294 Lord Walden on Mr. Allan Hume's 
were coloured alike. I have frequently seen, and have shot, this 
species, and am inclined to think now, as I did then, that Jer- 
doff’s view is correct. Yet Sykes, an Indian ornithologist be 
it remembered, one who did not form his opinion from “ half 
a dozen wrongly sexed skins in a museum," but from his own 
observations in the jungle, regarded the black-billed bird as 
specifically distinct from P. columhoides , and bestowed on it 
a distinctive title, P. melanorhynchus. “ Found in the ghauts. 
Sexes alike. This bird has the aspects of Pal . columhoides , but 
differs in the black bill," etc. (Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 97). No 
other writer knew the species in the flesh ” previous to 1868. 
Mr. Blyth only knew it from a few ee skins in a museum/ - ’ 
and Dr. Finsch seems, in spite of Mr. Hume's remark, to make 
a fair observation when saying “ Blyth is uncertain and says 
of the black-billed birds f female or young ' 33 (/. c.) . But surely 
Dr. Finsch, even if shown by more recent investigation to have 
been in error, had and has a right to hold, advocate, and express 
an independent opinion, without being liable to insult in 
terms like these. “ As usual. Dr. Finsch laments our igno¬ 
rance in regard to all these species. It is really a pity that 
he will not be content to speak for himself. That he has 
still somewhat to learn is patent in every page, but the Indian 
ornithologists whose distinct statements he so unceremoni¬ 
ously ignores, puts aside, or directly contradicts, unfortu¬ 
nately for his reputation, are not quite so much “ in tiefes* 
Dunkel" as himself" (t. c. p. 23). As I have shown, of the 
only three Indian ornithologists who had written, the first 
held one opinion, another the exact opposite, and the third, 
who only knew the species from a few museum skins, was un¬ 
certain. And yet Mr. Flume is a vindicator of truth. It 
is not, however, for Dr. Finsch I write. Truth must be vin¬ 
dicated " (t. c. p. 26). Poor truth ! 
We now come to P. erythrogenys , Blyth. Dr. Finsch, in 
his account of the species, is, with an unaccustomed gene¬ 
rosity, partly let off by Mr. Flume. For, in this instance. Dr. 
Finsch is not held responsible for not knowing in 1868 that 
the Andaman Parrakeet differed from the Nicobar P. ery- 
* Corrected in the errata. 
