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D.ORIED CB CD CDI ICAI CO.CP CDCI ICICI EDLY ACD IEICD CDC CIED CIC CORI ECACC CDCI MD aN Pe niet Ee AAD ARR RR RE ET TE ee DOICICI IO COCICICICD eR 4 . Pee eae ee et i ’ Ae a NedEDNeNeN coo SH CU CONC TCD CO COCU COCO EERE tes eh eee SOS NCO CI CICICOCICS CSCO COCSOOCD COON ODODCS COON CNOD CoCaGNSO BCD CDOS ONO COCSOOCN CSCO CENCE COCNCD ae eM em ASCP BE A BO ts Ut. Rese.. ¥.- ite eiees Bi od hott 3 re meer Roh A eo) ei ri pistes: tes te Bes Sg MA Pr Redes A” PAN aA i 44 By BNW THE BIRDS OF NEW GUINEA AND THE ADJACENT PAPUAN ISLANDS. NEW SPECIES RECENTLY DISCOVERED AUSTRALIA. BY JOHN GOULD, F.RS. COMPLETED AFTER THE AUTHOR’S DEATH BY Rk. BOWDLER SHARPE, F.LS. &, ZOOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT, BRITISH MUSEUM. VOLUME IIL LONDON: BUI SOM AI & CO, 86 PICOA DILLY. 1875-1888. [All rights reserved. | f ( , j / 5 ZZ gs TN in A OS a) a I iM Nes\a SS pen | FESS PR ALSS LSE SOLE EN Rea Va Ags ic a NS mm. M ha ES SES s li | lll = SOP nak orehe 1G F . ee oF ANI : \ BN eS PO OTT 7 gS eT) ge IP PLATE _ aS oR oF pp oo bo oo aN 2b bw w po © =I Geocichla schistacea Criniger chloris . , : Eupetes castanonotus 5 cerulescens 5 , Sericornis beccarii s arfakiana minimus Amytis goyderi Orthonyx novee-guinez . Cinclosoma ajax Grallina bruijnii Megalurus albolimbatus Drymeedus beccarii Ephthianura crocea Pachycare flavo-grisea . Cracticus rufescens Pachycephala collaris “5 fusco-flava ss arctitorquis a brunnea . 5 hyperythra - schlegeli . 3 christophori Pachycephalopsis fortis 5 hattamensis 33 poliosoma . Xerophila pectoralis Sittella albata Climacteris placens Cinnyris maforensis . mysorensis 61 sangirensis . : Melirrhophetes leucostephes . oe ochromelas ts batesi Melidectes torquatus a emilii . Melipotes gymnops Glicycheera fallax . Melithreptus letior Philemon plumigenis Stigmatops chloris _ kebirensis a squamata s albo-auricularis Glyciphila subfasciata Ptilotis albonotata ° marmorata », irenata 5, flavo striata CONTENTS. VOLUME III. Meyer’s Ground-Thrush Moluccan Bulbul . Chestnut-backed Eupetes Blue-bodied Eupetes Beccari’s Sericornis Arfak Sericornis Little Sericornis : Goyder’s Striated Wren Papuan Orthonyx : : Orange-sided Ground-Thrush Bruijn’s Grallina . : White-edged Reed-Warbler Beccari’s Scrub-Robin Yellow-breasted Ephthianura. Yellow-and-Grey Thickhead Rufous Crow-Shrike Ramsay’s Thickhead Tenimber Thickhead Narrow-collared Thickhead Brown Thickhead . Ruddy-breasted Thickhead Schlegel’s Thickhead San-Christoval Thickhead Grey-throated Thickhead Hattam Thickhead Grey Thickhead : Chestnut-breasted Xerophila White-winged White-headed Sittella New-Guinea Tree-creeper Mafoor-Island Black Sun-bird Mysore-Island Black Sun-bird Sanghir Black Sun-bird White-faced Honey-eater Ochraceous Honey-eater Bates’s Honey-eater Pectoral Honey-eater Count Turati’s Honey-sucker Naked-faced Honey-eater Silky-plumed Honey-eater Beautiful Honey-eater . Hoary-throated Honey-eater , Mysol Honey-eater : : Kebir Scaly-throated Honey-eater . Scaly-chested Honey-eater Broadbent’s Honey-eater Dusky Honey-eater White-marked Honey-eater Mottled-breasted Honey-sucker Bridled Honey-eater Yellow-streaked Honey-eater . RE SS Ty WA Be Ae ae mail ia We \ a PLsTE dl. 52. 53. or DOB & OR OR CCT oO a Xanthotis chrysotis Meliarchus sclateri Euthyrhynchus flavigula 5 fulvigula : griseigula Melilestes poliopterus % iliolophus Zosterops uropygialis - brunneicauda 5 fuscifrons - longirostris 5 delicatula ae rendovee Myzomela wakoloensis . » erythrina ie melanocephala 5 annabellee ve sclateri cineracea rosenbergi x cruentata » nigrita . CONTENTS OF VOL. III. Golden-eared Honey-eater Sclater’s Honey-eater Yellow-tinted Brown Honey-eater . Buff-throated Honey-eater Brown Honey-eater Grey-winged Honey-eater Long-plumed Honey-eater Ké-Island White-eye Brown-tailed White-eye Dusky-fronted White-eye Heath-Island White-eye Grey-sided White-eye Rendoya White-eye Lake Wakolo Honey-eater New-Ireland Honey-sucker Black-headed Honey-sucker . Mrs. Forbes’s Honey-sucker . Sclater’s Honey-eater Ash-coloured Honey-eater Von Rosenberg’s Honey-eater Red-tinted Honey-eater Black Honey-eater Part XXiI, XXI, XX. XX, XX. XIV. XXIII. XIX, XIX. XVIII. XVII. XIV. XXIII, XVIII. XVII, XVII. XV. XII. XII. XXITL. W. Hart del. ct Lith Niatern Bros. inp . UUGLUNA ALLAN LNagOTTy ONT TAT TTT i " 3 y i st ar PA Pp ey ar, 7 im ters as SOT RS: IT NSE OS SII a GEOCICHLA SCHISTACEA, Meyer. Meyer’s Ground-Thrush. Geocichla schistacea, Meyer, in Madardsz, Zeitschr. fir Orn. i. p. 211, Taf. vii. (1884).—Forbes, Naturalist’s Wanderings, p. 365 (1885). Two specimens of this strikingly coloured Thrash were procured by Mr. Riedel’s hunters in Timor-Laut, and forwarded by him to his friend Dr. Meyer. Mr. Forbes did not apparently meet with the species during his sojourn in Timor-Laut, but he obtained two specimens of a Ground-Thrush which was new to science, and which he called Geocichla machiki. We have had to consider whether G. machiki is not the female of G. schistacea, as it is somewhat singular that both Mr. Forbes’s specimens were females and both Mr. Riedel’s were males. The nearest ally of G. schistacea is undoubtedly G. wardi of Southern India; but the latter is very distinct, being black above, with a broad white eyebrow and with no white on the ear-coverts. The difference in the colour of the sexes, however, in G. wardi is exactly parallel to the difference between G. schistacea and G. machiki, and we should not hesitate to unite the two species were it not for the fact that the latter is so very much larger than G. schistacea, the measurements being so different that we have not been able to recognize a species wherein the sexes varied so markedly in size, and we have therefore come to consider that they must be really distinct. The following is a description of the type specimen of G. schistacea:— Adult male. General colour above slaty grey; lesser wing-coverts grey like the back ; median and greater coverts black, rather broadly tipped with white, forming a double wing-bar; bastard-wing black, with a small white spot at the end of the outer web; primary-coverts black ; quills black, externally slaty grey, lighter on the primaries, the secondaries almost entirely slaty grey ; upper tail-coverts like the back ; tail-feathers blackish, slaty grey externally, the outermost feathers with a white spot at the end; crown of head slaty grey like the body, the fore part of the crown and forehead black ; lores black, surmounted by a broad white eyebrow; feathers round eye and below the latter black, extending on to the fore part of the ear-coverts, which are otherwise white ; cheeks, throat, and fore neck black; chest and breast white, spotted with terminal spots of black; abdomen and lower breast white; sides of body pale ashy grey, the lower flanks white; thighs and under tail-coverts white ; under wing-coverts white, the lower series blackish ; axillaries white; quills below black, white at the base of the inner web. Total length 6-4 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 4:0, tail 2°50, tarsus 1-1. The Plate represents an adult male of the present species in two positions, the figures being drawn from the typical example lent to us by Dr. Meyer. [R. B. S.J NHart do th, ~RINIGER CHILORIS , Finech,. FY Mintern Bros. imp. HHITHLUNS AA UAATpTTONyeTyTTTAATTHTT a CRINIGER CHLORIS, Finsch. Molucean Bulbul. Criniger flavicaudus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1860, p. 311 (nec Bp.). Criniger simplex, Wallace, Ibis, 1862, p. 350 (nec Temm.). Trichophorus simplex, Finsch, Neu-Guinea, p. 168 (1865). Criniger chloris, Finsch, Journ. fiir Orn. 1867, p. 36.—Gray, Hand-list Birds, i. p. 274, no. 4021 (1869).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vii. p. 777 (1875), xvi. p. 183 (1880).—Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. vi. p- 85 (1881).—Salvad. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p. 376 (1881).—Guillemard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1885, p. 572. Specimens of this species were sent by Mr. Wallace from the islands of Batchian and Halmahéra or Gilolo, and were identified by the late Mr. G. R. Gray as Criniger flavicaudus of Bonaparte, which is a Ceram species. Mr. Wallace, in 1862, perceiving Mr. Gray’s mistake, described the species under the name of Criniger simplex ; but this name could not be used, as there was already an African species, described by Temminck as C. simplex. Dr. Finsch therefore proposed the name of C. chdoris for the species in place of that given by Mr. Wallace. He described a specimen in the Leiden Museum from Halmahéra, collected by Dr. Forsten, and Dr. Beccari procured the species both in this island and in Batchian, as Mr. Wallace had already done before him. The latter gentleman likewise records its occurrence in Morotai or Morty Island ; but no specimen from this island was in his collection, and the locality requires confirmation. Dr. Guillemard, who obtained a large series of specimens in Batchian, says that the iris was ‘“ red-brown, the bill bluish green with lighter edges, and the feet slate-colour.” The following description is copied from the British Museum ‘ Catalogue of Birds’ :— “© Adult female (type of C. simpler). General colour above dull olive-yellow, the wing-coverts like the back ; quills brown, externally olive-yellow like the back, both the greater coverts and the primaries narrowly edged with brighter yellow ; tail-feathers dark olive-yellow, with a narrow margin of rather brighter yellow; ear- coverts and sides of face dark olive-yellow, the fore part of the cheeks more dusky, the lores ashy brown ; throat bright yellow, as also the centre of the body and abdomen; chest and sides of the body olive, the former with indistinct sharp lines of bright yellow ; thighs and under tail-coverts olive with yellow edges; under wing-coverts and axillaries bright yellow; quills brown below, yellow along the edge of the inner web: «bill dusky lead-colour, the margins pale ; feet lead-colour; iris dark’ (Vallace). Total length 8°5 inches, culmen 0:95, wing 3°98, tail 3-6, tarsus 0°75. «© Adult male. Similar in colour to the female. ‘Total length 8-3 inches, culmen 0-9, wing 4, tail 3:4, tarsus 0°75.” The Plate represents an adult bird in two positions, the figures being drawn from a specimen in the British Museum. [R. B. S.] A v y be) AMS ae i) ear =) | 1 | } FD ad oe Sa ad SA Rema AUTATVLUUHLLU ALL UAHA ALL A a y i ' y i, ‘ . c ee — a Salad. CASTANONOTUS, ie ike 4 EUPE Se >, Walter trp. del. & Lith. W. Hart EUPETES CASTANONOTUS, Saivad. Chestnut-backed Eupetes. Eupetes castanonotus, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vii. p. 966 (1875), xvi. p .187 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia, ete. li. p. 411 (1881). Eupetes pulcher, Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soc., Zool. vol. xvi. pp. 319, 440 (1882). Turs beautiful species was discovered by Dr. Beccari in North-western New Guinea, and has recently been sent in some numbers by Mr. A. Goldie from the Astrolabe range of mountains in the south-eastern portion of the island. Owing to a discrepancy in the colouring of the head and in the extent of the black collar with the account of the species as given by Count Salvadori, Mr. Sharpe described the specimens from the last-named locality as new; but having received from the Genoa Museum the types of £. castanonotus, he has become convinced that the two species are identical. The following is a full description of the two sexes :— “© Adult male. General colour above rich chestnut, including the hinder head and neck, mantle, and back ; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts blue ; scapulars blue washed with light reddish, with paler shaft- lines, indications of which are also seen on the feathers of the mantle; wing-coverts bright blue; bastard- wing feathers black ; primary-coverts black edged with blue ; quills black, the primaries slightly, the secondaries more plainly washed with blue externally, the innermost with olive-brown ; tail dull blue, brighter blue on the edges of the feathers; base of forehead and lores black, succeeded by a band of dull blue across the forehead and forming a distinct eyebrow, which extends to behind the ear-coverts, which are black ; cheeks, lower portion of ear-coverts, and entire throat pure white, surrounded by a very narrow line of black feathers, increasing in extent on the fore neck ; remainder of under surface bright blue, the under tail-coverts blue with a broad spot of black at the ends ; under wing-coverts and axillaries blackish, the outer ones washed with blue; quills ashy blackish below. Total length 9 inches, culmen 1:05, wing 3°7, tail 4°3, tarsus 1°35. ‘Adult female. Differs from the male in having the entire upper surface chestnut without any blue; the chestnut colour, however, is much duller than in the male, except on the lower back and rump; wings as in the male; cheeks and throat white; remainder of under surface blue as in the male. Total length 8°5 inches, culmen 1-0, wing 3°65, tail 3°9, tarsus 1:3.” The figures in the Plate represent an adult male and a young bird of this species: they are drawn from the typical specimens now in the collection of the British Museum. [R. B. 8.] EMAL sed = mW CO [te J —_m cy’ -~ Re = - CRO — Y) | 7 FD ~ a i =e + a = im S = Tees Z Oe hE VEST TO ad ( LAPS LIM SS 3 LCL. I Geuld &WHart del et ith NUT caiarprararapctyt a " 7" y y a =~ a . - f, } ty g = — Uy ie 4 Ent = 3 ¥ mp aX < "te moe a ne om RS! Gx LT Per S53; eRe FIG Rewer SA} lO SO ALE gS CP ES EUPETES CA RULESCENS, Temm. Blue-bodied Eupetes. Eupetes cerulescens, Temm. Pl. Col. ii. pl. 574 (1835).—Mull. Naturl. Geschied. Land- u. Volkenk. p. 22 (1839-44).—Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 208 (1846).—Bp. Consp. i. p. 252 (1850).—Sclater, Proc. Linn. Soc. 1858, p. 158.—Gray, Cat. Mamm. & B. New Guin. p. 25 (1859).—Finsch, Neu-Guin. p. 167 (1865).— Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 267 (1869).—Sclater, P. Z.S. 1873, p. 696. Tue genus Hupetes is no doubt one of the great group of strong-legged Thrushes, or Zimalide, so plenti- fully distributed throughout the tropical portions of the Old World; but, like many of the genera contained in the family, its systematic position is extremely difficult to define. Indications, however, of a more intimate acquaintance with these birds are not wanting ; for whereas the present species has remained for thirty-five years represented by a single unique specimen in the Leiden Museum, it has been rediscovered by Signor D’Albertis, while the same traveller and his companions, Drs. Bruijn and Beccari, have succeeded in discovering no less than three new species in the northern part of New Guinea. The only remaining member of the genus is the Hxpetes ajax, of Malacca, a bird plentiful enough in collections. It cannot be expected that so rare a species should have much of a history attached to it; and, indeed, up to the present time no notes whatever have been published respecting it. D’Albertis met with it in Andai, in North-western New Guinea; and it was originally discovered by the well-known travellers Macklot and Von Mueller in Lobo Bay. My figure is taken from a specimen kindly lent me by Signor D’Albertis, through Dr. Bennett, of Sydney, to whom I make my best acknowledgments for the loan. It represents an adult bird of the size of life. As far as I yet know, there is no different colouring in the sexes. The bird which is figured in the Plate is nearly uniform delicate bluish grey; throat white, surrounded by a collar of black, including the ear-coverts and lores ; the under part of the tail sooty grey ; bill and legs black. 