PARUS ARFAKI, Meyer.
New-Guinea ‘Tit.

Parus? arfaki, Meyer, Sitzungsber. der Isis, April 1875.—Mitth. a. d. k. zool. Mus. Dresden, 1. p. 8, 1875.

 

Tue great stronghold of the Paride, or family of Tits, is the temperate and northern region of the old
world; from the boreal countries of Lapland and Siberia to the hot forests of India, its dependencies, and
China, the numerous members are found ; as we proceed southward from these countries the form gradually
disappears, so that in Australia and New Zealand it is totally absent. It was, then, with considerable surprise
that I received from Dr. Meyer an undoubted member of this family, collected, I believe, by himself in
the northern part of New Guinea; and this unique specimen this gentleman has intrusted to my care for the
purpose of figuring in the present work, accompanied by the following notes and description.

This new Tit reminds us in its general appearance of the crested Indian genus MJachlolophus; but it
differs from that form im the length of the first primary, in the rather lengthened pointed ear-feathers, and in
the singular gold-brown coloration of the underparts. ‘‘ Zoogeographically,” says Dr. Meyer in a letter to
me, ‘‘a species of Parus from New Guinea is very remarkable. Parus cinereus, Vieill., has been seen as far
east as Flores (Wallace, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1863, p. 485); but from Australia, New Guinea, or the Moluccas
no species of this genus has been known until now.”

Dr. Meyer states that he believes that neither Signor d’Albertis nor other New-Guinea explorers
met with this bird; neither does Salvadori mention it in his lists.

Forehead, upper and hinder parts of head, chin, throat, and chest black; rump olive green; cheeks
and ear-patch bright yellow, the feathers of latter rather elongated and pointed; the whole of the underparts
yellow, golden brown in the middle of the belly, merging into yellow on the flanks and under tail-coverts ;
on the three upper tertiary feathers an oval spot of yellow ; bill black; feet light horn-colour, tarsi some-
what darker.

Total length 4% inches, bill 2, tarsi 2, wing 22, tail 22.

Hab. Arfak Mountains, New Guinea.

The figures in the accompanying Plate are of the natural size.

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