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CHRYSOCOCCYX MINITT JIAO'S » Gould
CHRYSOCOCCYX MINUTILLUS, Gould.
L ittle Cuckoo.
Chrysococcyx minutillus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part xxvii. p. 128.
N o th in g further is known respecting this little bronze Cuckoo than that it is a native of Port Essington,
whence the only specimen I have yet seen was sent. The example alluded to is fully adult, and differs very
considerably from the Chrysococcyx lucidus and every other species with which I am acquainted. It is
perhaps more nearly allied to the Java species, C. basalts of Horsfield, than to the C. lucidus, but it is as
much smaller than the C. basalis as that bird is less than C. lucidus. The type of C. basalis, which is the
only one I have seen, and is probably the only one known, is not a fully adult b ird ; and yet its admeasurement
exceeds by half an inch that of the C. minutillus.
Head, all the upper surface, and wings shining bronzy g re en; all the under surface white, barred with
bronzy green, the bars being most distinct on the flanks; primaries and secondaries white on the basal
portion of their inner webs ; two centre tail-feathers bronzy green, the next on each side bronzy green on
the outer web, rufous on the inner web, crossed by a broad band of black near the tip, and with an oval
spot of white across the tip of the inner web; the two next on each side bronzy green on their outer webs,
their inner webs rufous with large spots of black near the shaft, most conspicuous on the outermost of the
two feathers ; their inner webs are also crossed near the tip with a very broad band of black, and have an
oval spot of white at the tip ; the outer feather on each side is barred alternately on the outer web with
dull bronzy green and dull white, and on the inner one with broad decided bars of black and white and
tipped with white; bill black ; feet olive.
The figures are of the natural size.