268 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



Form. — About the size of G. amea. No frontal knob; bill moderate, 

 rather slender ; wings with the second and third quills longest, 

 and nearly equal ; tail rather long, consisting of fourteen feathers; 

 legs moderate, or rather strong ; upper half of tarsus feathered ; 

 lower half presenting in front three or four wide, transverse scales. 

 Claws strong, compressed, curved. 



Dimensions. — Total length about fifteen and one-half inches ; wing, 

 nine and one-half inches ; tail, nine and one-half inches. 



Colors. — Under coverts of the tail light cinereous. Head, neck, and 

 entire under parts purplish, cinereous, or vinaceous, darker, and 

 with the purple most distinct on the top of the head, the breast, 

 and the abdomen, the cinereous mingling gradually with the darker 

 color of the back, which, with the rump, wings, and tail, are dark, 

 ashy brown, with a green, metallic lustre, most brilliant on the 

 tail. Under wing-coverts light cinereous ; under surface of the tail 

 light glaucous, ashy. Bill and feet light-colored. 



Hab. — Mangsi, Sooloo Islands. Spec, in Coll. Exp. Exp. Wash- 

 ington City. 



This is a species resembling Carpopliaga amea, a well-known bird of 

 the large islands of the Malay Archipelago, and intimately allied to it 

 in general characters. It differs, however, in having the under tail- 

 coverts light cinereous, instead of dark chestnut ; the wings and tail 

 are longer, and in size it appears to be rather larger. It is possible, 

 also, that it is the bird described by the Prince Bonaparte as Garipo- 

 phaga cliaJyhum, as above cited, but does not present the characters 

 relied on by that distinguished author, and comes from a different 

 group of islands. 



The only specimens of this bird that we have ever seen, are in the 

 collection of the Expedition, and are from the Sooloo Islands. We 

 have represented the adult male in our plate rather smaller than the 

 natural size. 



Mr. Peale observes with reference to this species : 

 " This species was seen in abundance at Mangsi, one of the Sooloo 

 Islands. Its cry is a single hoot, repeated at intervals ; and when our 



