EYEBROWED ROLLULUS. Rollulus superciliosus. 



PLATE XVI. 



Inhabits India ? 



This interesting species has not hitherto been described. It forms a peculiar section in the genus, 

 which may be characterized by the small size and slenderness of the beak, and the absence of the occipital 

 crest. 



The male is dark olive, beneath dark bluish grey ; cheeks and underpart of head black ; forehead and 

 streak over the orbits and on the side of the cheek white ; vent blackish white-spotted ; beak and feet 

 yellow. 



The female brown ; feathers of the side of the crown and upper part of the body with an ovate acute 

 black spot near the middle of the end ; bill and feet yellow. 



The following remarks on the breeding of Gallinaceous Birds at Knowsley are extracted from Lord 

 Derby's Notes : — 



" We have about eighty-five Silver and about as many Gold Pheasants hatched." — 1845. 



" I have a Silver and a Gold Hen Pheasant, both sitting on her own eggs, laid out wild." — May 23, 1845. 



My Argus Pheasant went off in a fit yesterday, and died." — March 1, 1846. 

 " In one of your recent notes you expressed a wish to have some of our casualties, in case I did not 

 require them for myself ; and as you have also taken an interest in my Firebacks, you will be glad to know 

 that the first two eggs of this season which have been set have each proved fruitful, and I have now one very 

 promising young chick, which is going on quite well. They were hatched on Sunday, but one has died, 

 as we believe, trodden on by the nurse. These were among your desiderata; and as I have both the egg 

 and chicken already, I have directed John to send this dead one up to you. These are not, I believe you 

 are aware, the first that have been hatched, as we succeeded in bringing out some few last year, but they all 

 died. I trust now we shall succeed in rearing this, and we have eight more eggs to come out still, which 

 we have good hopes from. You probably recollect that I have but one hen and two cocks, but I cannot 

 feel at all assured that these latter are both of the same kind, though certainly very nearly allied, if they 

 are different. We thought at first that the differences were from age, but they both continue without 

 change as they were at first." 



" I am sorry that I have very bad news to communicate to you : yesterday we lost the streak-sided male 

 of the Firebacks very suddenly, and in rather an odd way. You will recollect, perhaps, that they were 

 stationed in a part divided off from another portion of the New Aviary, in which were some of our Curas- 

 sows and other Gallinaceous birds. It is supposed that he had been fighting at some of them through the 

 partition, and so furiously, that he tore off his spurs, and died in a very short time. The female has laid 

 two eggs ; and though the other male still remains, I cannot help fearing this will cause great interruption 

 to our hopes and to her going on properly. This is sadly provoking." — May 19, 1845. 



" Of the Fireback we have seven eggs set, for she has laid since the old cock's death, and is on very 

 good terms with the remaining male." — May 23, 1845. 



" I trust the Firebacks will breed : we have now eight eggs, and seven of them set already ; besides 

 which, recollect, we have still the other smaller cock, with which the hen breeds as well as with her late 

 larger mate."— May 31, 1845. 



" You will also I hope have received a young Fireback Pheasant, as all my four have very recently died 

 blind. I kept a pair for myself, and have sent for the British Museum one of the males : they were begin- 

 ning, you will see, to advance towards the dress of age, and what I sent you before was only a chick." 



" We have also some Fireback eggs under incubation, but these are got by the smaller male, your 

 brown-sided. Will there be a cross between the two species, or are the three adult birds only two 

 varieties ?" — June 6, 1845. 



" You will be glad to know that the young Firebacks are doing beautifully. We have now, I think, four 

 living out of five hatched, only one having died. One will be three weeks old tomorrow, two a fortnight, 

 and one a week. The cock you call the brown-sided is the one we have bred from this year, and he seems 

 to have done his duty well, as we may say but one egg has proved addle or dead in shell out of ten, cer- 

 tainly out of six, and we know there are chicks in those still under incubation." — July 13, 1845. 



" My Firebacks have this year laid fourteen eggs, of which five have been set, in every one of which 

 there was a young one. Of these I have two very promising chicks, but the last three have been all dead 

 in the shell."— July 2, 1846. 



*' I have been with John today, instead of going to the course, inspecting our stock, and find we have 

 now five young Firebacks of this year, but one is a cripple or is cramped, and the others all promise well." 

 —July 16, 1846. 



"We have now four young Firebacks living of this year, besides two young cocks of last season."- — 

 July 21, 1846. 



" I received last night a letter from a friend in Belize, who has, by an Indian whom he despatched for 

 the purpose into the country where the Meleagris ocellata chiefly dwells, succeeded in procuring four living 