4 4) a a7, wae 1. es W Hart ded. ot Fithe UVISALUJA IAT OATpTay Tapa yr a ‘ "7 y i IAA OS Se LT NES ENS: OT ES ORT re \ \ a AS SERICORNIS BECCARITI, Sawaa. Beceari’s Sericornis. a Sericornis beccarit, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vi. p. 79 (1874), xvi. p. 186 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia, etc. p- 407 (1881).—Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. vii. p. 305 (1883). 4 .' Comoe Er ? NI > Tue genus Sericornis is mainly Australian, but some representatives of it are met with in New Guinea and the Aru Islands. The present bird is one of these, being found only in the last-named locality. There are two sections of the genus, one in which the species have a distinct dark subterminal band on the tail-feathers, and a second in which this dark subterminal band is absent. Beccari’s Sericornis belongs to the latter division and is closely allied to S. Jrontals, a widely spread Australian species, but it is distinguished by having the ear-coverts dusky brown and the under tail-coverts dusky with fulvous tips. As far as we yet know, the present species is peculiar to the Aru Islands, where it was discovered by the celebrated Italian traveller and naturalist whose name it bears. The following description of the typical example is taken from the ‘British Museum Catalogue of Birds ’:— ‘* Adult male (Aru Islands; Beccari: type of the species). General colour above dark olive-brown, gradually becoming more rufous-brown on the lower back and rump; the upper tail-coverts deep rusty brown; lesser wing-coverts like the back; median and greater coverts and bastard-wing feathers blackish with narrow white tips, the inner greater coverts brown; primary-coverts black; quills dusky brown, with olive edges to the primaries, the secondaries externally rusty brown; tail-feathers brown with dusky bars under certain lights, externally washed with reddish brown; crown of the head a little more dingy than the back, the forehead black, as also the lores, which are surmounted by a white streak; no eyebrow; eyelid above and below the eye white; below the eye a blackish shade; ear-coverts brown; cheeks and throat white, the feathers with narrow blackish margins and spots; remainder of the under surface of the body white slightly tinged with olive-yellow; the fore neck and chest washed with dusky; sides of the body and flanks washed with olive-brown; thighs dusky brown; under tail-coverts yellowish buff, the long ones brown with broad yellowish-buff margins ; under wing-coverts dusky brown, the ones near the edge of the wing white, spotted with black; axillaries white; quills below dusky brown, inner. edges ashy grey; ‘ iris cinnabar-red’ (Beccari). Total length 7 inches, culmen 0-6, wing 2°35, tail 1°65, tarsus 0°85. (Jus. Civic. Genov.)” We are indebted to the kindness of the Marquis of Doria, the director of the Civic Museum at Genoa, for the loan of the typical specimen of the present species, which is contained in the Museum under his care. The Plate represents that bird in two positions, of the natural size. [R. B. S.] DIT > eA) al y wy, A Af : —— a 7 peel ated ax WHart d art del. et lith. SER AIA \ Cy] SERICORNIS ARFAKIANA, Sawada. Arfak Sericornis. Sericornis arfakiana, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genoy. vii. p. 962 (1875), xvi. p. 187 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia, ete. il. p. 408 (1881).—Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. vii. p. 306 (1883). AxruoueH belonging to the same section of the genus Sericornis as S. beccarii, with no dark subterminal band on the tail-feathers, the present species nevertheless represents a different division of the genus. The species which have the tail marked as above are six in number ; but the colour of the throat serves as a good distinguishing character between them. Thus S. drwnnea has the throat bright rufous, S. citreogularis has it yellow, S. frontalis and S. beccarti have it white, while in S. magnirostris and S. arfakiana the throat is pale tawny buff like the lores and the base of the forehead. Sericornis arfakiana differs from its near ally, S. magmrostris, in its much darker colour and blacker legs ; the colour of the upper surface is dark olive-brown instead of pale ashy rufous; underneath it is deep olivaceous in tint, instead of being pale ashy tinged with olive. It is, as yet, only known to inhabit the Arfak Mountains in North-western New Guinea. The following description of the typical specimen is taken from the British Museum ‘ Catalogue of Birds ’:— * ddult male (Profi, Arfak ; Bruijn: type of the species). General colour above dark olive-brown, browner on the lower back and rump, and rusty brown on the upper tail-coverts; lesser wing-coverts and median coverts like the back; greater coverts darker brown, edged with olive-brown, and with tips of dull fulvous forming an indistinct wing-bar ; bastard-wing feathers and primary-coverts blackish ; quills dark brown, edged with rusty olive, paler along the margin of the primaries ; tail-feathers dark brown, washed with reddish brown on their margins ; crown of the head more rusty brown than the back ; lores and base of the forebead light rusty colour, the latter slightly mottled with dusky tips to the feathers ; no eyebrow ; feathers round the eye and ear-coverts pale rusty red, the latter with paler shaft-streaks ; cheeks and throat pale rusty fulvous ; fore neck and remainder of under surface of body pale ashy olive ; the chest somewhat washed with rusty ; sides of the body and flanks rather deeper olive; thighs and under tail-coverts rusty ; under wing-coverts and axillaries dusky olive with somewhat of a reddish tinge ; quills below dusky brown, inner edges ashy. ‘Total length 4°5 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 2°35, tail 1°75, tarsus 0°85.” The figures in the Plate are drawn from the original specimen above described, and represent the bird of the size of life and in two positions. The Marquis Doria has been kind enough to lend us the specimen for the purpose of figuring in the present work. [R. B. S.] > ITZ, ce Bw o POLST’ "es re eo pie le Gwe IT AS G ~~ —_ > i“) iS S53 ww) he/ A ca, “e ¥ 7 HTT Airport 7 y 7" y y R Var SZ SERICORNIS MINIMUS, Gow. Little Sericornis. Sericornis mmmus, Gould, MS. Ir may, I think, be fairly stated that this particular genus is represented in every portion of Australia: from the outlying Houtmans Abrolhas on the west coast to the brushes of the Clarence on the east, from Tasmania in the south to Cape York in the extreme north, one or another species has already been discovered. That a genus of birds so widely spread over the continent of Australia should not be found in New Guinea is very unlikely; to this time, however, it has not turned up im the scanty collections that have been formed in that country. The nearest allies of this pretty little bird are the Sericornis frontalis of the eastern brushes of New South Wales, and the Sericornis levigaster of the northern portion of Australia. From the former it differs in the markings of the face and eye-stripes, from the latter in the total absence of any marks on the tips of the tail-feathers. Nothing has yet been recorded respecting the habits and economy of this species; but, judging from the sleek and silky texture of its feathers, it is an inhabitant of humid sterile places, among grasses and mossy stones, in the wilder portion of the forest. On reference to the accompanying Plate it will be seen that the male, although generally of the same appearance as S. frontalis, has the lores and markings of the face of a different form—a feature I know to be constant ; for I have received this bird in considerable numbers from collectors in Northern Queensland and the Cape-York district. I have stated in my history of 8. frontalis that that bird was the smallest species of the genus; the present is but a trifle larger. With regard to the reference to the specific name of mzumus, given by me to this bird some years ago, I regret that I cannot find it at the time of going to press. The figure may be thus described :— Male. portion of both eye-lashes ; all the upper surface brown, increasing to rufous on the rump; secondaries and Lores black, surmounted in front with a spot of white, a white mark also occupies the hinder lesser wing-coverts black, with white edges; throat white, passing into yellowish white on the under surface generally ; bill light brown, legs fleshy. The female has the lores brown, with the rest of the markings on the face as in the male. Total length 44 inches, wing 2%, bill 8, tail 12, tarsus 4. The Plate represents both sexes, of the natural size. mee a BE: Fe Wye ) re AN e - J 4 ae a eS. S PY. > i a SEZ we “aa s ny a SS 7 As aaa he oA tA mS ‘ Bia, =n 3 iS es, - w AMY TIS a 1 WN ae = S GOYDER De Gould & WHeart del. et lith og BIRT, Gould, nl Walter urip pe a ay em me “Ss rc f o Cae ‘ASS bd x a . = ae oN IT Pa BAS; Lory cet hoes aww A GSS eS AMYTIS GOYDERI, Gowa. Goyder’s Striated Wren. Amytis Goyderit, Gould, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 4th series, Oct. 1875, p. 286 As far as we yet know to the contrary, all the members of this peculiar genus are confined to the continent of Australia, and chiefly, if not wholly, to the interior, their favourite resort being sandy districts covered with rank grass and the usual herbage common to such soils. They are quite terrestrial in their habits, and run over the ground with great celerity. The nearest ally to this species is Amytis striatus; the entire throat and chest of the present bird, however, is white, or lightly coloured, which is not the case in 4. striatus or the two other known species 4. tewtilis and A. macrourus. Like the new species of Melithreptes, this bird was collected by Mr. Andrews, he being one of the party of the late Lake-Eyre expedition towards the interior of South Australia. The following is a literal copy of my paper in the ‘Annals,’ which I cannot do better than repeat here, regretting that no information has reached us as to the probable range of the species, nor any account of its habits and economy :— “General colour fawn-colour, distinctly streaked with white on the upper surface, each white stripe having a dark-brown lateral border on each side, the streaks becoming sandy-coloured on the lower back and disappearing entirely on the rump and upper tail-coverts, which are consequently uniform fawn ; tail- feathers brown, with sandy-coloured shafts, the outer feathers rather broadly edged with fulvous ; wings brown, the least coverts minutely and the greater series broadly streaked with sandy buff; quills brown, with light sandy-coloured shafts, and externally margined with rufous, the secondaries much more broadly, the innermost with broad fawn-coloured margins all round and streaked down the centre with sandy rufous ; lores and sides of face white, the latter narrowly streaked with blackish brown, more distinctly on the cheeks ; throat and breast pure white, as well as the centre of the abdomen ; the flanks bright fawn-colour, inclining to paler and more sandy rufous on the thighs and upper and under wing-coverts. «A second specimen sent, probably a female, is tinged with vinous instead of fawn-colour as in the male. «As Mr. Waterhouse points out in his letter, the new 4mytis is very closely allied to 4. textilis; but it differs in being fawn-coloured instead of dull brown, with much broader white streaks to the upper surface ; it is also distinguishable at a glance by its white under surface and fawn-coloured flanks.” I cannot close this short account without thanking Mr. Waterhouse, and the directors of the South- Australian Museum, for sending this bird to England that I might include it in the present work. The figures are the size of life. Co Clas PN I MEK SE A ) b/4) UNO gi / a ri ry y " Td eh es ark oN aS 3 : Pm Re ; Ca re — is BS ere 53 OSS ST 2 RS Gas awl GS ORTHONYX NOVA GUINEA, Meyer. Papuan Orthonyx. Orthonyx spinicauda, Schlegel, Neder]. Tijdschr. voor de Dierk. iv. p. 47 (1873). Orthonyx nove guinee, Meyer, Sitz. Akad. Wien, lxix. p. 83 (1874).—Beccari, Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vil. p. 7 (1875).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vii. p. 935 (1875).—Sclater, Ibis, 1876, p. 247. Ny x pe IT Ce I \ 5 Tue genus Orthonyx now contains three species, all of which have been figured by me, viz. :—O. spinicauda (or, as Count Salvadori has proved to us that it should be called, O. temmincki) ; O. spaldingi, of Ramsay ; and, lastly, the New-Guinea representative O. nove guinee, of Meyer. The first notice of the occurrence of this truly Australasian genus was given by Professor Schlegel, who recorded in 1873 the fact that the Dutch traveller Baron von Rosenberg had met with an adult male specimen of an Orihonyw in North-western New 4 Guinea. Prof. Schlegel adds :—‘I do not find any sensible differences between it and Australian individuals. It is true that its tail is six lines less than usual in the latter bird; but I refuse to attribute this difference to any other cause than an imperfect moult.” In the mean time Dr. Meyer also visited the same part of New Guinea, and procured the female; and on comparing it with O. spinicauda he found that it differed suffi- ciently to show that it belonged to a distinct species. In this conclusion he has been followed by Count Salvadori, who has had six specimens, three males and three females, to examine from the collections formed by Dr. Beccari and Mr. Bruijn in the Arfak Mountains. I must also admit that the species seems to me to be perfectly recognizable. Dr. Meyer writes :—‘ The reddish brown on the chin and throat is much more restricted than in O. spinicauda; and the remarkable black colour on the sides of this reddish brown is altogether wanting ; the sides of the body, breast, and belly entirely grey, with only a few white feathers on the latter. Further, the brown of the upper parts is as rich as in O. spinicauda, and the black colour more strongly developed. The white spots on the wing are remarkable by their absence.” Count Salvadori also gives a full account of the difference of the sexes, and of the specific difference between the present species and the Australian bird. Any one comparing the Plate now given with the one in my ‘Birds of Australia’ will see the distinctive characters of the two birds at a glance. To Dr. Meyer and Count Salvadori I am indebted for the loan of the birds figured in the Plate, which are represented of the natural size. When this paper had so far gone through the press, I received the following few lines from my friend Dr. Meyer, which I have great pleasure in inserting :—‘I only got one female of this new species from the Arfak Mountains, acquired in July 1873, at a height of about 3500 feet. In its general habitus it equals O. spinicauda from Australia, but differs in coloration and size. «Total length 172 millims.; wing 84; tail 67; bill 13.” a Ss a) S55 y) CINCLOSOMA AJAX. Orange-sided Ground-Thrush, Eupetes ajax, Temm. Pl. Col. ii. pl. 573 (1835).