I N T R O D U C T I O N .
Thus, one o f these streaked Bengal Pittse, now in the Leyden Museum, has been described
as distinct under the name o f “ Maculata.” M. Verreaux’s supposition regarding these marks may
be correct, but at present it must remain a matter o f uncertainty, and can only be solved by a
more thorough insight into the economy and habits o f this family than is possible to be obtained
at present. With the exception o f these marks, the “ Maculata” appears to differ in no manner
from the Bengal Pitta.
6. B raohytjrus Y igorsii, . . . . . , . . . . Plate VII.
Pitta Yigorsii. Wallace Proc.' Zool. Societ. (1862,) p. 188.
7. B raohytjrus N ympha, . .............................................. .......... Plate VIII.
This species was established by Messrs. Temminck and Schlegel upon a Japanese drawing of
the bird, but no example had ever reached Europe, and with Ornithologists it was a question
whether there was indeed such a species. It was therefore with much gratification that I received
from Dr. Sdater proof sheets o f the “ Ibis,” containing a letter from Mr. Swinhoe to Prof. Schlegel,
notifying him o f his having found the bird.
Unfortunately, this communication reached me after my article on Pitta Nympha had passed
through the press. The letter is as follows:
“Amoy, June lrf, 1861. '
“ Si r :
“ I have no doubt you will be much pleased to hear that one, at least, o f the doubtful
species o f the Fauna Japonica has been confirmed. Your son and I . have been most assiduous in
our endeavors to hunt up the Biophorus Paradisiacus, having heard that that truly, wonderful
species was originally brought to Japan from China, but our exertions have hitherto-been fruitless.
“ The other species, however, the P itta Nympha, we hardly expected to discover, as its habitat
is marked Corea. Imagine my joy, then, this morning, when my shooters brought in a bird which
I at once recognised as the redoubted P itta Nympha. I at once communicated the glorious
intelligence to your son, and borrowed his colored plate. The following notes were the result
o f our comparison, and, should you think them worth printing, are at your service.
“ The man who brought me the bird this morning, told me that he had shot it while it was
sitting on a tree at the foot o f the highest hill on this island. Its ovary contained numerous
eggs, but none in a very developed state, and its crop was nearly empty; it is, therefore, natural
to suppose that the individual had merely dropped on the island in its migration.
“ Length, 8* inches; wing, 4.®; tail, l,-0, o f 14 rectrices; tarsi, 1^. Bill, blackish brown,
paling towards the tip. Inside o f mouth, light pinkish orange. Tongue sagittate, slightly bulging
at the sides, concave, horny, and split at the top. Eye-rim, blackish brown; iris, hazel. Ear
small and somewhat ovate, orifice hidden. Legs, toes, and claws, light brownish flesh color.
Our bird is a female, and answers well to the figure given in the “ Fauna Japonica” ; which, from
analogy, we should suppose to be a young bird o f the species ; for the under parts o f our bird
are o f a fine buff, with the exception o f the chin and sides o f the nape, which are o f a pure
white. The blue on the wing coverts is extended throughout the whole o f them,—a few. o f the
feathers still remaining partly green, and indicating such to be the actual coloring o f the juvenile
garb.
“ On comparing ours with a skin o f P . Brachyura from India, kindly provided by Mr. Blyth,
I notice the following differences:
“ The bill o f our bird is much larger and deeper, and considerably more corvine, than that
o f brachyura. The occipital band that passes through the eye is much broader, and extends to
beneath the bill.
“ The medial coronal stripe is brown instead o f black, and does not quite, unite with the
occipital. The back, scapulars, and tertiaries are o f a darker, clearer green. The rump and wing
coverts are o f a beautiful azure blue with a pink-purple gloss, some o f the feathers being patched
with green. The white is much more extended on the quills, some o f the inner quills being
entirely white to their tips. The axillary coverts are black without any white. The tail is
similarly covered in both, and the lovely crimson o f the under tail coverts extends up the
centre o f the belly to the breast. The bird is much larger, and much more robust than
P . Brachyura, but bears considerable resemblance to that species.. Indeed; were it not for the
ventral crimson stripe and its large bill, one would feel almost inclined to look Upon it as merely
a large variety o f the Indian bird.
“ I think, on perusing the above, you will agree with me, that we have at last discovered
the P itta Nympha—a species so long established from a Japanese design, but. whose existence was
seriously questioned by practical Ornithologists. And to think that this Gorean wonder should be
first met with in the flesh in this barren island o f Amoy !
“ As you will probably give publicity to these notes, I will add my remarks on, dissecting-
its body:
“ ^Esophagus, about a in. wide, contracting before the proventriculus, which starts with a.breadth
o f a in., and gradually enlarges as i t joins the stomach. The proventriculus measures A in., and is
smoo^A-coated. The stomach is heart-shaped, with stout lateral tendons, and broadly marked