ii you approiiclj carefully, ospecially early in the iiioi'iiiiig, you will find some small s])aces about a yard and
a liairiii diameter cleared of sticks and leaves, where one or two males are Jiaying court to a female. The
males then erect all their feathers ; tlie skin of the neck swells uj) like a bladder ; the head seems like the
centre of an aureola, which is formed beneath l)y the expaiuled feathers of the breast, and above by those
of the yellow mantle, which are carried in a |)erfectly vertical ])ositi()n and s])read like a fan. I kej)t a bird
of this species ali\'e for some days. It is fonnd sometimes at a little distance from the sea, on the plains,
but |»eriiaps more often on the hills at 1000 to 2000 feet of elevation, [¡referring open places and the vicinity
of sti-eams."
Adult male. Crown of head covered with close-set velvety-bi'own feathers, deepening into dull orange
on each side of the croivn ; forehead slightly washed with metallic green ; a spot at the base of the hill
and atiother above the eye velvety black, the latter slightly glossed iji front with metallic green ; from the
nape a little fan-shaped tuft of light brown feathers, each with a sub-terminal spot of darker brown ; from tlie
hind-neck a broad fan-shaped sliieltl of light yellow, (laidicd on each side by two long tufts of plumes,
brown in colour, with a sub-terminal mark of darker brown on each, the inner ones inclining to orange;
feathers of the back metallic chestnut; lower hack and rump orange, the npper tail-coverts and tail dark
brou ri, the two centre feathers, produced anil curved back on themselves, metallic steel-green ; wing-coverts
dull ochraccous, the primary-coverts ami quills dark brown, externally washed with ocbraeeous sti-aw-eolour;
the whole of the inner secondaries bright ochraccous straw-colour; cheeks and throat metallic olive-green ;
the under surface of the hotly from the throat, occupying tlie whole of the breast in the form of a shield,
rich green, the e.Nternal feathers tipped with metallic steel-blue, forming a fringe ; down the centre of the
breast a broad band of metallic emerald-green, formed by the tips to the feathers being of this colour; rest
of under surface of body ]iurplisb black ; under wing-eoverts ilecp ocbraeeous, as also the lining of the
quills: bill pearly blue; feet leaden blue; iris brown. Total length 0 8 inches, eulmen O'Oo, wing 4-55,
tail 1-05, middle tail-feathers 9'5, tarsus l-3o.
Adult female. General colour dark olive-brown, the crown and sides of head rather inclining to ochraccous
brown ; wings and tail dark brown, the former washed e.vternally with olivaceous ; tail elearcr brown ; cheeks
and under surface of body fulvescent, the throat and cheeks whiter, the whole barred across very dislinctly
with black : " bill pearly grey; feet bluish ; iris black " {D'Jll/ertis). Total Iciigth 7-8 inches, eulmen 0-9.J,
wing 4"4o, tail 2'G, tarsus
The descriptions are copied from my third volume of the • Catalogue of Birds,' and the figures in the Plate
are drawn from sjiecimeus in the Uritlsh Museum.