—S. Mill. Natuurl. Geschied. Land- en Volkenk. p. 22 (1839- 1844).—Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 208 (1846).—Bp. Consp. i. p. 252 (1850).—Sclater, Proc. Linn. Soc. n. p. 158 (1858).—Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 191.—Id. Cat. B. New Guinea, pp. 25, 56.—Id. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1861, p. 434.—Rosenb. Journ. f. Orn. 1864, p. 119.—Finsch, Neu-Guinea, p. 167 (1865).— Gray, Handl. B. i. p. 267, no. 3913 (1869).—Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. W. iv. pp. 90, 98 (1879). Ajax ajax, Less. Compl. Buff., Ois. p. 422 (1838). Ajax eupetes, Less. Rev. Zool. 1839, p. 226. Ajax typicus, Less. teste Bp. Eupetes goldiei, Ramsay, Proc. Linn, Soc. N.S. W. iii. p. 303 (1879).—Salvad. Ibis, 1879, p. 324. Cinclosoma ajax, D’Alb. & Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, xiv. p. 85 (1879).—Sharpe, Pr. Linn. Soc. xiv. p- 631 (1879).—D’ Albert. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879, p. 218.—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, xvi. p. 188 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia &c. ii. p. 416 (1881). Ts fine species is a native of New Guinea, where it was discovered nearly fifty years ago by Salomon Miiller, in Lobo Bay. His specimen remained unique in the Leyden Museum until quite recently, when Signor D’Albertis procured four males on the Fly River in the southern part of that great island; and I have recently seen several individuals obtained in the interior of South-eastern New Guinea by Mr. Goldie and Mr. Charles Hunstein. The original specimen, still existing in the Leyden Museum, was said to be a female ; and Count Salvadori, who has examined it, also believes that it has been rightly sexed; but he considers it to be a female in imperfect plumage. I should not hesitate myself to set it down as an immature male, were it not that in the British Museum there appear to be the adults of both sexes and a young male. Unfortunately none of the birds from South-eastern New Guinea in the above institution has been sexed by the collectors; but I fully believe that the birds here figured by me represent the fully adult male and female; and it will be noticed that the latter has the wing-coverts spotted with white (as in the Australian-members of the genus), while the male has them totally black. An examination of Temminck’s plate, which Count Salvadori states to be a poor representation of the specimen, reveals the fact that in the bird at Leyden the wing-coverts are likewise black. In my collection a bird believed by Mr. Bowdler Sharpe to be the immature male resembles the old female, but has the throat of a dull brown; and this question of the plumage of Cinclosoma qax must be left until some carefully identified specimens reach us from New Guinea. Nothing is known of the habits of this Cinclosoma ; but Mr. Kendal Broadbent marked one of his specimens as a new species of “ Mountain-Thrush.” Mr. Sharpe has very kindly sent me a description of an adult pair of birds in the national collection :— Adult. male.—General colour above dark earthy brown, the bead a little lighter than the back; wing- coverts black, excepting the inner greater coverts, which are like the back; primary-coverts black, the inner ones browner ; quills dusky, externally like the back, the primaries less strongly marked on the outer web; upper tail-coverts and central tail-feathers rather more olive-brown than the back, with mdistinct wavy bars under certain lights; remainder of the tail-feathers black, those near the centre of the tail washed with olive-brown near the base, the three outer feathers on each side tipped with white ; lores, eyebrow, feathers below the eye, and ear-coverts black, extending down the sides of the neck, getting narrower as it joins the black throat and encloses a large white patch, which occupies the entire cheeks, widening out behind; throat and chest glossy black ; centre of breast and abdomen white bordered with a narrow line of black down each side, the feathers forming this being black on the inner web, white on the outer; sides of breast and flanks orange-rufous, browner on the lower flanks and sides of vent; thighs whitish, ashy-brown behind; under tail-coverts white, the lateral ones varied with black outer webs; under wing-coverts and axillaries white, the edge of the wing black, the inner greater coverts also tipped with black ; lower greater coverts ashy like the quills below, which are lighter grey along the edge of the inner web; “ bill black; feet whitish; iris yellow” (D’ dbertis). Total length 9°3 inches, culmen 1:0, wing 3°9, tail 3°7, tarsus 1°3. % . . cy 54 Ney _ 4 eC IX ha S % . ale in being duller brown above and in having the wing-coverts ith triangular spots of black at the tip, the outermost lores and ear-coverts brown, Adult female.—Differs from the m brown like the back, the median and greater coverts W of the former with a white spot at the end; primary-coverts blackish brown ; forming a streak along the sides of the head, above which is a tolerably well-defined white eyebrow ; cheeks and throat pure white ; remainder of under chestnut shading into fulvous brown on the flanks ; under wing Total length 8°75 inches, culmen 0°95, wing 3:75, tail 3°5, tarsus 1:2. The figures in the Plate represent a male and the supposed adult female, of the natural size ; that of the male is drawn from a specimen in my own collection, and the female from a skin now in the British surface of body from the lower throat downwards orange- - and tail-coverts as in the male. Museum. a) eed a al ne hf sty RL (fa mt) . th bh ) WHart delice lith, ; Walter; 474 ; GRALLINA BRUIJNI, sawaa. Bruijn’s Grallina. Grallina bruijni, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, vii. p. 929 (1875).—Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. iii. p. 273 (1877).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, xv. p. 42, n. 4 (1879).—Salvad. Orn. Papuasia, ii. p. 191 (1881).—Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soc., Zool. vol. xvi. p. 435 (1882). Pomareopsis semiatra, Oustalet, Bull. Ass. Sci. de France, 1880, p. 173. Tue discovery of a species of Grallina in New Guinea is of great interest, as the genus was until recently considered to be entirely peculiar to Australia. In general appearance the New-Guinea bird differs considerably from its Australian relative, and is on the whole the handsomer bird of the two; but the same difference in sexes which characterizes the Pied Grallina is seen in the species from New Guinea. The present species was discovered in the Arfak Mountains by the hunters employed by Mr. Bruijn, after whom it is named. More recently it has been sent from the mountains of South-eastern New Guinea by Mr. Goldie, who procured it from the Morocco district at the back of the Astrolabe range. Mr. Goldie states that the native name is Zudz, and gives the following note :—‘ These birds are found flying about creeks and hopping about stones ; they seem to feed on insects obtained there.” The following descriptions are taken from a pair of Mr. Goldie’s birds in the British Museum. Adult male. General colour above glossy blue-black, including the scapulars ; all the wing-coverts pure white, forming a large shoulder-patch ; bastard wing, primary-coverts, and quills black with glossy blue-black margins ; lower back white ; rump, upper tail-coverts, and basal half of the tail creamy buff, the terminal half of the latter black ; feathers round the eye and ear-coverts blue-black, with a streak of white above the eye; the lower ear-coverts creamy white, as also the sides of the neck, forming a large patch ; throat and entire under surface blue-black ; lower flanks and thighs white; under tail-coverts creamy buff; on the sides of the lower back a patch of white feathers ; under wing-coverts and axillaries blue-black ; quills below black, the inner edges rather browner. Total length 6-9 inches, culmen 0:9, wing 4°09, tail 3-05, tarsus 1-1. Adult female. Resembles the male above, but differs as follows. Lores and broad eyebrow white ; eyelid, feathers below the eye, cheeks, ear-coverts, and throat blue-black ; remainder of under surface creamy white, deeper creamy buff on the flanks ; abdomen and under tail-coverts, under wing-coverts, and axillaries white, and base of quills also, broader on the secondaries. Culmen 0°85 inch, wing 4:00, tail 2-9, tarsus 1-05. The Plate represents an adult male and female of the natural size; and for the loan of the birds I am indebted to Mr, Edward Gerrard, junr. [R.B.S.] oI et .) —————— Gres: ry = Serv? ¥ Oe, ¢: wd ends iS ¥ ‘_Y XY oa aN J Gould & WHart del. et bith UUNLTN | AA ATTA ite = ¢ 3 "I a yy ay = * 7 2 gz ™ a EO MEGALURUS Aj lbs QL IN Walter, Imp MEGALURUS ALBOLIMBATUS. White-edged Reed-Warbler. Poodytes albolimbatus, D’ Albert. & Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xiv. p. 87 (1879).—Salvad. op. cit. xvi. p. 189 (1880).—id. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, p. 422 (1881). Megalurus albolimbatus, Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. vol. vii. p. 129 (1883). Count Satvapori has placed the present bird in Cabanis’s genus Poodytes, the type of which was the Australian Megalurus gramineus. We cannot, however, separate either the last-named bird or JZ. albo- limbatus generically from the other species of Megalurus. In the last-named genus there are two sections, one in which the upper tail-coverts are streaked with dark brown centres, and the other with the tail-coverts uniform. To this latter section belong AZ. timoriensis and the subject of the present article. JZ. albolimbatus is a much smaller bird than M. timoriensis, and is distinguished by the conspicuous white edgings to the inner secondaries and the dark brown centres to the tail-feathers. The following descriptions are from the male and female originally described by Count Salvadori :— “* Adult male (Fly River ; D’Albertis: type of species). General colour above ferruginous, the head, lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts uniform, excepting a slight indication of dusky striations on the head ; mantle and upper back more fulvous, the feathers broadly centred with black ; wing-coverts black, with rufous-buff margins, a little paler on the outer median coverts and bastard-wing feathers ; quills black, edged with rufous-buff, the inner secondaries conspicuously bordered with white on both webs, all the other quills narrowly fringed with whitish at the tips; tail-feathers dusky brown, with broad margins of dull rufous ; lores and a distinct eyebrow yellowish buff, the latter whiter; feathers round the eye and ear-coverts yellowish buff, rufescent along the upper edge of the ear-coverts; cheeks, throat, and under surface of body white, with a wash of yellowish buff on the fore neck and chest, deepening into tawny fulvous on the flanks and thighs, the under tail-coverts again a little paler; under wing-coverts pale fulvous, the quills ashy brown below, pale rufescent along the edge of the inner web; ‘bill brown, the lower mandible whitish ; feet fleshy ; iris chestnut’ (D’ dlbertis). ‘Total length 5-4 inches, culmen 0-65, wing 2°25, tail 3°35, tarsus 0°85. « Adult female. Similar in plumage to the male, but a little duller. Total length 5-3 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 2°15, tail 2°35, tarsus 0:85.” The figures in the Plate represent the male and female birds, of the natural size. They are drawn from the types lent to us by the Marquis Doria, whose kindness in sending us over many valuable specimens for the purposes of the present work we have much gratification in publicly acknowledging. [R. B. S.] a || ¢ PINE EI a 5 SG 4) is g wy, SS ——— EN Os —= Ae % CS = = a te Cb we} a WG ~~ a ya ee + = . 7. RV ts fl fi & Ke ~ del; et lith 7 SG ~d a ay eS Ah : dalvad DRYMACEDUS BECCARII, Saivad. Beccari’s Scrub-Robin. Drymaedus beccarii, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vii. p. 965 (1875).—Id. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 97.—Sharpe, Proc. Linn. Soc. xiv. p. 633 (1879).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xvi. p. 188 (1880).—Id. Orn. etc. Papuasia, ii. p. 416 (1881).—Id. Report Voy. H.M.S. ‘Challenger,’ ii. p. 80 (1881).—Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. vil. p. 345 (1883). Tue present species affords us another instance of the close relationship between the avifauna of Australia and that of the Papuan subregion; for the genus Drymacdus is essentially an Australian form, being found in all parts of that continent, and its presence in New Guinea and the Aru Islands is very interesting. Discovered by Dr. Beccari in the Arfak Mountains in North-western New Guinea, its existence in the Aru Islands was detected by the naturalists of the ‘ Challenger’ Expedition at Wanumbai. Since that time we have seen numerous examples from South-eastern New Guinea collected by Mr. A. Goldie and Mr. Broadbent, and the species appears to be by no means uncommon in the interior of that part of New Guinea. The following description is copied from the British Museum ‘ Catalogue ’ :— «« Adult. General colour above chestnut-brown, the head more dusky, and of a deep chocolate-brown ; lesser wing-coverts ashy brown, the remainder black, barred with white at the tip, the primary-coverts entirely black ; quills blackish, with a white spot at the base of the primaries, which have also a bar of whitish across the middle of the outer web; the secondaries washed with rufous towards the ends of the outer webs ; centre tail-feathers chestnut-brown, the remainder blackish, externally chestnut-brown, and tipped with white ; forehead blackish; lores and eyelid white, with a black spot above the eye, as well as another broad patch of black below the eye at the base of the ear-coverts ; adjoining these black spots the eyelid is also black ; a slight ashy shade along the sides of the crown; ear-coverts ashy brown, streaked with white near their bases; cheeks and throat white ; remainder of under surface whity brown or whitish washed with brown, the sides of the breast ashy brown, more rufescent on the flanks; under tail-coverts chestnut-brown ; axillaries ashy, tipped with white; under wing-coverts blackish, tipped with white, forming broad bars ; quills blackish below, with a patch of white near the base of the primaries and outer secondaries ; feet pale in skin; bill black. Total length 7 inches, culmen 0:75, wing 3-2, tail 3°5, tarsus 1:7.” The Plate represents an adult bird of the present species, in two positions, of the natural size. The figures have been drawn from a specimen procured by Mr. A. Goldie, and now in the Leiden Museum. [R. B. S.J Sasser prot Sy : EM Pp } o a — pe EGS } | 2 ‘| 1 HD a rae SZ == 2 x =F SS =a) Xs Oe mC Saati y\ f an s a 6 4s 3] > i pe SS . _ cS OB" a EPHTHIANURA CROCEA, Cast. & Ramsay. Yellow-breasted Ephthianura. Ephthianura crocea, Castelnau & Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. W. i. p. 380 (1877).