Ixvii 
[Vol. X. 
[The following is a brief abstract of the exhibits at the 
Meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club on April 25, 
1900.— R. B. S.] 
Mr. Ernst Hartert exhibited, on behalf of the Hon. 
Walter Rothschild (who was, to his great regret, unable to 
be present at the Meeting), a very large selection of the 
numerous albinos, melanisins, and other colour- variations in 
the Ti’ing Museum. He explained that he had tried to exhibit 
as many species as possible, but of nearly all the common 
European birds, especially of the Passeres, there were many 
more examples of colour-variation in Mr. Rothschild’s 
Museum. The most interesting and the most different types 
of varieties were, however, exhibited on the present occasion. 
Mr. Rothschild wished to call attention to the fact that 
nearly all, if not all, green birds showed yellow varieties ; 
for example, all the green Parrots. The grey Parrot, on 
the other hand, had white varieties. In the Chlorodrepanis 
of the Sandwich Islands, and even in the green portions of 
the plumage of other birds, yellow varieties predominated, 
instead of white, in albiuistic individuals, as shown by various 
specimens on view. This seemed to suggest that the yellow 
pigment was extremely strong, and the same might be said 
of the red colouring, inasmuch as it often remained quite 
normal or only became paler in otherwise quite albinistic 
specimens (c/. the albino grey Parrot with a red tail, the 
white Bullffiuches with red under surface, the Texan 
Cardinal, Rhamphoccelus brasilius, and others). There 
were, of course, also exceptions, as exhibited by the grey 
Parrot now deposited by Mr. Rothschild in the Zoological 
Gardens, which had its normal grey plumage, but had a 
white tail. 
Mr. Hartert further called attention to the vital difference 
between true albinos, which were born white, and in 
[May 3l6■^, 1900.] 
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VOL. X. 
