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MACGREGORIA PULCHRA, De Vis.

Orange-wattled Bird of Paradise.

Maria macgregoria, Gigl. Boll. Soc. Geogr. Ital. p. 26 (1897: descr. nulla).
Macgregoria pulchra, De Vis, Ibis, 1897, p. 251, pl. vi.

 

Tus species was discovered by Sir William MacGregor on Mount, Scratchley, in British New Guinea, at a
height of about 12,000 feet. Mr. De Vis writes :—‘“ Three examples of this bird, all (presumably) males,
were obtained by Sir W. MacGregor, in May 1896, during his journey across British New Guinea from
Mambare to the Vanapa River. Mr. A. Giulianetti, his Excellency’s collector, notes that ‘the species is
pretty common all over the Scratchley Range up to about 12,600 feet elevation.” Mr. De Vis has forwarded
to England one of the specimens procured by Sir W. MacGregor during the above-mentioned expedition,
This specimen has been figured in the ‘This’ for 1897, and has been presented to the British Museum.
Dr. Sclater has called attention to the fact that Professor Giglioli (¢. ¢.) is responsible for the publication of
the name of Maria macgregoria—a name which appears to have been mentioned in a private letter addressed
to Professor Giglioli by Sir W. MacGregor. As Dr. Sclater remarks: ‘‘ Unfortunately the generic term
‘ Maria’ has been already employed in Zoology (Bigot, Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1859, p 311: Diptera).”

The genus Macgregoria is undoubtedly closely allied to Paradigalla, but the different position of the fleshy
wattles on the sides of the face renders further comparison unnecessary.

Adult male. General colour above and below black, with scarcely any purplish gloss, and with a large bare
orange wattle covering the whole of the ear-coverts and the region of the eye; primaries orange-buff with
black tips: iris red. Total length 13 inches, culmen 1:3, wing 7°4, tail 5°6, tarsus 2°4.

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