


286 Messrs. A. and E. Newton on the Psittaci 
“ Perroquets un peu plus gros que pigeons, ayant le plumage de couleur de 
petit gris, un chaperon noir sur la teste, le becq fort gros, & couleur de feu. 
“ Perroquets verts gros comme pigeons, ayant un collier noir. 
‘‘ Perroquets verts de n esme [mesme] grosseur, ayant la teste, le dessus 
des ailes, & la queué couleur de feu. 
“ Perroquets tout verts de la mesme grosseur. 
“Perroquets des trois fagons comme cy-dessus, qui ne sont pas plus 
gros que des Merles.’’* 
Now, considering that Du Bois was not a technical orni- 
thologist, his indication of these different kinds of Parrots 
seems to be reasonably good, and the first of those which he 
says are not eaten may fairly be identified with “ Le Mas- 
carin,’ though the black on the face of that bird cannot be 
correctly described as forming a “chaperon.”’” But if we 
reject this identification we shall find that we have to account 
for two species of Parrot, both connected with the same island 
and,sofar as we can judge, very similar in appearance, differing, 
indeed, only in the position of a black mark on the head. 
De Querhoént’s assurance was confirmed in 1784 by Mau- 
duyt, who says (Encycl. Méth. 11. p. 196) :—“ On trouve le mas- 
carin & Vile de Bourbon ; j’en ai vu plusieurs vivans a Paris ; 
c’étoient des oiseayx assez doux; ils n’avoient en leur faveur 
que leur bec rouge qui tranchoit agréablement sur le fond 
sombre de leur plumage; ils n’avoient point appris 4 parler.” 
It is true that for many years past Madagascar has been 
given as the habitat of P. mascarinus ; it is therefore worth 
while enquiring into the evidence in favour of that locality ; 
and it will be found that—apart from the supposition, already 
* ‘Les Voyages faite par le Sieur D. B. aux Isles Dauphine ou Madagas- 
car, & Bourbon, ou Mascarenne, és années 1669. 70.71. & 72... Paris... 
M.DC.LXXxIV.’ (pp. 172,173). This work, it may be remarked, attracted 
no attention from naturalists till, Telfair having given the Zoological 
Society a MS. copy of it, Strickland quoted therefrom the passage relating 
to the Solitaire and Ovseau bleu of Bourbon (P. Z. 8. 1844, p. 78), but was 
not aware, even in 1848, of the author’s name, or that the journal had. 
ever been printed—a fact, indeed, generally overlooked until pointed out 
in 1852 by Mr. Pinkerton (‘Notes and Queries,’ vi. p. 83), and after- 
wards by Dr. Coquerel (‘ Album de I’Ile de la Réunion,’ 1863), but still 
more prominently set forth by M. Milne-Edwards, who, in 1866, reprinted 
the whole of the ornithological portion of the work (Ann. Sc. Nat. Zool. 
ser. 5, vi. p. 42, note), 
SAE OE - P — 


