(PLATE 20.)
_Palaeornis wardi_ E. Newton, P.Z.S. 1867, p. 346 (Seychelles).
The translation of Sir Edward Newton's diagnosis is as follows: "Similar to
_P. alexandri_, but with a stouter bill, purple red shoulder patches, and
the hind neck without a red band.
"_Adult Male._ Crown of head and throat bluish, cheeks ochraceous green,
chin and line round base of mandible black, continued in a stripe from the
gape to the hind neck; back and wings grass green; rump brighter; a single
wide band (or patch) on the shoulders purplish red; remiges and rectrices
deep green washed with blue, the latter yellowish, the former dusky below;
belly yellowish green; bill vivid scarlet with paler tip; feet dusky. Total
length 16 inches, wings 7.75, tail 9."
Female similar to the male but duller, and with the bill all black, and
without the black mandibular stripe.
Formerly abundant on most of the islands in the Seychelles, especially
Mahé, but now confined to the little islet of Silhouette, where it will in
all probability become extinct. According to E. Newton its name was "Cateau
vert."