. Birds of Asia / by John Gould. Birds; Birds. PITTA ELLIOTI, Oustalet Elliot's Pitta. Pitta ellioti, Oustalet, Nouvelles Archives du Museum, vol. x. Bulletin, p. 101, pi. ii. (1874). The present species is represented by specimens of both sexes in the Paris Museum ; and no other collection can at present boast of the possession of this beautiful and unique bird. Its home appears to be the interior of Cochin China, a country concerning the ornithology of which scarcely any thing has yet been written, but one which, if we may judge from the little we do know, would yield a rich increase to our
. Birds of Asia / by John Gould. Birds; Birds. PITTA ELLIOTI, Oustalet Elliot's Pitta. Pitta ellioti, Oustalet, Nouvelles Archives du Museum, vol. x. Bulletin, p. 101, pi. ii. (1874). The present species is represented by specimens of both sexes in the Paris Museum ; and no other collection can at present boast of the possession of this beautiful and unique bird. Its home appears to be the interior of Cochin China, a country concerning the ornithology of which scarcely any thing has yet been written, but one which, if we may judge from the little we do know, would yield a rich increase to our knowledge of Asiatic zoology. Situated as it is, there can be no doubt that Cochin China must receive a considerable influx of the winter migrants from China, while its indigenous avifauna, if we may make a deduction from the few species recorded, must consist of a mixture of Indian, Chinese, and even Malayan forms. With regard to the latter we may remark that the present species alone is sufficient to establish a Malayan element as existing in Cochin China; for Elliot's Pitta is not allied to any of the known Chinese members of the genus, but belongs to that section, with longish tails, and a generally blue coloration, for which the term Eucichla has been proposed as a distinct generic title. As might be expected in the case of a bird so recently described, nothing is known of its habits; and I therefore content myself with translating the description given by Dr. Oustalet. " Feathers of the head, which are elongated behind so as to form a sort of crest, emerald-blue, more glistening on the forehead and eyebrow than on the crown. A black band, starting from the nostrils, passes on each side below the eye, and ends abruptly near the nape. The back is ultramarine blue, shaded with green and with brownish, the feathers of this part of the body being brown at the base, blue in the middle, and edged with green, the upper tail-coverts presenting the same tints. The quills are r
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