—Ramsay, op. cit. li. p 186 (1878).—Sharpe, Cat Birds in Brit. Mus. vol. vil. p. 669 (1883). Tuis very pretty little species is one of the recent discoveries in Australian ornithology. It is easily dis- tinguished from the other three species of the genus (£2. albifrons, E. tricolor, and EF. aurifrons) by its yellow under surface and black pectoral collar. The species was first found on Norman River in the Gulf of Carpentaria by Mr. Gulliver, and more recently the late Mr. T. H. Bowyer Bower met with it on the Fitzroy River in North-western Australia. In my friend’s last journal, which his father has kindly lent to me, I find the following note on this bird :— “Sept. 15. We had previously observed these beautiful Lphthianure on the swamp about two miles from our camp, but could not obtain any specimens. I went to try and get a White Heron, leaving Breston to look after the smaller birds. The species is to be seen flitting among some strong reedy grass growing out of the water, and appears to hang therefrom and pick insects off the surface of the water. I only heard a very simple call-note, but no song. Females and young birds are easily obtained, but adult males appear to be rare. When disturbed about the water, they sought safety in some long grass about fifty yards away from the swamp, round which the grass has all been beaten down by sheep.” The following descriptions are taken from a pair of birds presented to the British Museum by Capt. Bowyer Bower, and collected by his son on the Fitzroy River :— Adult male. General colour above pale olive-brown, with slight indication of dusky centres on the feathers of the back ; the lower back washed with yellow ; rump and upper tail-coverts bright yellow; wing-coverts brown, edged with pale ashy, whiter on the median and greater series; the lesser coverts washed with yellow ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills brown, margined with pale yellow, the inner secondaries broadly margined and tipped with ashy whitish; tail-feathers dark brown, wargined with yellow and with a broad spot of ashy whitish at the ends ; crown of head like the back, but washed with olive-yellow, brighter towards the forehead; lores blackish, surmounted by a streak of bright yellow; eyelid yellow ; ear-coverts ashy brown washed with yellow; feathers below the eye, cheeks, and throat bright yellow, followed by a crescentic spot of black on the fore neck; remainder of under surface of body yellow, mixed with ashy, the lower abdomen ashy whitish; thighs and ender tail-coverts yellow; under wing- coverts and axillaries ashy, with yellow margins; edge of wing yellow; quills below dusky brown, ashy whitish along the inner edge. Total length 4°3 inches, culmen 0:45, wing 2°35, tail 1°35, tarsus 0°7. Adult female. Differs from the male in being ashy brown above without the wash of olive-yellow, the head like the back; sides of face ashy brown ; lores, cheeks, and throat white; fore neck, breast, and sides of body light ashy brown, the latter with a slight yellowish tinge ; lower abdomen ashy whitish ; thighs and under tail-coverts brighter yellow; rump and upper tail-coverts bright yellow as in the male, but not so brilliant. Total length 4:2 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2°3, tail 1°35, tarsus 0-7. The figures in the Plate, which represent an adult pair of birds of the natural size, are drawn from the birds described above. [R. B. S.J 7) ES. IAD ee ~an SI e SY. an wd 39). w~ S WE re 7 4 = . = bs oo x 2%. ZW EC <| a re or LA CN 2; EE 7 YS LS 2 : WS Te. sem TGald & WHart del. et bith Walter wp YUII]ITIATA LUAU TTTTTHTA ITTV a Y 3 yi i mA = RS a m0. ss Sees YR SS PACHYCARE FLAVO-GRISEA. Yellow-and-grey Thickhead. Pachycephala flavo-grisea, Meyer, Sitz. Akad. Wien, lxix. p. 495 (1874).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, vil. p- 775 (1875). In describing this bird as a Pachycephala Dr. Meyer seems to have had an idea that the species was by no means a typical one; and I need hardly do more than draw the attention of my readers to the bird figured in the opposite Plate to illustrate the very aberrant style of plumage exbibited by it as compared with the usual black and yellow or green dress of an ordinary Pachycephala. Jn point of fact, not only the plumage, but the form of the bird differs so strikingly that I feel compelled to institute a new generic title for its reception. In the olden days, when the quinary system had sway, we should doubtless have been told that the present species represented the Sittide, or Nuthatches, among the Shrikes, if, indeed, the Pachycephaline birds are to be accounted as belonging to the great group of the Laniide. Their position is not well ascertained ; and by some ornithologists they are considered to belong to the Ampelide, while Mr. D. G. Elliot raised them at one time to the rank of a family (Pachycephalide). Although the quinary theory is exploded, and its most potent advocates have passed away, one cannot be surprised at the hold that it once possessed on the minds of many earnest zoologists, as it brought forward characters and affinities which would perhaps have been otherwise neglected ; only its advocates were inclined to push their ideas to too great an extreme. The resemblance in the present instance, however, is very striking, not only in the grey Nuthatch-like colour of the back, but even in the two long black stripes (so characteristic of the Sitte) which run down each side of the neck. Dr. Meyer obtained his type specimen in the Arfak Mountains, in March 1873; and more recently Count Salvadori has received two specimens from the same locality, sent by Dr. Bruijn. Iam pleased to see that this excellent ornithologist is inclined to consider its generic separation expedient. I am once more indebted to Dr. Meyer’s kindness for the opportunity of figuring this interesting addition to the Papuan avifauna; and the following description is drawn up from the typical specimen. Face, ear-coverts, throat, and undersurface bright yellow ; crown of the head and all the upper surface grey; a black mark intervening between the yellow face, ear-coverts, and the grey of the upper surface of the body. ‘The three secondary wing-feathers next the body black, with a distinct square spot of white at their tips; underparts of the wing white; tail grey above, terminating in dusky black. This is by no means a typical Pachycephala, and must receive an appellation as a new genus (Pacuycare), in which the following characters must be noted :—Plumage lax. Bill stout, with a distinct notch and overhanging tip on the upper mandible; vibrissz absent. Wing rounded and feeble; first primary short, the fourth the longest. Tail short and rounded. Tarsi moderately long, exceeding the length of the bill, rather slight, as are the toes. Total length 5 inches, bill %, wing 32, tail 2s, tarsi 2. The figures in the Plate are of the natural size. AI em 7 : 5 IAS ot > eS) a (2) e N24, \ aS ——— RS a 2 0. f um Mintern Bros > Devis . Th Wy ca FY IN > RUFESC ND) « U7 CRACTIC W. Hart del. ot lithe, f ew Y = y ee 4 ea 4 — - & =~) t } S: wey PT ee Nae ‘ eS Gig: yy LA os RZ ram) ANY - ie, CRACTICUS RUFESCENS, bDevis. Rufous Crow-Shrike. Cracticus rufescens, Devis, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, vii. p. 562 (1883). For the opportunity of describing and figuring this interesting Australian bird we are indebted to the kindness of Mr. T. H. Bowyer Bower, who met with the species in Queensland. At first sight it looks like an immature bird of some of the black or pied species of Cracticus, and this was our impression on first reading Mr. Devis’s description ; but after comparing Mr. Bower’s specimens with the immature birds of the other Australian Cractici, we find that C. rufescens is undoubtedly a good species. Mr. Devis, who first described it, received his specimens from the Tully and Murray River Scrubs. Mr. Bowyer Bower met with the species in October at Gordon’s Camp on the Mulgrave River, twenty- two miles from Cairns, Trinity Bay. It was the only Cracticus seen in the neighbourhood and was decidedly scarce. The following descriptions are taken from an adult pair of birds procured by Mr. Bowyer Bower in Queensland and given by him to the British Museum :— Adult male. General colour above light rufous, the back streaked with ochreous buf and brown, the feathers being pale in the centre and brown on the margins; upper tail-coverts pale tawny rufous ; lesser wing-coverts also pale tawny; median and greater coverts blackish brown, with whitish or pale tawny ends, and a median streak of pale tawny; quills dark brown, externally marked with pale tawny rufous ; tail-feathers bronzy brown, the inner webs of all but the centre feathers light rufous; crown of head, hind neck, and upper mantle black, streaked with tawny rufous, more broadly on the latter ; lores, a narrow eyebrow, sides of face, and ear-coyerts tawny rufous, with dusky brown edges to the feathers; cheeks and under surface of the body pale tawny buff, rather more rufous on the sides of the body, flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts ; axillaries and under wing-coverts clear tawny; quills dusky below, pale tawny along the inner web: * bill bluish lead-colour at base, passing into black at the tips; iris brown” (7. H. Bowyer Bower). Total length 14:25 inches, culmen 2°1, wing 6°55, tail 5-2, tarsus 1:6. The female is a little paler and not so strongly streaked with rufous above. ‘Total length 13 inches, culmen 2°1, wing 6:4, tail 5:1, tarsus 1-55. The Plate represents a male and female of about the size of life, and the figures are taken from the pair in the British Museum. [R. B. 8.] ei res raw —c a a IAS oe cs zs x ee " GNSS TO) ao PAS Gy 4 a wae —— », ay r us > J apg rae 2 3 4 5 ST gee BR J a) — W. Hart delet uth Sra Ranusay Matern B roe ump. PACHYCEPHALA COLLARIS, Ramsay. Ramsay’s Thickhead. Pachycephala collaris, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. 8. Wales, iii. p. 74 (1878), p- 281 (1879), iv. p. 99 (1879).— Salvad. Ibis, 1879, p. 324.—Id. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xv. p. 45 (1879).—Id. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p. 221 (1881).—Gadow, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. viii. p. 197 (1883). Tue present species is closely allied to P. melanura, but differs in its olive-coloured tail, a distinction accurately noted by Count Salvadori, although he had never seen a specimen. Taking advantage of Mr. E. P. Ramsay’s visit to England during the year 1883, we borrowed the typical specimens of this bird for illustration in the present work, and have much satisfaction in figuring in the accompanying Plate the actual pair described by Mr. Ramsay, these being, so far, the only ones known in any collection. The habitat of the species is Courtance Island, off the south-east coast of New Guinea. The following is a description of the type specimens :— Adult male. General colour above olive-green, the feathers on the sides of the rump with yellow ends ; lesser wing-coverts like the back; median and greater coverts slightly brighter yellow, with dusky bases ; bastard-wing and primary-coverts dusky, edged with dull olive-green ; quills dusky, edged with yellowish olive, the primaries with ashy grey ; tail olive-green, rather yellower on the edges of the feathers; crown of head and nape black, separated from the back by a broad collar of bright yellow; lores, feathers below the eye, and ear-coverts black; cheeks and throat white, separated from the breast by a narrow black collar, which extends up to the sides of the ear-coverts ; remainder of under surface of body bright yellow, a little paler towards the vent and under tail-coverts; axillaries and under wing-coverts yellow, white at the bases ; quills dusky below, white along the inner edge. Total length 5:7 inches, culmen 0°8, wing 3°69, tail 2-7, tarsus 0:95. Adult female. Different from the male. General colour olive-brown, a little clearer on the rump and on the hind neck, where there is an indistinct collar; wing-coverts like the back, the greater series with dusky bases ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills dusky, edged with olive-brown, paler on the primaries ; tail dull olive-yellowish, the feathers edged with clearer yellow; crown of head dull chocolate- brown, contrasting slightly with the back; sides of face and ear-coverts clearer reddish brown, with the lores and eyelids whitish ; cheeks and throat white, the lower throat slightly shaded with brownish ; remainder of under surface of body bright yellow; axillaries and under wing-coverts white, edged with yellow. Total length 6-2 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 3°65, tail 2°4, tarsus 0°85. The Plate represents an adult male and female, of the natural size, drawn from the type specimens lent to us by Mr. Ramsay. [R. B. S.J CEES 4 *" Seed Ja) Re ri RALLYE ; Ce) * ve = pas to (xe) eS: ~AX BN 9) 7 =a ~~ =p Cys OSTA SP Ar PL V Hare del. et lith HALA FUSCOFLAVA , Seater Mentern Bros. uy Py i) ae 3 4 5 EE NEO PACHYCEPHALA FUSCOEFLAVA, Setater ‘Tenimber Thickhead. Pachycephala, sp. incog., Sel. Proc. Zool. Soe. 1883, p. 51. Pachycephala fuscoflava, Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1883, p- 198, pl. xxvili.Forbes, tom. cit. p. 589, pl. liii. Tus fine Thickhead is one of the largest of the genus Pachycephala, and was discovered by Mr. H. O. Forbes in the island of Larat in the Tenimber group. In the first collection sent by him to this country were two specimens marked as male and female, from which it was at first surmised that the species belonged to the dull-coloured section of the genus Pachycephala, and it was ouly on the arrival of Mr. Forbes in England that the fully adult male was described, the specimen having been accidentally mislaid by him in packing up his collections. The male may be described as being very