to the other ; we soon saw the bird with a piece of moss in her mouth, which she kept dropping and 
catching again before it reached the ground; but after we had remained quiet for some time she darted 
into the scrub near to Mr. Barnard, and a few minutes afterwards he came round to where I was stationed 
and asked me to look in the crown of the pandanus palm under which we had our meals and kept our 
luggage. On going carefully round I saw the head of the bird as she sat on her nest, but the nest itself was 
so well hidden that it could not be seen ; yet it was only nine feet from the ground. The tree was about 
six feet from our humpy, so every time we had returned to our meals we must have frightened her off the 
nest into the scrub, which accounts for our having heard and seen her so often ; but she sat very close the 
second day, and was evidently getting used to us. We did not disturb her that night, and presumed she 
would have three eggs, and discussed what would be done with the odd one ; but next evening, when we 
took the nest, we found there was only one egg in it, and on blowing it found that it had been sat upon 
for about a week, and that when the bird was carrying about the material in her beak, and making us think 
she was only building, it must have been with the intention of misleading us.” 
Adult male. Above velvety black, appearing rich purple against the light ; wing-coverts coloured like the 
back ; quills black, externally glossed with deep purple, the secondaries entirely of this colour ; tail rich 
velvety purple, the two centre feathers metallic steel-green ; head metallic steel-green with a coppery gloss, 
inclining to steel-blue on the nape; sides of face, sides of neck, and throat velvety purple, with a strong gloss 
of fiery copper on the chin and sides of the throat ; a triangular shield of metallic green slightly shaded 
with purple extending from the upper part of the throat and occupying all the fore neck ; entire fore neck 
and chest rich velvety purple, the lower plumes tipped with oily green ; rest of under surface of body oily 
green, all the feathers with concealed velvety black bases; under wing-coverts purple, the lower surface of 
the wings and tail blue-black ; bill and legs black. Total length 10 inches, culmen T5, wing 5’3, tail 3‘3, 
tarsus T4. 
Adult female. General colour above ashy brown, the head rather more dusky, all the feathers narrowly 
streaked with fulvous, as also the sides of the neck ; lores and ear-coverts also brown, narrowly streaked 
with whitish ; from above the fore part of the eye a broad fulvous line of feathers running above the ear- 
coverts and forming a distinct eyebrow ; cheeks and chin huffy white, the throat and underparts of the body 
fawn-colour, spotted on the breast and barred on the flanks with dark brown ; under wing- and tail-coverts 
uniform fawn-colour; wing-coverts above ashy brown like the back, the outermost of the greater series and 
the primary-coverts externally washed with orange-chestnut; quills brown, externally washed with olive, 
inclining to orange-chestnut towards the ends of the quills; tail olive-brown. Total length 9 inches, 
culmen T5, wing 4'9, tail 3 2, tarsus T4. 
The figures are drawn from the typical specimens in the British Museum, and the descriptions are taken 
from the same birds. 
