of the Mascarene Islands. 
285 
in Bourbon; and the proper habitat of one of these appears 
to us to have been so seriously mistaken by many recent 
authors, that some little space may well be devoted to the 
investigation of the matter. 
Whatever may have been the Psittacus obscurus of Linnaeus 
(S. N. ed. 12, p. 140), founded on a “ Parrot from Africa" 
which came under HasselquisPs notice during his travels in 
the East (It. Palaest. p. 23 6 , fide Linn.), and at first (1766) 
identified by Linnaeus with “ Le Perroquet Mascarin” of 
Brisson (Orn. iv. p. 315), there can be no question as to the 
latter, on which, in 1771, was established the P. mascarin — 
an abbreviation most likely for P. mascarinus —of Linnaeus 
(Mantiss. p. 524), that author citing also Daubentoiks figure 
(PI. Enl. 35), and adding “ Habitat in Mascarina 33 —the last 
piece of information being doubtless obtained (for Brisson 
had said, “ J’ignore dans quel pays on le trouve. Je kai vu 
vivant a Paris. - ”) from De Buffon, who stated (Hist. Nat. Ois. 
vi. p. 121), “M. le Yicomte de Querhoent nous assure qu'on 
le trouve h Pile de Bourbon ou probablement il a ete trans¬ 
ports de Madagascar.” This probability appears very ques¬ 
tionable, as much so as BuffoiPs assertion that the bird received 
its name “ parce quhl a autour du bee une sorte de masque 
noir qui engage le front, la gorge et le tour de la face.” 
Du Bois, who visited Madagascar and Bourbon in 1669-72, 
gives the following account of the Parrots of the latter:— 
a p er roquets gris, qui sont aussi bons que des Pigeons. 
il Voila le meilleur Gibier de 1’Isle. 
“Il y a de plusieurs autres sortes de Perroquets, dont on ne mange 
point; sfavoir. 
mimes a la recherche de cet oiseau, et nous en tuames deux. Leperro- 
quet noir vit solitaire dans les bois les plus eleves; il mord violemment: 
la tristesse de ses mceurs repond a celle de son plumage.” In a footnote 
he refers his birds to Psittacus niger , Gmelin (8. N. i. p. 336) i. e. Cora - 
copsis niger (Linn.). Speaking of the same island in another place (iii. 
p. 64), he says:—“Quelques perroquets solitaires, dont j’entendis des 
sifflemens aigus, mais dont je ne pus tuer un seul, peuplent la circonference 
du volcan.” In this last passage he does not refer the birds to any species; 
but, from the similarity of phrase, he most likely considered them the 
same as those he had before seen and determined. 