similar in colour to P. torquata from the island of Taviuni, but much larger and lighter olive-yellow above, and much paler lemon-yellow below. The young male being so distinct, we give the following full description of it :— General colour above olive-greenish, rather more olive-yellow on the rump; head a trifle yellower than the back, from which it is separated by a faintly indicated ring of deep olive- yellow, not pronounced enough to form a distinct collar; lesser and median wing-coverts clearer olive-yellow than the back; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and primaries blackish brown, externally ashy grey, the secondaries and greater wing-coverts dusky brown, externally olive-yellow ; tail-feathers olive-greenish ; lores ashy whitish, with a dusky spot before the eye; eyelid rather more yellowish olive; ear-coverts reddish brown, with narrow whitish shaft-lines ; cheeks and chin ashy whitish marked with yellow, with a brighter yellow moustachial streak; throat and breast saffron-yellow, washed with brighter yellow in the centre of the breast; the sides of the breast and sides of neck browner; abdomen ashy whitish marked with yellow, the flanks olive-brown ; thighs and under tail-coverts bright yellow; axillaries and under wing-coverts pale brownish white, the latter washed with yellow; quills dusky below, ashy along the inner web: “ bill black ; legs and feet sooty blue; iris dark brown” (ZZ. O. Forbes). Total length 7:3 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 4°16, tail 3-1, tarsus 1°15. Adult female. Similar to the young male, but a little duller-coloured below, with less yellow on the breast : ‘bill, legs, and feet black ; iris dark brown” (ZZ. O. Forbes). Total length 7-2 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 0:9, tail 3-0, tarsus 1:05. The figures in the Plate represent the adult male and female of the full size ; they are drawn from the typical specimens in the British Museum. [R. B. $.] a, oe MOLE ST “> — : st U BN | ro Bo SD RD J ne cs a Z Ns 24 ne a x LiL ML HYCEPHA WHart del ct lith Walter, Lm IM itt 4| 5 PACHYCEPHALA ARCTITORQUIS, Selater. Narrow-collared ‘Thickhead. Pachycephala arctitorquis, Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1883, p. 55, pl. xu. Tue present species of Pachycephala was discovered in the Tenimber Islands by Mr. H. O. Forbes, and belongs to the fourth section of the genus as arranged by Dr. Gadow in the eighth volume of the ‘British Museum Catalogue of Birds,’ with this reservation, that the character of the back being ‘“ dusky black” belongs only to P. monacha and not to P. leucogaster, which has a grey back. P. arctitorquis closely resembles P. leucogaster in its grey back and black cap, but differs in having a much narrower black collar across the throat and consequently a greater amount of white on the throat, while round the hind neck in P. arctitorguis is an indistinct collar of paler ashy, which separates the cap from the mantle. Mr. Forbes tells us that this species is very common everywhere in the Tenimber Islands, frequenting trees, but by no means unfrequently descending to the ground. Adult male. General colour above slaty grey, with indistinct dusky shaft-lines on the mantle-feathers ; least wing-coverts like the back, median and greater wing-coverts also slaty grey, with blackish shaft-lines and concealed blackish bases; bastard wing, primary-coverts, and quills blackish, externally edged with slaty grey, more broadly on the secondaries ; upper tail-coverts rather more dingy than the back, and having narrow blackish shaft-streaks ; tail-feathers blackish, broadly edged with slaty grey, and all distinctly waved with transverse cross lines of black; the tips also very narrowly fringed with lighter ashy ; crown of head and nape black, forming a cap ; lores, feathers round the eye, and ear-coverts also black ; cheeks and entire throat white, surrounded by a black pectoral collar, which ascends on the sides of fhe throat and joins the black ear-coverts; sides of the neck and sides of the fore neck light pearly grey; remainder of under surface ashy white ; thigh-feathers dusky, with whitish tips; under tail-coverts, under wing-coverts, and axillaries white, the latter with ashy bases; quills dusky blackish below, ashy white along the edge of the inner web; “Dill, legs, and feet black ; iris dark brown” (1. O. Forbes). Total length 6 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 3:15, tail 2-5, tarsus 0°9. Adult female. Different from the male. General colour above ashy olive-brown, with somewhat of a rufous tinge; lesser wing-coverts dull rufous brown; median and greater coverts dusky, externally edged with rufous brown, lighter on the latter; bastard wing and primary-coverts blackish, narrowly edged with rufous; quills blackish, edged with rufous, more broadly on the secondaries, the innermost of which are entirely dull rufous; upper tail-coverts pale dull rufous; tail-feathers ashy olive-brown, washed on their edges with rufous; head dull rufous, contrasting slightly with the back ; lores ashy whitish, as also the feathers round the eye; ear-coverts and sides of neck dull rufous; cheeks and throat white, narrowly streaked with tiny lines of black; remainder of under surface buffy whitish, longitudinally streaked with black, except the flanks, which are pure white; the sides of the breast slightly tinged with rufous ; thighs ashy; under tail-coverts white ; under wing-coverts and axillaries dull white ; quills dusky below, ashy along the inner web; ‘upper mandible soot-brown, lower the same at tip, but at base pale flesh-colour ; legs and feet lavender-pink ; irides dark brown” (H. O Forbes). Total length 6 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 3, tail 2:4, tarsus 0°95. The Plate represents a pair of birds, of the size of life, drawn from the typical specimens lent to us by Dr. Sclater: they are now in the British Museum, Reese oe ~ cb ST po ‘a I} CEST e 4 WES SOO ead a ie: 5 a ako II Pm a et “NS AS Dry — = WHart delet Lith. PACHYCEPHAI A. BRUNNEA, famsay. Walter unp. EC amr gc ee a 5 PACHYCEPHALA BRUNNEA, Ramsay. Brown Thickhead. Hopsaltria (?) brunnea, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. 8. Wales, i. p. 391 (1877). Pachycephala brunnea, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. 8. Wales, iii. p. 382 (1879) ; iv. p. 99 (1879).—Salvad. Ibis, 1879, p. 324. Pachycephala dubia, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, iv. p. 99, note (1879).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genov. xv. p. 46 (1879).—Id. Orn. Papuasia &c. ii. p. 228 (1881). In an early collection of Mr. Goldie’s from South-eastern New Guinea occurred a single specimen of this bird, which we identified as Pachycephala brunnea of Ramsay, and the Plate was lettered with this name. We regret that at the time we had overlooked the fact that there was already a P. brunnea of Wallace, and that therefore Mr. Ramsay’s name could not stand. As Count Salvadori has pointed ont, the species has also been described a second time by Mr. Ramsay under the name of P. dubia, by which title it should beknown. The habitat seems to be South-eastern New Guinea, where it has been obtained on the Laloki river, and more recently in the Astrolabe Mountains by Mr. Goldie. It belongs to the plain-coloured section of Thickheads, and appears to be very closely allied to P. sémplea of Gould. The following is a copy of the diagnosis of the species given in Count Salvadori’s work on the Birds of New Guinea. Above clear brown tinged with olive, the head darker ; inner web of the quills and tail-feathers dusky grey (with the base of the quills whitish), white below ; lores dusky; a faintly indicated dusky band above the eye ; throat greyish ashy, dusky towards the breast, the latter marked witha transverse band of dusky ; sides of the breast and of the abdomen dusky ; abdomen, under tail-coverts, and under wing-coverts silky white ; tail dusky above, tinged with olive like the wing, below dusky cinereous ; shafts of the tail-feathers black above, below white. Total length 5:5 inches, wing 3:3, tail 2°5, bill 0°55. For the opportunity of figuring this species we are indebted to Mr. Edward Gerrard, jun., who kindly lent us one of Mr. Goldie’s specimens from the Astrolabe Mountains. The Plate represents the bird, of the size of life, in two positions. [R. B. S.J } | we Se D) wee a yay) ) a = s mS aS PACHYCEPHALA HYPERYTHRA, sawad Ruddy-breasted Thickhead. Pachycephala hyperythra, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, vii. sp. 932 (1875) ; x. p. 142 (1877) ; xv. p. 47(1879).— Id. Orn. Papuasia &c. ii. p. 232 (1881). Tux specimens which we identify with the species described by Count Salvadori as Pachycephala hyperythra came trom the Astrolabe Mountains in South-eastern New Guinea ; they agree fairly well with the description given by Count Salvadori; but the colour of the underparts can scarcely be said to be bright rufous, as they are stated to be in P. hyperythra. The habitat of the latter species is also given by Count Salvadori (in his work on the Birds of New Guinea) as the Arfak Mountains in the north-western portion of the island; and it may ultimately turn out that the specimens from South-eastern New Guinea belong to a different species from P. hyperythra. But recent experience has so clearly demonstrated the fact that the species inhabiting the Arfak Mountains do in a great many instances range throughout New Guinea into the Astrolabe Mountains, that we do not wish to divide these two birds specifically without an actual comparison of individuals from the two localities, a comparison which as yet we have had no opportunity of making. The following is a description of one of Mr. Goldie’s specimens from South-eastern New Guinea :— ‘General colour above rufescent olive-brown or clear earthy brown ; wing-coverts like the back, the greater series, bastard wing, primary-coverts, and quills dusky brown, externally like the back, but slightly more tinged with olive ; the secondaries externally of the same colour as the back ; tail-feathers dull rufous brown ; crown of head and nape dark slaty grey, as also the lores; feathers in front of and below the eye blackish ; ear-coverts dusky brown; cheeks and throat white ; remainder of under surface fawn-brown, a little clearer on the abdomen and under tail-coverts ; under wing-coverts brown, washed with olive near the edge of the wing ; the axillaries pale isabelline brown ; quills dusky below, isabelline along the edge of the inner web ; ‘bill black ; feet pale; iris chestnut.’ Total length 5:7 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3°65, tail 2°6, tarsus 0°85.” The Plate represents an adult male drawn in two positions, and is drawn from a specimen lent to us by Mr. Edward Gerrard, jun. [R. B. S.J 2 OL SSSI dD) ay a) CO IJ PA FY ar 4 Sy ew) a coe ; Uy ——— SZ . & GS WY z ms ty y ry — aaa Th} r) : Li SCHLbD MNYUNA UAL LATpOMTyATTGTTT AIT 1 r "7 MT i lage 4 ee 7 Nn PACHYCEPHALA SCH LEGELI, Rosenb. Schlegel’s Thick-head. Pachycephala schlegeli, von Rosenberg, Nederl. Tijdschr. Dierk. iv. p. 43 (1871).—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 697. —Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. x. p. 141 (1877). TuE genus Pachycephata is preeminently an Australasian form, being not only widely distributed over the whole of the Australian continent, but ranging over nearly all the Oceanic islands, and reaching its extreme development in the Moluccas. Here almost every group of islands has its peculiar species of Pachycephala of the ordinary form, bright yellow underneath, with a black head and collar across the breast. This is the typical characteristic of most of the Thick-heads, though in Australia there are some species of the genus Pachycephala which are remarkable for their dull coloration, leading off apparently to the Hopsaltrie (or Large-headed Robins). This is also the case in New Guinea, where both bright and dull-coloured species of Thick-heads are met with. Professor Schlegel gives the following account of the species :— “Mr. von Rosenberg has just sent us from the interior of New Guinea a nice series of specimens of a Pachycephala evidently new to science. It belongs to the number of species where the male in full plumage has the throat white, the head and chest black, the breast, as well as the belly, and a collar round the neck, bright yellow. Such, for instance, are the Pachycephala gutturalis of Australia, recognizable by its very small beak and its tail partly grey and partly black, P. calliope, of Timor, with a long bill and green tail, P. melanura, of the Moluccas, also with a long bill, but with a black tail. ‘““Pachycephala schlegeli has the bill short, like P. gutturalis; the tail, on the other hand, is black, as in P. melanura; but it is distinguished from all its allies by its small size, by its pectoral band of black three times as large as usual, its black wings, and finally by the yellow of the breast and abdomen passing into brownish orange. “Wing 3 inches, tail 2 inches 3 lines; bill from front 5 lines, breadth of bill at forehead 22 lines ; tarsus 10 lines; middle toe 5 lines. ‘In the living bird, according to von Rosenberg, the bill is black, the iris dark greyish brown, and the feet bluish grey.” I do not reproduce the entire description of the sexes given by Professor Schlegel, as the characters recorded above sufficiently distingnish the species, which is, indeed, a very well characterized one. The figures in the Plate represent the two sexes, of the natural size, and are drawn from specimens kindly lent to me by Dr. A. B. Meyer, from the Dresden Museum. Ht pt Fy > oe — IN % : a MoS Pa) 2D o> RYSTOPHORI, Fistran. W. Hart del et lith . Mintern Bros. Unp- HINUTA UA) UU]LATTOOEy OTT A FT " i 7" y! a ea a PACHYCEPHALA CHRISTOPHORL, Triser. San-Christoval Thickhead. Pachycephalus christophori, Tristram, Ibis, 1879, p. 441. Pachycephala christophori, Salvad. Ibis, 1880, p. 131.—Id. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p. 216 (1881). — Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. W. vi. p. 178 (1882), vii. p. 25 (1883).