Extinct birds : $b An attempt to unite in one volume a short account of those birds which have become extinct in historical timesRothschild, Lionel Walter Rothschild, Baron
Science
Extinct birds : $b An attempt to unite in one volume a short account of those birds which have become extinct in historical times
Rothschild, Lionel Walter Rothschild, Baron
Birds; Extinct birds
"This was seven Inches from the end of the Bill to that of the Tail, and
ten from the end of Wing to Wing expanded, it had a quarter of an Inch long
crooked black bill, with two _Tubuli_ about one eight Part of an Inch long
for the Nostrills, along the upper Mandible were several bristly Hairs in a
Line, like those of a Cat's Mustachoes of a black Colour, the _Aperture_ of
Chaps or Swallow was extraordinary large. The Feathers on the Head and
under the Chaps were many, the Tail was four Inches long, the Head and Back
were cover'd with Feathers of a mixt Colour of _Feuille Morte_, grey and
black, the Wings and Tail were of the same Colour only Lighter under the
Chaps, Breast and Belly was also of the same, the Legs and Feet were an
Inch and half cover'd with brown Scales, the Toes four, three before, that
in the middle three-quarters of an Inch long, and one behind. {44}
"Its Stomach was not very muscular, it was fill'd with Scarabei, &c. The
rest of the Bowells agreed in everything with those of the greater Sort,
concerning which see the description above.
"They feed on _Scarabei_ and other Insects of that Kind.
"They are found with the former."
Specimens of this Goatsucker are very rare in collections, and I am only
aware of the existence of examples in American museums and of the pair
obtained by Osburn in Jamaica about half a century ago, and now in the
British Museum. Recent collectors have failed to procure it, and it is
therefore to be feared that, like _Aestrelata caribbaea_, it has been
exterminated by the introduced mongoose and other animals.
Habitat: Jamaica.
{45}
NESTOR PRODUCTUS (GOULD.)
(PLATE 6, head.)
_Wilson's Parrakeet_ Latham, Gen. Hist. B. II, p. 170 (1822).
_Plyctolophus productus_ Gould, P.Z.S. 1836, p. 19.
_Nestor productus_ Gould, Syn. Austr. B. and adj. Isl. pt. I, pl., fig.
1 (183--?).
_Centrurus productus_ Bp., Naumannia 1856, Consp. Psitt. No. 265.
Latham's original description is as follows: "Length thirteen inches. Bill
very long and hooked, and upper mandible measuring almost two inches, the
under three-quarters, colour dusky; plumage in general greenish ash,
inclining to brown, and clouded here and there with orange as in the
'Crossbill,' but the edges of the feathers of the back dun colour; all the
under parts of the body mixed yellow and dull orange; rump dull red; under
wing coverts dull yellow; thighs brown; the quills reach almost to the end
of the tail, which is somewhat, but not greatly, cuneiform; both quills and
tail are brown, the former marked on the inner webs with five or six
whitish bars; legs dusky, toes very long. Inhabits New South Wales. I met
with a fine specimen of it in the collection of Thomas Wilson, Esqre."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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