FINCHES OF THE GENUS PO^PHILA. 



97 



not, however, come across any more specimens of either species 

 until the 16th of February last, when I had the good fortune to 

 see a flock of twelve P. mirabilis close to the native-police bar- 

 racks. I secured three males and one female, and could easily 

 have shot every one of the flock; but noticing a female carrying 

 a long piece of dry grass, I at once desisted, being most anxious 

 to watch their nidification and to secure the full-fledged young. 



All these birds had black heads, the female being easily distin- 

 guishable by the plumage being much less bright than that of the 

 male bird — the line of metallic blue which divides the black from 

 the purple on the throat being clearly defined in the male, w^hereas 

 in a female now before me the black throat-feathers are conti- 

 nued to the breast, being only tipped with blue, the breast is a 

 pale peach-bloom colour, and not of the same rich plum as that of 

 the male, and, lastly, the elongated central tail-feathers are 

 much shorter in the female. In the specimen now before me 

 these feathers do not exceed the other tail-feathers more than half 

 an inch. 



The elongated feathers of three males now before me measure 

 respectively 2 J, 2|, and 2| inches in length. The two central tail- 

 feathers of my female specimen measure 1^ inch in length. The 

 two outer tail-feathers, one on each side of the elongated ones, 

 have the shafts slightly lengthened, J of an inch. 



I have five male specimens of P. Gouldice before me at this 

 moment, all of which were shot by myself since the ]6th of 

 February last. 



None of this series difi'er in even the slighest degree in colour- 

 ing, and only very little in the length of the central tail-feathers. 



The length of these is as follows : — No. 1, 2-1- inches ; No. 2, 2 j 

 inches ; No. 3, 2-^ inches ; No. 4, 2-^ inches ; No. 5, 1^ inch (not 

 in full plumage). Two females : — No. 1, 2 inches ; No. 2, 2 inches. 



I find, on comparing the females of both species together, that 

 the blue line between the black feathers of the throat and the pale 

 peach-bloom ones of the breast is more distinct in P. Gouldice 

 than in P. mirahilis ; and, if possible, P. Gouldice is a less highly 

 coloured bird than P. mirahilis. Mr. Gould omitted the long 

 central tail-feathers in his P. Gouldice, which, however, are 

 constant. The next two feathers from the two central ones iu 

 P. Gouldice have not the shafts quite so much elongated as in P. 

 mirahilis in my specimens. 



I have thus distinct evidence of sex in five specimens ( d ) of P. 



LINN. JOTJEN. ZOOLOGY, VOL. XIV. 7 



