TRICHOGLOSSUS MUSSCHENBROEKII.

Van Musschenbroek’s Lorikeet.

Nanodes musschenbroekii, Schlegel, Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor de Dierkunde, iv. p. 34 (1873).—Id. Mus. d.
P.-B., Revue Psittaci, p. 52 (1874).

Trichoglossus musschenbroeku, Sclater, P. ZS. 1873, p. 697.—Finsch, in Rowley’s Orn. Misc. part v. p. 61,
pl. xliv. (1876).

Neopsittacus musschenbroekii, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vii. p. 761 (1875).

 

Prorrssor Schlegel describes this species in the following manner :—‘« M. von Rosenberg has just forwarded
us, under the title of Manodes musschenbroeki, three adult individuals of a species of anodes new to science.
These comprise two females and a male, all exactly resembling each other, and collected in April 1870 in the
interior of the north-western peninsula of New Guinea. The species is naturally allied to N. placens and N.
rubrinotatus ; but it is distinguished at the first glance by its larger size and by the very sensible modifications
in the distribution of its colours.”

Nothing more was recorded concerning the species until D’Albertis brought back examples from Atam ;
and since then Count Salvadori has received it from Mount Arfak. In recording the last-named occurrence
Count Salvadori makes it the type of a new genus, on account, as he says, of its differently shaped bill, the
upper mandible being very much more strongly incurved, and the lower one showing a flat superficies on the
gonys, which is very broad. These characters the describer considers sufficient to separate the bird generi-
cally from the other members of the Trichoglossinz.

I have to thank Dr. Meyer for the loan of the fine specimen from which the figures in the Plate have
been drawn ; and the following is a description of this bird :—

Face green, each feather having a yellow centre ; back part of the crown and nape brown, streaked
with pale yellow ; all the upper surface, including the two centre tail-feathers and flanks, green ; chest
and centre of the abdomen red; all the primaries and secondaries as seen from above, when the wing is
expanded, brilliantly marked with red on the inner webs; the same brilliant red also occurs on the under
wing, except the tips of the primaries, which are brownish black; tail cuneate, the four centre feathers
nearly uniform green with slightly rosy tips, the external ones green on the outer webs, with brilliant red
on the inner webs, the whole broadly tipped with yellowish rose-colour. ‘Total length 82 inches; wing 42,
tail 33, tarsus @.

Professor Schlegel states that the soft parts were found by Von Rosenberg to be as follows—‘“‘bill orange-
red, iris citron-yellow, feet yellowish flesh-colour.”

In concluding this brief memoir of a very interesting bird, I must beg to offer a dissenting voice as to its
belonging to the genus Nanodes or being allied to Psitteuteles ; neither can I agree with the learned Count
i in instituting a new genus for its reception. From the first moment I examined the skin kindly

Salvador
hoglossus—an opinion in which Dr. Sclater evidently

: ‘ oe
forwarded to me by Dr. Meyer I considered it a true 777c
s’ of the Zoological Society, as quoted in the above synonymy. More

coincides ; see the ‘ Proceeding
d in favour of the bird being a true Zrichoglossus.

recently too, Dr. QO. Finsch has declare
The principal figure ‘n the Plate is of about the size of life.