187



P. H. Maxwell—Rieffers Tanager



RIEFFER’S TANAGER


Psittaspiza riefferi

By P. H. Maxwell


When the members of the Avicultural Society were very kindly

invited to Forwarren Park, Cobham, Surrey, to see Mr. and Mrs. Ezra’s

wonderful bird collection, on 28th May, we saw a specimen of this

bird recently brought home by Mr. Webb amongst the new animals.

It is very seldom imported, but Mr. Goodfellow brought home some,

or one for Mr. E. J. Brook. It is brilliant grass-green, upper wing-

coverts brighter, lores, sides of face, chin, and lower part of the belly

chestnut, bill orange, feet yellow ; w'hole length 8 inches, wing 4*5,

tail 3*5. The sexes are similar, but the female is smaller—it has the

general structure of a Saltator, but the bill is shorter and the tail

more squared. It builds a nest of considerable size, made of green

moss, lined thickly within, on the outside prettily ornamented with

long tapering green ferns.


Mr. T. K. Salmon, in his article on “ Birds in the State of Antioquia,

United States of Colombia,” in the Proceedings of the Zoological

Society of London, 1879, said he only found one egg in the nest of

this bird, but he could not say whether this was always the case.


Besides the typical species there are two sub-races which inhabit

Peruvian and Colombian Andes. This Tanager described inhabits

chiefly the humid temperate zones, but is occasionally found in a sub¬

tropical zone. It is an inhabitant of Colombia and Ecuador.



NINTH INTERNATIONAL ORNITHOLOGICAL


CONGRESS


EXPEDITION TO THE CAMARGUE


Though for many the Ninth International Ornithological Congress,

reported in the last number of the Avicultural Magazine, ended in

Paris, a very large number of members took part in the excellently

arranged expedition to the Camargue.



