protection. 



