About Ten Species Of These Birds Are Now
Known, All Much Resembling Each Other, But Yet Sufficiently
Distinguishable In Every Locality.
The Amboynese species, of
which a very accurate representation is here given, is one of the
largest and handsomest.
It is full seventeen inches long to the
tips of the tail-feathers; the bill is coral red, the under-
surface pure white, the back and wings deep purple, while the
shoulders, head and nape, and some spots on the upper part of the
back and wings, are pure azure blue; the tail is white, with the
feathers narrowly blue-edged, but the narrow part of the long
feathers is rich blue. This was an entirely new species, and has
been well named after an ocean goddess, by Mr. R. G. Gray.
On Christmas eve I returned to Amboyna, where I stayed about ten
days with my kind friend Dr. Mohnike. Considering that I had been
away only twenty days, and that on five or six of those I was
prevented doing any thing by wet weather and slight attacks of
fever, I had made a very nice collection of insects, comprising a
much larger proportion of large and brilliant species than I had
ever before obtained in so short a time. Of the beautiful
metallic Buprestidae I had about a dozen handsome species, yet in
the doctor's collection I observed four or five more very fine
ones, so that Amboyna is unusually rich in this elegant group.
During my stay here I had a good opportunity of seeing how
Europeans live in the Dutch colonies, and where they have adopted
customs far more in accordance with the climate than we have done
in our tropical possessions.
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