233 
VIOLET-WINGED COURIER. 
Tacliydromus chalcopterus, Swains. 
Light brown above j front, throat, rump, and body beneath, 
white ; quills black, tipt with shining violet ; breast pale 
brown, with a black band. 
Cursorius chaleopterus, PI. Col. 298 Cursor chalcopterus, 
Syst. Avium , No. 5. 
This is tlie largest and the most remarkable species 
of Courier yet discovered; it connects this group 
with Glareola, and is distinguished at first sight by 
the peculiarity of its wings. The quills are deep 
black, but each of them are tipt, for about half an 
inch, with a rich metallic violet, changing either to 
purple or lilac according to the direction of the 
light ; these spots are margined behind by a narrow 
line of greenish copper-colour, which also extends 
to the edge of the lesser quills. "When the wings 
are closed, these spots are brought together so as to 
form a shining band, giving to the bird an appear- 
ance no less novel than beautiful. It seems to be 
a very rare species even in Senegal, for we have 
never been able to procure more than one specimen 
for our museum ; this we shall now describe. 
The general size is equal to that of the golden 
plover, but from the length of the legs, the bird 
