PTILOPUS FISCHERI,S r u g g a w .
JGoubi&WHart d/Lct IrA
PTILOPUS FISCHERI, Bruggem.
Fischer’s Fruit-Pigeon.
Ptilinopus fischeri, Briiggem. Abhandl. nat. Ver. Bremen, v. p. 82, Taf. iv.
Ptilopus fischeri, Elliot, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 571; Meyer, Ibis, 1879, p. 135.
D r. F ischer is principally known to science as the discoverer o f the beautiful new Polyplectron sclleier-
macheri from B o rn eo ; but previously to his visiting th at country he forwarded to the Darmstadt Museum a
series o f birds from the island o f Celebes, amongst which were some new and interesting species. This
collection was described by the late Dr. Bruggemann ; and although many o f the novelties made known by
the latter gentleman were forestalled by Count Salvadori in a previously published paper, there were yet a
few which remained and will remain to the credit o f Dr. Bruggemann, and will serve to perpetuate the
memory o f this young and talented naturalist, whose early death was a veritable loss to science.
T h e Ptilopus fischeri is, as Mr. Elliot well remarks, so distinct a species th at it cannot well he mistaken
for any other member o f the genus Ptilopus. In its pale-coloured head it approaches the white-headed
group which embraces P t. cinctus o f Timor, as pointed out by D r. M ey er; but its reddish side-face a t once
distinguishes it, to say nothing o f many other points o f difference.
I t is a native o f Celebes ; and D r. Meyer states that the Leiden Museum has recently obtained a series
from the southern p a rt o f the island, so th a t it is in this locality th at the species must be looked for. The
birds o f Celebes, a re many o f them so local in their distribution th at it is quite possible th at it is confined to
Southern Celebes alone.
Dr. Meyer has been so good as to lend me a specimen for the purposes o f the present w o rk ; and I append
a description o f the bird, as follows :—
Above dark slaty grey, including the lesser and median wing-coverts, the greater series brownish towards
their tip s ; quills slaty blackish, the primaries narrowly margined with white towards the end of the outer
webs, the secondaries margined externally with yellow; tail-feathers green, shot with bronzy green, black
on the inner webs of all but the two centre fea th e rs ; at the end o f the tail a grey band, except on the two
centre fea th e rs; crown whitish g re y ; round the hind neck a ring o f slaty b lack ; feathers in front o f and
round the eye, as well as the ear-coverts, dark crimson ; cheeks and throat wh ite; rest o f under surface of
body cream-colour washed with grey, the thighs and flanks more decidedly a sh y ; under tail-coverts creamy
buff, mottled with broad slaty grey stripes, bordering the shaft on the inner webs o f the feathers.
T h e figures in the Plate a re about the size o f life, and are drawn from a specimen lent to me by my kind
friend Dr. A. B. Meyer, o f Dresden.