Mr. Shaw Mayer's Collection



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but chickens were not hatched. Meanwhile this beautiful bird has

unfortunately died out again in Europe. South-Eastern Tibet is its

home. The northern limit of its area of distribution touches the southern

limit of the Blue Crossoptilon, so that hybrids occur between these

two species in nature. The celebrated English investigator, Elliott,

regarded these as a distinct species, and mentions them in his work,

Monograph of the Phasianidae as Crossoptilon drouynii. Later it

turned out, however, that they were hybrids between the Blue and the

White species, which occur there occasionally in the wild condition in

the areas of distribution where the two touch each other.


It is to be hoped that the introduction of the White Eared Pheasant

into Europe will, in the near future, be crowned with success again.

We should then have at our disposal all the three species of that group

of ornamental Pheasants which, through their very remarkable tameness

and familiarity towards human beings, appear to be likely to give us

as much pleasure as tame poultry-yard and garden birds of peculiar

beauty, as Peacocks have already done for centuries past.



MR. SHAW MAYER’S COLLECTION


Mr. Shaw Mayer reached London early in July from his latest

collecting trip in North-East New Guinea, and, as usual, brought home

a number of rare and beautiful birds, many of which had not before

been imported alive. They were from the Kratke Mountains and New

Britain.


There were three adult males, one adult female, and several immature

Prince Rudolf’s Bird of Paradise ( Paradisornis rudolfi), three males and

two females of the Lesser Superb Bird of Paradise ( Lophorhina superha

minor), one male Drepanornis alhertisi cervinicauda.


Of Parrots, there was a pair of White-eared Black-capped Lories

(.Lorius hypcenochrous) from New Britain, thirteen Stella Lories

[Charmosyna stellce), and four examples of the lovely melanistic form

of this bird which has been named Charmosyna atrata. One pair of the

rare Parrot, Neopsittacus musschenbroeki, which has the appearance of

a Lorikeet ; one Charmosynopsis pallidior, the form of the Fair Lory

found in New Britain. Five Green-winged King Parrots ( Alisterus



