PSITTEUTELES ARFAKL.

Arfak Lorikeet.

Trichoglossus (Charmosyna) arfaki, Meyer, Verh. z.-b. Gesellsch. Wien, 1874, p. 37.
—______— arfaki, Meyer, Sitz. k. Akad. Wien, lxix. p. 74 (1874).—Rowley, Orn. Mise. part 3 (1876).

 

Tue minute size and singular coloration of the outer tail-feathers, which make this tiny Parrot resemble at
first sight one of the Indian Minivets (Pericrocotus), caused me no little astonishment when I first uncovered
the specimen which Dr. Meyer was so kind as to send over to me from Dresden for the purpose of
figuring; but I further found that, in addition to these characteristics, it differed from all its allies in having
fourteen tail-feathers instead of twelve. This peculiarity would almost be sufficient to place it in a separate
genus 5 but this I cannot bring myself to do, in the face of its evident affinity to P. placens and P. withelnine :
and when we consider that certain Snipes are still retained in the genus Galinago which present similar
variations in the number of the tail-feathers to that exhibited by these little Lorikeets, it is not unreasonable
to keep the latter in one and the same genus.

Only three specimens were procured by Dr, Meyer during his trip to the Arfak Mountains, one old male
in full livery and two young ones; one of the latter passed into the collection of Count Turati, of Milan,
and the other into that of Mr. Dawson Rowley, of Brighton, by whom it was figured in his interesting work
the ‘ Ornithological Miscellany.’ Iam much indebted to this gentleman for the loan of his specimen, which
is depicted in the adjoining Plate along with the adult male retained by Dr. Meyer for the Dresden
collection and sent over by him to England. The plate in the ‘ Ornithological Miscellany ° represents the
bird to be a female; but I am assured by Dr. Meyer that some error must have occurred by the displace-
ment of the original label; for he himself dissected the three specimens shot, and proved them to be
males, one being adult, as before noted, and the other two immature : these had the colouring incomplete
except as regards their tails; but in size, as is often the case with young birds, they somewhat exceeded the
adult. It is one of these young birds that has been figured by Mr. Dawson Rowley.

That this is a honey-eating Parrot I have no doubt, its general characteristics uniting it with this group of
the Parrots; but its colours are strikingly anomalous. Fancy a little bird, scarcely bigger than a Bearded
Reedling (Calamophilus biarmicus) with a tail like that of a Minivet (Pericrocotus), and exhibiting a silvery
tear-mark running down a cheek of smutty blue, and we have some of the peculiarities of this curious form.
The Plate, however, gives a better idea of the bird than can be gained from any remarks of mine. The
following is a more detailed description of the old male :—

The half of the crown nearest the bill, the under part of the shoulders, flanks, centre of the abdomen,
and apical half of the outer tail-feathers bright red, while the base of each of the feathers last mentioned
is jet-black ; the rest of the plumage both above and below fine grass-green; the margins of the primaries
washed with blue; sides of face dull blue, with a silvery streak running down the centre ; the under surface
of all the primaries and secondaries jet-black, crossed by a V-shaped band of bright yellow ; bill and feet
black.

Total length 6 inches, wing 2%, tail 38, bill 2, tarsi 2.

Hab. Arfak Mountains, N.W. Guinea.

The figures represent the old and young birds, of the size of life.