33 
beautiful bird, tlie fire-backed pheasant, would be a desirable 
acquisition. It is so named from having upon tlie back, just 
above the tail, a mass of feathers of a brilliant luminous and 
metallic colour. In some light it is said to be so bright as to 
resemble a flame of fire. Two white feathers branch from the 
tail with a graceful curve. The hen bird is of plain reddish 
plumage. There are two species—tlie I?, ignitus and the euj)lo- 
crrnus Veilotti, and both species are fine and ornamental birds. 
The Earl of Derby succeeded in rearing a brood of the latter 
species, but the race was not perpetuated owing to the want of 
a congenial climate. Both the species would be worth natural¬ 
ising in this colony. 
There is also the banded land grouse, the Thibetian and 
whistling land grouse, natives of Northern India, the flesh of 
which is delicate and w r ell-flavoured. The lerwa partidge or 
Himalayan grouse (lenva navicolla), as it is also called, would 
be a valuable acquisition; the flesh is white, succulent, and 
possessed of a high flavour. The painted and the Ceylon 
partridge, or spur fowl (galloperdixJ, its flesh is considered in 
Ceylon superior in flavour to any other game in the island; it 
ate and looked like grouse. The pucras pheasants, of various 
species from the Himalaya; the sanguine Franeolin also from 
India ; and valuable and interesting as are the gallinaceous birds 
of India, both as objects of beauty and supplying the human 
race with food. The tetraogallus or snow partridges, from the 
Himalaya, are birds which will be found even still, more valuable 
for acclimatisation, and could be readily domesticated in the 
colder regions of the colonies. To all these, for introduction 
into the colony, the society will direct their attention. The 
Mooruk, of which I sent three living specimens to England, and 
which are now alive in the Zoological Gardens, Regent’s Park. 
Through the liberality of Mr. Cuthbert, of Miller’s Point, we 
have now two living specimens at present in the Botanical 
Gardens of Sydney; they are young birds, male and female,and 
will be a great acquisition to our other valuable specimens. 
The large drawings of the eland, Punjaub sheep, koodoo, 
and others, were drawn by Master William E. Bennett, with the 
exception of the Australian bustard, for which I am indebted to 
the kindness of Mr. Krefft. The beautiful coloured engravings 
are principally from the magnificent works of Mr. Gould on the 
birds of Asia, Australia, and the humming birds. 
As fish is so necessary an article of food for all classes, being 
digestible and nourishing, an Acclimatisation Society should 
