( 24 6 ) 
This curious Bird was brought from 
the Iiland of Ceylon by my worthy friend 
John Gideon Loten, Elq; and is now 
preferved in the Britifh Mufeum. Briffon 
calls it Gobe-mouche Hupe, and fays it is 
from the Cape of Good Hope : but his 
figure is certainly imperfedf, in wanting 
the two extraordinary long feathers in the 
tail. I believe it is natural for fome Birds 
that have thofe extreme long feathers in 
their tail to be without them for fix months 
in the year. I know it is fo in refpedl to 
the Widdow, or Red-brea(led Long-tailed 
Finch, figured in my Hiftory of Birds, 
Pla. 86. for many of them have molted 
for feveral years in London, and have 
changed into quite other coloured Birds, 
and been without the long feathers for fix 
months, when their tails have again ap- 
peared. See Bri (Ton’s figure, in his Or- 
nithology, Vol. II. Tab. xli. Fig. 1. and 
his defcription, P. 418. Briffon’s Gobe- 
mouche Blanc Hupe, P. 414. of the fame 
Vol. is. certainly the male of the other. 
Our countryman Robert Knox, in his 
Hilfory of Ceylon, Lond. 1681. has briefly 
defcribed thefie Birds. P. 27, he fays, 
“ Flere are 1'rnall Birds, not much bigger 
** than Sparrows, very lovely to look on, 
“ but I think good for nothing elfe ; fome 
“ being in colour white like finow,, and 
“ their tails about a foot in length, and 
“ their heads black like jet, with a tuft 
* ( or plume of feathers (landing upright 
“ thereon. There are others of the fame 
“ fort, only differing in colour, being 
“ reddi(h like an orange, and on the head 
“ the plume of black feathers {landing 
** up. I fuppofe the one may be the 
4t cocks, and the other the hens.” Albert 
Seba has given a bad figure of this Bird. 
See Vol. I. Tab. xxx. Fig. 5. This has 
the long feathers in the tail. He feems 
to have repeated a figure of the fame Bird 
1 
Cet Oifeau curieux a cte apporte de 
rifle de Ceylon , par mon digne ami Mr . 
Jean Gideon Loten j il efl garde a prejhit 
• dans le Cabinet Britannique . Briffon Bap- 
pelle Gobe-mouche Hupe , et dit quil vient 
du Cap de Bonne Efperance : inais certaine - 
went la figure quil en donne efl imparfaite, 
en ce qu on ny trouve point les deux plumes 
de la queue , dont la longueur efl Ji remar - 
quable . Je crois quil efl naturel a quelques 
Oifeaux qui ont ces longues plumes d'en 
manquer pendant fix mois de Van. Je 
feats que cela efl arrive a regard de la 
Rouge-gorge a longue queue 9 Jiguree d la 
Blanche 86. de mon Hifloire Naturelle des 
Oifeaux : car plufieurs Ofieaux de cet efpece 
ont mues pendant plufieurs annees a Lon - 
dresy et ont meme entierement changes de 
couleur y et ont cte prives de ces longues 
plumes pendant fix mois de fuite, et alors 
leurs queues renaiffoient avec ces memes 
plumes . Voyez lOrnithologie de BriJj'on y 
VoL II. Blanche x li. Fig. 1. et la defcription 
quen fait cet auteur a la Bage 418. Le 
Gobe-mouche Blanc Hupe , decrit a la Bage 
414. du meme Tome de Brifon y efl certaine - 
ment la male de la meme efpece . Notre 
compatriote Robert Knox , dans fon Hifloire 
de Ceylon , pub lice a Londres Ian 1681. a 
decrit fuccintement ces Oifeaux . II dit a la 
Bage 27, “ Ici Ion trouve de petit s Oifeaux 
“ pas beaucoup plus gros que les Moineaux , 
“ tres charmants a voir, mais d’ailleurs 
“ bons d rien que je fache , quelquuns 
“ de ces Oifeaux font blancs au corps comme 
“ la niege , et ont des queues longues d'en - 
“ viron un pied, et leurs tetes font noires 
“ comme le jayet, avec un plume t ou line 
“ toujf'e , dont les plumes font dreflees fur 
“ la tete. II y a plufieurs autres de la 
“ meme efpece , et dont la feule difference 
“ conjfle dans la couleur, qui efl d' orange 
“ rougeatre ; ces autres ont aufli une toiffe 
t( de plumes noires dreflees Jur la tete . Je 
