fK RM JTA AURANTIA, GmM.
PYRRHULA AURANTIA, Gould.
Orange-coloured Bullfinch.
Pyrrhula aurantiaca, Gould in Proc. o f Zool. Soc., P a rt XXV. p. 222.
A m o r e in te re s tin g little b ird th an th e one h e re figured I have n o t seen for some time, an d I am c e rtain
th a t a knowledge o f its existenc e will be acceptable to every o rn ith o lo g is t; a t p re sen t it is q u ite new, only
one specimen having been s en t to E u ro p e . Th an k s to th e libera lity o f its discoverer, D r. A. L e ith Adams,
o f th e 2 2 n d R eg im en t, th is unique b ird h a s been added to th e national collection a t th e B ritish Museum, a
very p ro p e r re stin g -p la ce fo r all such novelties. Science, th en , is in d eb ted to D r. Adams fo r its discovery,
a n d I, as a devote e to n a tu ra l history, ^specially so fo r h is kindness in p e rm ittin g me to give a figure and
desc rip tio n o f i t in th e “ B ird s o f Asia.”
T h e re a r e p o rtio n s o f th e g re a t Asiatic c o n tin en t to th e north-w estward o f o u r Indian te rrito rie s which
a re likely to p re se n t us with ornithologic al novelties for some tim e to come, inasmuch as th ey have been
less visited than m o st o th e rs, an d uever very closely investigated. T h e countrie s I re fer to a re Affghanistan,
Kafiristan, &c., whe re Vigne made him se lf known to fame as a trave lle r, an d D r. Griffith discovered th e
beautiful Pucrasia castanea.
D r . Adams informed me th a t h e first met with th e O range-coloured Bullfinch in th e month o f M arch 1852,
on one o f th e wooded slopes o f th e P ir P inja l Mountains, westward o f th e Valley o f C a shm e re ; th a t its habits
closely resemble th o se o f P . erythrocephala, freq u en tin g , as i t does, th ick bushy places, an d being usually
seen in small s o c ie tie s ; th a t it is n o t uncommon in th e valleys an d ju n g le s aro u n d Cashmere, a n d th at,
a lthough th e two species a re so similar in th e ir habits an d in th e localities th ey freq u en t, h e neve r met with
th em in c om p a n y ; b u t he noticed th a t while th e P . erythrocephala is tolerably ab u n d an t on th e ra n g e s around
Simla, th e p re se n t species was only seen on th e hills in th e neighbourhood and to th e westward o f Cashmere.
Its call-note is n o t so lo u d as th e c le a r wh istle o f th e E u ro p e an Bullfinch, P. vulgaris, an d somewhat
resembles th e ch irp o f th e Greenfinch, Chlorospiza chloris. D r. Adams tells me he skinned fo u r o r five
examples, b u t th a t all we re unfortuna tely lost, exc ept th e one h e b ro u g h t to E u ro p e .
T h e male has th e bill, face, wings, an d tail d eep p u rp lish b la c k ; rump, u p p e r an d u n d e r tail-coverts
white ; th e rem a in d e r o f th e u p p e r and u n d e r surfaces rich re d d ish o range, deepest a b o v e ; th e le sse r wing-
coverts a re also reddish o range, as is th e apical h a lf o f th e innermost o f th e g re a te r wing-coverts, while th e
o u te r ones a re slightly tip p ed with buffy w h ite ; irid es b la c k ; fe e t pinky flesh-colour.
“ T h e female differs from th e male,” says D r. Adams, “ in th e following p artic u la rs , which you may depend
upon being co rre c t, as I tran sc rib e them from no tes w ritte n a t th e time th e specimens we re killed. S h e has
th e black circle ro u n d th e bill as in tb e m a l e ; th e h ead and neck ash-colour like th e female o f P . vulgaris;
back ash-colour, slightly tinged with o ra n g e ; tip s o f th e wing-coverts th e same ; lower p a rts like th e male,
b u t n o t so brilliant, an d more approaching to olive.”
T h e P la te re p re s e n ts two males o f th e size o f life, and a re d u ced figure o f th e female from D r. Adams’s
d e sc ription. T h e p lan t is th e Rubits biflorus.