—Salvad. Ibis, 1884, Dao Tristr. t. c. p. 398. Pachycephala astrolabi, juv., Gadow, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. ix. p. 200 (1883). Tuts species was discovered by Lieut. Richards in the island of San Christoval in the Solomon group, and was described by Canon Tristram. It is undoubtedly a distinct species, without the yellow collar round the hind neck or the black head of P. astrolabi, which jis its nearest ally; it is also a much smaller bird than the Jast named, which is an inhabitant of Guadaleavar in the Solomon Archipelago. According to Mr. Ramsay, P. christophori has also been found in the island of Ugi by Messrs. Morton and Stephens. Dr. Gadow considered that the present species was merely the young of P. astrolabi; but in this he was undoubtedly wrong, as has been shown by Canon Tristram and Count Salvadori. The following is a description of the typical specimens in Canon Tristram’s collection :— Adult male. General colour dull yellowish green, a little lighter on the lower rump and upper tail-coverts ; lesser wing-coverts a little yellower than the back; median and greater coverts dusky blackish, washed externally with olive-yellow ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills also dusky blackish, edged with olive- yellow; the primaries margined with ashy grey; tail-feathers dusky blackish, the centre ones dull olive- yellowish towards the base, the remainder washed externally and tipped with dull olive-yellow; crown of head a little more dusky yellowish green than the back ; the lores black, as also a frontal band; fore part of eyelid and feathers below the eye blackish ; ear-coverts dull olive-brown with whitish shaft-lines ; cheeks and throat bright yellow, followed by a broad black band across the lower throat, fore neck, and chest; breast and abdomen bright yellow, inclining to orange on the upper breast ; sides of body and flanks also yellow, very slightly tinged with greenish ; thighs and under tail-coverts paler yellow ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white, washed with yellow on the edges ; quills below dusky, white along the inner edge: ‘feet ash-colour, iris grey” (G. £. Richards). Total length 6-4 inches, culmen 0:8, wing 3-4, tail 2°3, tarsus 1:05. Adult female. Brighter yellowish green than the male, the head like the back, but with no black forehead ; ear-coverts like the crown, tinged with reddish brown, of which colour there is also a shade on the quills ; upper tail-coverts and tail, cheeks and entire under surface of body bright yellow, paler on the throat, slightly washed with greenish on the fore neck, chest, sides of body, and flanks, and tinged with orange on the breast; no black pectoral collar; under wing-coverts and axillaries yellow; quills dusky below, reddish along the edge of the inner web. Total length 5:65 inches, culmen 0 8, wing 3°26, tail 2:2, tarsus 0-95. The young male resembles the old female, but has a few black feathers on the breast, indicating the appearance of the pectoral band. The Plate illustrates the male and female of the natural size, the figures having been drawn from the type specimens kindly lent to us by Canon Tristram. [R. B. 8] eA CESS + rea ee Pw) es a e SS Vry“e al 5 t “3 ha 3) PACHYCEPE ALOPSIS FO RTIS. W Hart del. ct Lith Walter, Imp. ALIN UYU ITTrayrar sui Wii . 2 ie y " . ag PRB oP . = SSS TS my ——— se Ni PCLT eI ie PACHYCEPHALOPSIS FORTIS. Grey-throated Thickhead. oe Pachycephala fortis, Gadow, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. vol. viii. p. 369 (1883). 2D a) We have already had the pleasure of figuriug two species of Pachycephalopsis in the present work, and we 5 SS now introduce to our readers a third very interesting species, recently discovered by Mr. A. Goldie during his explorations at the back of the Astrolabe range of mountains in South-eastern New Guinea. Dy 4 The present species is somewhat allied to P. hattamensis, but is strikingly different, being distinguished by the uniform grey throat and breast, the pale yellow under tail-coverts, and the absence of rufous on the wings. It resembles the last-named species, however, in its olive-green back and grey head. The following is a description of the type specimen in the British Museum :— Adult, General colour above olive-greenish ; wing-coverts like the back, the greater and primary-coverts dusky, externally edged with olive-green, the bastard-wing feathers grey; quills dusky brown, externally olive-green, browner on the primaries, the inner secondaries entirely like the back ; tail-feathers dull olive- brown, greener on the edges and barred with dusky under certain lights ; head and nape slaty grey, as also the sides of the neck, ear-coverts, and sides of face; lores greyish white; cheeks, throat, and breast pale grey, with narrow dusky shaft-streaks to some of the feathers of the fore neck ; abdomen creamy white ; sides of body pale brown washed with olive ; thighs ashy washed with olive ; under tail-coverts yellowish white washed with olive-yellow ; under wing-coverts and axillaries pale olive-yellow ; quills dusky below, ashy along the edge of the inner web. Total length 6°6 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 3°65, tail 2°75, tarsus 1:05. [R. B. S.J er) eZ SSS a PL ACL We 5 PSS OH AL IT Fm us > J Ss WA - ah -X — = ——— - TS ra a =e Le — = ae 7 sae LS, Meyer Walter, Lp. PACHYCEPHALOPSIS HATTAMENSIS. Hattam Thickhead. Pachycephala hattamensis, Meyer, Sitz. k. Ak. Wissensch. zu Wien, lxix. p. 391 (1874).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Gen. x. p. 142 (1877).—Oust. Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, 1877. Pachycephala haltamensis (errore), Sclater, Ibis, 1874, p. 417. Pachycephalopsis hattamensis, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genov. xv. p. 48, no. 47 (1879).—Id. Orn. Papuasia &c. ii. p. 236 (1881). Tue shorter tail and longer tarsi in this species have been considered by Count Salvadori sufficient to separate the bird generically from the genus Pachycephala; and although I was at first disposed to doubt the admissibility of adopting his genus Pachycephalopsis for the species, I am now inclined to think that he was right in effecting this separation. Unfortunately, before I had taken this view, the printing of the Plate had been finished; and hence the discrepancy of the name on the latter with that at the head of the present article. As far as we know, the present species is only found in North-western New Guinea, having been discovered in the district of Hattam by Dr. Meyer; and it has been met with in the same country and on the Arfak Mountains by the Italian travellers D’Albertis and Beccari, There would appear to be no difference in the sexes; but in the young birds, according to Count Salvadori, the colour is browner and more white on the abdomen, and the external aspect of the quills is rufous. I add a translation of the description given by the last-named author in his work on the Birds of New Guinea :—Head, neck, and sides of the head ashy; lores white; back and rump greenish olive; chin and throat white; lower throat, breast, and abdomen olive-yellow, duller on the lower throat and the breast ; quills dusky, externally margined with brownish rufous; the upper wing-coverts dusky, margined with olivaceous; under wing-coverts rufous; upper tail-coverts and tail brownish rufous; under tail-coverts pale brown ; the shafts of the tail-feathers extending a little beyond the web. Signor D’Albertis states that the iris is chestnut, the bill black, and the feet dusky. The figures in the Plate represent a pair of birds of the natural size. They are drawn from the typical specimen kindly lent to me by Dr. Meyer. [R. B. S.] sl e/ eS & os ¢ bs a AD i Z FP, oe = . = = W Hart, delet lith ; ; LANNY oN . MaArpe. Walter unp PACHYCEPHALOPSIS POLIOSOMA, Sharpe. Grey Thickhead. Pachycephalopsis poliosoma, Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soc. Zool. vol. xvi. p. 318 (1882). Tuis fine Thickhead was discovered by Mr. A. Goldie in the Taburi district, at the back of the Astrolabe range, in South-eastern New Guinea. Although much resembling the genus Pachycephala in the shape of the bill, the present species nevertheless differs in its longer wings and longer tarsi; and I agree with Count Salvadori that, like P. hattamensis, it ought to be generically separated. With the last-named bird it agrees entirely in form; but the simple coloration gives it a very different appearance. Nothing was recorded by Mr. Goldie concerning the habits of this species ; but he states that the native name is “* Uradaroro.” The following is a translation of the original description published by Mr. Sharpe :— Above uniform dull ashy grey, the head slightly duller ; wing-coyerts like the back, quills and _tail- feathers rather browner ; lores and eyebrows, as well as the ear-coverts, ashy, the feathers before the eye and a streak below the latter black ; under surface of body ashy grey, with the lower abdomen and the under tail-coverts slightly whitish; throat whitish brown, the sides washed with ashy; cheeks whitish, lighter than the throat and forming an indistinct moustache; under wing-coverts and axillaries ashy, quills sepia-brown below, edged with pale brown along the inner web. Total length 6:3 inches, culmen 0:8, wing 4:2, tail 2°5, tarsus 1-2. The figure in the Plate represents this species of the natural size: it has been taken from the typical specimen in the British Museum. [R. B. 8.] 2S ¥ 1. NS ~~ G y u x 58 WS B4 Ay & wy, OUIRALIS, Gould, Walter mp: III 0 UIT ATTATHGTLWTTTE fn ‘i " y i" XEROPHILA PECTORALIS, Gowa. Chestnut-breasted Xerophila. Xerophila pectoralis, Gould, Ann. N. H. (4) viii. p. 192. Or the many puzzling forms which Australia produces, the little genus Xerop/ia is one of the most charac- teristic. The present species has all the appearance of a Finch; and the coloration even approaches that of some Fringilline birds I could mention; to find, therefore, that it had been placed by systematists in the family Fringillide is not so very surprising. The late Mr. George Robert Gray, in his ‘ Hand-list of Birds’ (part i. p. 235), has associated Xerophila with Suthora and Certhiparus. My own view of the case, as will be seen on consulting my ‘ Hand-book of the Birds of Australia,’ is very different : notwithstanding its thick bill, I have referred the type to the Acanthize ; and the discovery of the second species does not alter my opinion. I have to express my regret that absolutely nothing has been recorded respecting this pretty little bird. I am indebted to the kindness of the Director of the South-Australian Institute at Adelaide, and to Mr. Waterhouse, for the opportunity of describing and figuring it. I reproduce the original diagnosis, published by me in 1871. Face and throat white, passing into greyish white on the ear-coverts; crown and nape hair-brown, mottled with blackish brown, the darker tint occupying the centre of each feather ; back chestnut-brown, becoming much darker and richer on the rump; upper tail-coverts hair-brown ; two central tail-feathers hair-brown, with lighter edges, the five lateral feathers on each side black, tipped with white; across the chest a well-defined band of cinnamon-brown ; under surface white, with a mark of chestnut down the centre of each of the flank-feathers ; wings dark brown, the secondaries broadly margined with dull buff ; under tail-coverts buffy white ; bill and feet black. Total length 3% inches ; bill $, wing 22, tail 12, tarsi 3. The type specimen was procured at Port Augusta, South Australia. The figures in the Plate are of the natural size. a ? —— ee — i\ a . \ v Np, SITTELLA ALBATA, Ramsay, White-winged White-headed Sittella. Sittella leucocephala, Ramsay, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1875, p. 600 (nec Gould). ——— albata, Ramsay, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1877, p. 351.—Id. Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, ii. p. 192. Tue genus Sv¢ted/a contains the Australian representatives of the Nuthatches of the northern parts of the Old and New Worlds, and is represented on the continent of Australia by seven species, five of which have been described by me; one species is found in New Guinea. It may readily be believed that a considerable number of specimens have passed through my hands ; and it is just possible that I may have handled examples of the present new species; but if so, I never noticed the distinction between it and Sittella leucocephala. Xt would, indeed, require a careful examination of a specimen to notice the difference between these two species; for the white spots on the quills (instead of reddish ones, as in S. leucocephala) are only seen on spreading the wing. Mr. Waller, to whom I am indebted for lending me a fine specimen of Stttella albata, tells me that he was skinning it, when the white spots on the underside of the quills attracted his attention, as he did not remember to have seen them in S. leucocephala, with which species he was well acquainted. On pointing out this difference to Mr. Ramsay, that gentleman re-examined his series, and discovered other specimens in his possession from Port Denison, which he described in 1877 as Sittella albata. The geographical ranges of the two species above mentioned do not seem to me to be exactly understood as yet; for Mr. Ramsay gives the range of 8. dewcocephala as the Wide-Bay district, New South Wales, and the interior province, while the new Sv¢¢ella albata is said to come from Port Denison and Rockingham Bay. I understood Mr. Waller to say that he had procured his specimens near Brisbane; and it may be possible that 8. adbata ranges as far south as the neighbourhood of that town. Mr. Ramsay, in his paper ‘On the Birds of N.E. Queensland,” first identified the present species with S. leucocephala, and observes that it is far from being rare there, being usually met with in open forest country over the whole of Northern Queensland as far as Cooktown. Its habits and actions and nidification do not differ materially from those of the other members of the genus. The notes of all closely resemble each other. The following is Mr. Ramsay’s description of the species :— ‘Head and neck, a small spot at the base of the primaries on the underside of the wing, a band through the wing as far as the ninth quill, the upper tail-coverts, and the tips of all the tail-feathers except the centre two snow-white; under surface ashy white, with a broad dark brown stripe down the centre of each feather; under tail-coverts of a darker brown, tipped and margined anteriorly with white ; back and scapulars brown, darker in the centres of the feathers; wing- and tail-quills blackish brown, the former crossed with a white band as far as the ninth quill; bill at the base, the legs and feet, and skin round the eye yellow ; remainder of the bill black. Length 3-7 inches, wing 3, tail 1-5, tarsus 1-7, bill 0-5, bill from gape 0:7.” The figures in the Plate are drawn from a single specimen lent to me by Mr. Waller, whose kindness in showing me many fine species of Australian birds during his recent visit to Eugland I have much pleasure in acknowledging. The birds are represented of the size of life; and I have ventured to introduce into the Plate a representation of the nest of a St¢ted/a, which I believe to be that of the present bird, as it was sent to me from the part of the country which this species inhabits. I have never before had the opportunity of figuring one of the nests belonging to any member of the genus; but Mr. Ramsay states that the nidification of all the Si¢tel/e@ is of a similar character, ‘the nest being placed in an upright and usually dead fork of some high branch ; it is made of fine strips of bark with a large quantity of spiders’ webs, with which small scales of bark, resembling that of the branch in which it is placed, are felted on so carefully as hardly to be detected, even at a comparatively short distance; the rim is very thin, the nest open above, and very deep.” 5 ; - CLAUC INS , Sclater yx \ HH later wip. } Se rN oy Ae 33) \ $3 WIIVAVAY LAA) UULAATTpOMey near vy a i ” "i " SSS i CLIMACTERIS PLACENS, Selater. New-Guinea ‘T'ree-Creeper. Climacteris placens, Sclater, P. Z.S. 1873, p. 693. ‘Tuer discovery of a typical species of this Australian genus in New Guinea,” writes Dr. Sclater, ‘is of very great interest. Dr. Schlegel has already recorded the existence of S’¢¢el/a in the same country.” In indorsing the opinion of the above-named gentleman, I feel that there is little else for me to say, as each new traveller im the island brings to light some hitherto unsuspected link between the avifaunas of the two countries. Nothing has been recorded respecting the habits of this Tree-Creeper. The original specimen was obtained by Signor d’Albertis in Atam, near the Arfak mountains. The following is a transcript of Dr. Sclater’s original description :— «* Above mouse-brown; the plumes of the head rufescent, with paler shafts, and narrowly tipped with black ; wings black, with a broad basal bar of ochraceous buff traversing the base of the quills ; under wing-coverts also ochraceous buff; tips of the quills and the secondaries adjoinmg the back obscure dusky brown ; tail black, tipped with cinereous, the two centre tail-feathers of nearly the same colour as the back ; underneath paler, more ashy, the whole belly and vent streaked with black and ochraceous ; a patch of feathers under the eye rufous; bill black ; feet yellowish; iris blacx. Total length 5-4 inches, wing 3:2, tail 2:5, tarsus 0:9, hind toe without claw 0:6. The figures in the Plate are life-size. \ aaa NE > ea rom wee a0 F iS + — — » AV AA L wD) IK WJ 4A N AA y ° \Could & WHarv, ded ct th 77 Ani. Malier ip CINNYRIS MAFORENSIS. Mafoor-Island Black Sun-bird. Chalcostetha aspasia, var. maforensis, Meyer, Sitz, k. Akad. Wissensch, in Wien, lxx. p. 123 (1874).-—Sclater, Ibis, 1874, p. 419. Hermotima maforensis, Salvad. Atti R. Accad. Torino, x. pp. 208, 227 (1874), xii. p. 301 (1877). Cinnyris maforensis, Shelley, Monograph of the Cinnyride, part v. (1877). Tuis species is the representative of the Black Sun-birds in the island of Mafoor, situated in Geelvink Bay. It was discovered by Dr. Meyer during his expedition to New Guinea, and has been allowed to be specifically distinct by Count Salvadori and Captain Shelley. I must say that I feel considerable compunction in admitting these species; they seem to me to be rather races of one form. But a good many specimens of all these different Sun-birds have been procured by the travellers ; and the characters, if slight, are constant. As might be expected, there has been nothing written on the habits of this Sun- bird ; so that I have only to transcribe the single paragraph given by Captain Shelley respecting it :— “The present species belongs to the division of the ‘ Hermotimia’ group in which the lower back is ereen. It only differs from C. aspasi@ in the golden colour of the crown, which in this bird is only faintly tinted with green in certain lights. It is also slightly larger. As far as we yet know, it is entirely confined to the small island of Mafoor, in the Bay of Geelvink.” The following description is also taken from Captain Shelley’s work. Adult male. PBilack with a deep-blue gloss, the entire crown golden; the least median series of wing- coverts, the scapulars, the lower half of the back, and the upper tail-coverts metallic green very slightly shaded with blue; a few of the outer greater wing-coverts and the tail-feathers edged with the same colour; chin and throat violet-shaded steel-blue. Total length 4 inches, culmen 0°75, wing 2°5, tail 1:5, tarsus 0°65._ Two male birds are represented in the Plate, of the size of life. They were lent to me by Dr. Meyer. eee m. ee re of RS ie IVa OODIDWw ere SOPRPBNY CTE \ (( }) Ire 4 IN > || S 1 ES) NCZS ONG IGN SLS ° CINNYRIS MYSORENS Mysore-Island Black Sunbird. Chalcostetha aspasia, vay. mysorensis, Meyer, Sitz. k. Akad. Wissensch. in Wi len, Ixx. p. 124 (1874).—Sclater, Ibis, 1874, p. 419. Hermotimia mysorensis, Salvadori, Atti R. Accad. Torino, x. pp. 208, 224 (1874), xii. p. 301 (1877). Cinnyris mysorensis, Shelley, Monograph of the Cinnyridz, part v. (1877): Ir is now seven years ago since we first began to get some insight into the mysteries of the large islands which are situated in the Bay of Geelvink in North-western New Guinea. During Mr. Wallace’s travels in that part of the world he had been unable to penetrate to these islands, the natives of which had a bad reputation for hospitality ; and it fell to the lot of Baron von Rosenberg to send home the first birds to the Leiden Museum. Many fine birds from Jobi, Mafoor, and Miosnoum were sent by him; and these researches were still further pursued by Dr. Meyer, who collected largely in these islands and increased our knowledge of their ornithology greatly. Every thing seems to point to the fact that, whereas Jobi is an island which contains a considerable number of peculiar species, it is impregnated with a large number of New-Guinea birds, while Mysore and Mafoor seem to be more distinct as regards their avifauna. Nothing is known of the economy of the present beautiful little Sunbird ; and I transcribe the following remarks of Captain § Shelley, who writes in his ‘Monograph :’— “This form is nearly related to C. aspasi@; and I place it in the green-backed division of the ‘ Hermo- tuma’ group: yet it much depends upon the light in which we view these feathers, as to whether the green or blue shade predominates; in this respect, therefore, it may be readily distinguished from C. aspasie, | as well as in the greater extent of the metallic throat. It also differs from typical specimens of that bird in having the crown of a darker colour, and the throat almost pure lilac: but these parts in C. aspasie vary to a certain extent in individual specimens, as may be seen in my article on that species. “The present bird has only been found on Mysore, the large outer island of the Bay of Geelvink, where it was first collected by Dr. Meyer, who pointed out its specific characters.” The following description of the adult male is given by Captain Shelley :— Black with a deep-blue gloss; the entire crown metallic bluish emerald-green ; the least and median series of wing-coverts, scapulars, lower half of the back, and the upper tail-coverts metallic green very strongly shaded with blue; the tail-feathers and a few of the outer greater wing-coverts edged with the same metallic bluish green; chin and throat rich metallic lilac, and extending further on the chest than in C. aspasi@ ; bill and legs black ; irides dark brown. Total length 4°6 inches, culmen 0-8, wing 2°5, tail 1:7, tarsus 0°65. The adult female and young male resemble those of C. aspasie. In the Plate I have represented two males and a female, from typical specimens lent to me by Dr. Meyer. Walter rp HIISAUI ULL LTTTaT TAT YT 2 " 7 y "q a ty CINNYRIS SANGIRENSIS. Sanghir Black Sun-bird. Chalcostetha sangirensis, Meyer, Sitz. k. Akad. Wissensch. in Wien, lxx. p. 124 (1874).—Sclater, Ibis, 1874, p. 419. Hermotimia sanghirensis, Salvad. Atti R. Accad. Torino, x. p. 233, pl. i. fig. 2 (1874).—Id. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. ix. p. 56, no. 10 (1876).—Id. Atti R. Accad. Torino, xii. p. 311 (1877). Cinnyris sangirensis, Shelley, Monograph of the Cinnyride, part v. (1877). Tue Sangir or Sanghir Islands are a little group lying to the north-east of Celebes, and between that island and the Philippine archipelago. The ornithology of the group has not yet been worked out completely ; but as far as we know the facts at present, it is very closely related to that of Celebes, though at the same time possessing several peculiar forms. The specimens which I figure are lent to me by my excellent friend Dr. A. B. Meyer; and [ have followed Captain Shelley, who is our best authority on the family, in the nomenclature of the species. As there is nothmg known concerning its habits, I transcribe the account given by the last-named author in his ‘Monograph :’—*‘ This well-marked species belongs to that section of the ‘ Hermotimia’ group which comprises species with the metallic portions of the back blue. It may be distinguished from its allies by the general brownish shade of its plumage, and by the bronzy copper-colour of its throat, in which latter character it appears to be the species which most nearly approaches to Chalcostetha insignis. Like the Celebean forms C. grayi and C. porphyrolemus, it has the sides of the metallic throat margined with distinct bands of steel-blue, which are not met with in the other members of this group; and they also resemble each other in the absence of the metallic colourmg on the scapulars and median series of the wing-coverts ; but this latter character is not confined to these three species. «The present bird was first described by Dr. Mcyer from specimens collected by himself at Siao, one of the Sangir or Sanghir islands, a small group situated to the north of Celebes ; and it appears to be exclusively confined to that archipelago.” A long account is given by Captain Shelley of a series of birds sent to Count Salvadori from the Sanghir Islands, which it is not now necessary to reproduce, as it concerns the changes of plumage which the bird goes through ; and I therefore refer my readers to the Monograph itself. The following descriptions are from Captain Shelley’s book :— Adult male. Brownish black with a purple gloss; the forehead, crown, and nape metallic golden green ; least wing-coverts, a few of the smallest scapulars, the lower back, and upper tail-coverts steel-blue, shaded with violet and green ; tail-feathers edged with lilac-bronze ; throat coppery bronze, margined with steel- blue on the sides of the chin and upper half of the throat ; bill and legs black ; irides dark brown. Total length 4°3 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 2°4, tail 1°75, tarsus 0°6. Adult female. Upper half of the head and neck, back, and scapulars olive-yellow; upper tail-coverts black ; wings dark brown, all the feathers broadly edged with olive-green ; tail black, with white tips, broadest on the outer feathers ; cheeks yellower than the crown; underparts sulphur-yellow, slightly tinted with olive on the sides of the breast, the under tail-coverts very pale yellow; under surface of the wings brown, with the inner margins of the quills and the coverts white, the latter shaded with yellow ; bill, legs, and irides dark brown. Total length 4 inches, culmen 0-6, wing 2-05, tail 1-4, tarsus 0°6. The Plate represents two males and a female, of the natural size, for the loan of which I am indebted to Dr. Meyer. 4 & aD ei ee MELIRRHOPHETES ] sKUCOST SGould & WHart del. et lith Walter up HUAI ATprarerapctyti a mt "| " } MELIRRHOPHETES LEUCOSTEPHES, Meyer. White-faced Honey-eater. Melirrhophetes leucostephes, A. B. Meyer, Sitzungsb. der k.-k. Akad. d. Wissenschaften zu Wien, Ixx. Juni 1874, p- 111.—T. Salvadori, Ann. del Mus. Civ. di Genova, vol. vil. 1875, p. 776. Tus large and attractive Honey-eater must form a conspicuous feature among the flowering trees of New Guinea, much as do the large species of this family so numerously spread over Australia; at least we may surmise this, as not even a few words have been placed on record by its discoverer Dr. Meyer, or by any other person. These meagre descriptions, however, testify to the rarity of the subject, and point out to future travellers over New Guinea how very desirable it would be for them to jot down any such particulars before they leave the forests, or at least as soon after as an opportunity may occur. All I can now say is that my artist, Mr. Hart, has made as faithful a portrait of this new bird as possible, to which I add Dr. Meyer’s description very kindly forwarded to me in a letter. «Feathers of forehead and those which encircle the naked skin surrounding the eye white; throat, crown, and hinder part of head, nape, ears, and a patch which borders the front of the eye black ; naked eye-skin and lengthened skin-fold of the mouth yellowish ; caruncles of the throat orange ; back brownish, feathers of the upper part edged with white and brownish white; under surface black, with some white markings on the breast and abdomen ; upper part of wings bright olivaceous ; under surface greyish, with lig mixed; upper part of tail brown, each feather having a lighter edge on the outer web ; bill bluish grey, ht-brown edges on the bases of the inner webs; under wing-coverts blackish, with light brown inter- lighter at the tip; feet and tarsi blackish grey, soles of feet lighter.” Total length 11 inches, bill 1s, wings 5, tail 5, tarsi lee According to Salvadori the sexes are alike in colour. Hab. Arfak Mountains in New Guinea. The figure in the Plate is of the natural size. \ u Mi Ae Mever. MELIRRHOPHETES OCHROMELAS, Meer. Ochraceous Honey-eater. Melirrhophetes ochromelas, A. B. Meyer, Sitzungsberichte der k.-k. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Wien, Ixx. Juni 1874, p. 112. Tuis bird is somewhat similar to JZ Jeucostephes or the White-faced Honey-eater ; however, it has several characters which separate it from that species. First, it is a smaller bird, its bill more slender, whilst the caruncles of the face and naked skin round the eye are less developed. Its general colouring is much darker, and, as its trivial name implies, is of an ochraceous tint. Its legs are more slender and of a pale yellow colour, whilst they are bluish black in M. leucostephes. I wish it were in my power to add some information respecting the habits and economy of this novelty, the discovery of which is due to Dr. Meyer, who has kindly forwarded me his unique example for the purpose of figuring it in the present work, together with the following short note (made, I suppose, at the time the bird was killed) :-— ‘© Melirrophetes ochromelas and M. leucostephes are closely allied; but the former has no white on the head or under surface, with the exception of some small marks. It has, as before stated, a smaller bill, light-coloured feet, smaller and deeper orange-coloured caruncles at the throat, more lively tints on the outer edges of the wings &c. ‘Head black, with a small stripe of the eyebrows and ends of the ear-feathers brownish ; naked skin of the eye and lengthened skin-fold at the angle of the mouth yellowish ; caruncles of the throat orange- red. | Upperside brownish, feathers of the upper surface of the back edged with white ; under surface blackish, with some faint white stripes on the abdomen ; wings like those of M. leucostephes, the only difference being that the edges of the outer webs are of a more ochreous colour. Tail like that of M. leucostephes, but with the edges of the outer webs of a lively yellowish tint. Bill bluish grey, with a lighter tip; feet yellowish flesh-colour, tarsi darker.” Total length 94 inches, bill 12, wings Ay, tail 43, tarsus 1%. Hab. Arfak Mountains, New Guinea. The figure is of the natural size. i V oe 3 =, \ x Se rede 8 Wi a) GLLZ Cs ides sun Minter Bres BATEST , Sharpe. LES U7 u LO IP IED ‘winds td IL 1 = a Eaaee W. Hart del et lithe. SACINY AORN AR: NC AC NC Ae OPN Nghe —— ed MELIRRHOPHETES BATESL, Sharpe. re Bates’s Honey-eater. .' Melirrhophetes batesi, Sharpe, Nature, 1886, p. 340. aad If) a ye 2 —— ww a Tux discovery of a species of the genus Melirrhophetes in Southern New Guinea is of great interest, as hitherto the genus has been supposed to be confined to the north-western portion of that island. It is being Cy gradually proved, however, that these mountainous faunee of the north-west and south-east of New Guinea are x a 5 similar in character, and that either the same species occur throughout the island, or else representative species of the same genus are discovered. In the present instance the Melirrhophetes of the Astrolabe Mountains av is closely allied to DZ. ochromelas of Meyer, from the Arfak Mountains; but it is evidently distinct, having a a laa > tuft of tawny feathers above and below the bare space of the eye, nor does it seem to have the brown shade y iy )y 4 behind the ear-coverts which is represented in our Plate of JZ ochromelas, and was drawn from the type specimen. I am not aware of the existence of any example of the last-named species in this country, so we have only had the Plate to compare with, but this leaves little doubt of the distinctness of JZ, batesi. No particulars accompanied the single specimen sent by Mr. Forbes, who obtained it in the Sogeri district of the Astrolabe range in Southern New Guinea. At his request we have named it after Mr. H. W. Bates, who, a traveller himself, knows how to sympathise with the difficulties which surround the absent explorer. The following is a description of the typical specimens :— Adult. General colour above blackish, the mantle and upper back tipped with white or pale tawny buff edges to the feathers ; the lower back and rump uniform dark brown ; scapulars and lesser wing-coverts blackish with a slight wash of olive, a little more distinct on the median series ; the greater and primary- coverts, as well as the quills, blackish brown, edged with olive-yellow, more distinct on the secondaries ; bastard-wing dusky blackish ; primaries tipped with pale fulvous, extending a little way down the outer web ; upper tail-coverts dark brown, with a slight wash of olive; tail-feathers dark brown, edged externally with greenish olive; crown of head black, the occiput and nape browner, with a faint tinge of olive, the hind neck, again, rather blacker ; lores black ; region of the eye bare, with a band of pale tawny feathers on the sides Oi the crown along the eye; ear-coverts and feathers below the eye, as well as the cheeks, black, the ear-coverts and hinder cheeks slightly washed with grey, and having a small tuft of tawny feathers behind the former; throat and under surface of body blackish brown, with narrow shaft-lines of ashy white on the breast-feathers, the lower breast and abdomen browner and more sooty ; sides of body, flanks, and thighs like the breast ; under tail-coverts dusky brown, broadly edged with tawny or yellowish buff; under wing- coverts and axillaries blackish, the latter tipped with yellowish buff; quills below blackish, the primaries with pale tips, the base of the inner webs also pale tawny. Total length 9 inches, culmen 1°3, wing 4°8, tail 4:1, tarsus 1:00. The figures in the Plate are drawn from the specimen described above, and represent the species of the natural size. [R. B. S.J MELIDECTES TOR WATUS, Sdate: J.Gould &£WHart del. et lith UMYLINAUAL UAL LLTOpOTY TTT NUT a " 7 My I Walter ump MELIDECTES TORQUATUS, Seiater. Pectoral Honey-eater. Melidectes torquatus, Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1873, Nov. 4, p. 694, fig. 2 & pl. lv.—A. B. Meyer, Sitzungsber, der k,-k. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Wien, Bd. lxx. p. 128 (1874, Juni 18). Tue late Mr. Strickland used to say that, in his opinion, we had nearly come to the end of species, and that but few more discoveries would be made; yet this is not the case, and, with deference to the opinion expressed by my very worthy and lamented friend, I may state that not only have hundreds of novelties appeared since his premature demise, but we are, even at the present period, yearly in receipt. of birds of whose existence we had previously no conception. It is, however, I consider, a piece of good fortune if an ornithologist has an opportunity of describing such a fine bird as the one under consideration. That MJeldectes torquatus is very different from all others, there can be no doubt; and it gives me great pleasure in being able to assist in giving it publicity. I must not omit thanking my friend Dr. Meyer for the loan of several examples of this bird in the finest state of plumage. These, when compared with specimens collected by d’Albertis in the Arfak Mountains, present little or no difference in size and appearance. As regards sexes, Mr. Sclater says, ‘“‘ Fem. mari similis ;” while all those sent to me from Dr. Meyer were marked female. Mr. Sclater, in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’ Nov. 4, 1873, says, ‘“‘ This is a most con- spicuous new Meliphagine form, not very far from Péoés, but distinguishable by the bareness of the sides of the face, and bare stripe behind the rictus. These are separated by a scanty line of feathers, extending beneath the eye. ‘A pair of these birds were obtained by Signor d’Albertis at Atam in October 1872.” Bill bluish horn-colour, lighter at the tip; throat, crown, ear-coverts, mark down the side of the neck, and pectoral band, black, the space between the pectoral band and the throat white ; sides of the neck buff striated with black, upper surface olive black, each feather strongly edged with white; wings brown, edged with olive ; tail dark brown, edged with olive on the outer margins; under surface greyish white, spotted with black down the flanks and suffused with reddish buff on the chest ; a large bare space of yellow sur- rounds the eye, above which, separating it from the black, is a line of buff; there is also a small bare space of yellow on the jaw. Total length 8: inches, wing 4, tail 33, tarsi 1, bill 1+. The figures in the accompanying Plate are of the size of life. Hab. Atam, apud mont. Papuanos Arfak.—Sclater. MUMLIODEC TIES IE MUULIOL, Meyer. Mintern Bros. ump: W. Hart cel et lith. PUNTA Tice " rt 7" y! I" MELIDECTES EMILII, Meyer. Count Turati’s Honey-sucker. Melidectes torquatus (nec Scl.), Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soe. xvi. p. 438 (1883). Melidectes emilit, Meyer, in Madarasz’s Zeitschr. fir gesammte Ornithologie, ili. p. 22, Taf. iv. fig. 2 (1886). Tue first occurrence of this speces in South-eastern New Guinea was recorded by us in 1883, when Mr. Goldie’s collections from the Astrolabe Mountains reached England. We then compared specimens with the plate of 17. torquatus from the Arfak Mountains, figured in the present work, and were unable to see any differences between them ; but Dr. Meyer, who had examples before him from the Horseshoe range of the Astrolabe Mountains, compared them with others from North-western New Guinea, and described the southern bird as AZ, emifii, naming it after Count Emilio Turati of Milan. We have no doubt that Dr. Meyer, having specimens from both the north-west and south-east of New Guinea, was able to form a more correct judgment than we were, and that he was perfectly right in separating JZ. emilii from M. torquatus, although the differences are very slight, consisting in the pale under surface and smaller white throat-spot in the southern bird. We have lately seen several specimens from the Astrolabe range, all of which bore out the characters assigned to JZ. emilit by Dr. Meyer, and we therefore fully believe in the distinctness of the species. Besides the specimens obtained by Mr. Goldie in the Morocco district, where it is called by the natives ‘Ugirru,’ it has been met with in the Horseshoe range by Mr. Hunstein, and by Mr. H. O. Forbes in the Sogeri district. It is from specimens obtained in the last-named locality that the figures in the Plate have been drawn. [R. B. S.J GYMNOPS, Sclater Gould &WHart del.et lith Walter, ump HULU) LAO {ALY COTTOy TTT nT Mt y 7" M I" — a z aN. ais SL MELIPOTES GYMNOPS, Seiater. Naked-faced Honey-eater. Melipotes gymnops, Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1873, p. 695, fig. 3 & pl. 56.—A. B. Meyer, Sitzungsber. der k.-k. Akad. d. Wissenschaften zu Wien, lxx. 1874, p. 128.—T. Salvadori, Ann. del Mus. Civ. di Genova vol. vil. 1875, p. 776. > Tur discovery of the present species in the Arfak Mountains of New Guinea makes an important addition to the great group of Honey-eaters—a group almost peculiar to the Papuan Islands and Australia. The size of the bird under consideration is about that of Melidectes torquatus ; but it differs in its shorter and more robust bill and in its much more naked face. The only remark made by Dr. Sclater is as follows :— “This form of the Meliphagine family is very distinct on account of the denudation of the whoie ocular region, which is frmged below by a narrow caruncle. D’Albertis’s notes do not give the colour of these naked parts; but they are probably orange or flesh-colour. The bill is short and rather stout; the nostrils are short and suboval, and situated in a shallow groove near the central feathers.” The following description is taken from a specimen in Dr. Meyer’s collection:—Throat and chest blackish, becoming lighter on the flanks and abdomen, the light marks assuming the form of triangular spots; under tail-coverts pale buff; under tail-feathers brownish grey, the shafts, as in the other species of Honey-eaters, being whitish ; bill black; feet bluish black; large naked space round the eye wavy, orange-yellow; crown of the head and back blackish brown, lighter on the rump; tail-feathers pale brown, edged with olive; wings, on the upper surface brown, margined as in the tail; under surface of the wings rich buff, passing into brown on the primaries. Total length 84 inches, bill 1, wing 4+, tail 5, tarsi 14. Hab. Atam, apud montes Papuanos Arfak. The two birds in the accompanying Plate are of the size of life, from specimens in Dr. Meyer’s collection. Lith WIN ha R \ RA Lill Salvad. Mintern Bros. unp TTT iy GLYCYCHAIRA FALLAX, Satvaa. Silky-plumed Honey-eater. Euthyrhynchus, sp., Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vii. p- 953 (1875), ix. p. 23 (1876). Glycichera fallaw, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genoy, xii. p. 335 (1878).—D’ Albert. & Salvad. op. cit. xiv. p. 78 (1879).—Salvad. op. cit. xvi. p. 74 (1880). Glycychera fallav, Salvad. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p. 310 (1881), iii, App. p. 542 (1882).—Meyer, Zeitschr. gesammt. Orn. i. p. 288 (1884). Tephras whitet, Ramsay, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1882, p. 357.—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xviii. p. 422, note (1882). Glycyphila fallax, Gadow, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. ix. p. 213 (1884). Tue Marquis Doria having very kindly sent over to England some of the rare Papuan species contained in the Civic Museum at Genoa, we have enjoyed the privilege of presenting figures of some of the most interesting forms to our readers. The genus Glycychera at present contains two species, G. fallax and G. polocephala, the latter being from Andai, in North-western New Guinea. G. Jallax also occurs in Andai, but is further distributed over New Guinea, having been sent by D’Albertis from the Fly River and Naiabui in the south-eastern portion of the island. Dr. Beccari also procured a specimen in the Aru Islands, whence Dr. Meyer has likewise recently received a specimen. The genus Glycychera has certainly no relation whatever with Glycyphila, into which it has been merged by Dr. Gadow, without seeing a specimen. It appears to us to be one of the aberrant genera which connect the Meliphagide aud Diceide, and would by some ornithologists be placed in the latter family, in the vicinity of Melanocharis. The long fluffy plumes on the lower back and on the flanks are most striking, and are not accentuated enough in the Plate which accompanies this description. Adult male. General colour above dull olive-greenish ; the feathers of the lower back and rump long and fluffy and rather lighter olive; lesser and median wing-coverts like the back; greater coverts and quills dull ashy brown, edged with olive like the back ; bastard wing and primary-coverts dull ashy brown, narrowly fringed with olive ; upper tail-coverts like the back ; tail-feathers dull ashy brown, edged with olive ; head and neck decidedly more ashy than the back, much greyer on the sides of the face and ear-coverts ; round the eye a ring of white feathers; throat whitish, streaked with yellow edges to the feathers; fore neck, breast, and sides of the body ashy, the former streaked, the latter washed with pale yellow ; abdomen and under tail-coverts pale yellow; under wing-coverts white, washed with pale yellow, a little clearer on the edge of the wing; quills ashy below, whitish along the edge of the inner web: “ bill blackish above, whitish below ; feet leaden; iris dull white” (D’ Alberts). Total length 4-5 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 2:3, tail 1°35, tarsus 0°7. Adult female. Similar to the male, but with less grey on the head and face, both these parts being duller ; the throat, breast, and underparts more distinctly washed with yellow. Total length 4:5 inches, culmen 0-5, wing 2°25, tail 1°55, tarsus 0°7. The figures in the Plate represent the male and female of this species of the natural size ; they are drawn from specimens belonging to the Genoa Museum, and kindly lent to us by the Marquis Doria. The male is from the Fly River, and the female from the Aru Islands. The latter is rather smaller in its dimensions. [R. B. S.J i PITS ce Tus ne ; HALRB it [OR ; LN EY Gould, Walter 7p MELITHREPTUS LATIOR, Gow. Beautiful Honey-eater. Melithreptus letior, Gould, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 4th series, Oct. 1875, Dee ove Aurnouen the members of this little but well-defined genus ef Honey-eaters are so generally distributed over the great continent of Australia and Tasmania, as yet no single species has been discovered in any other country. What New Guinea will give us, time alone will testify. All the species of the genus Melthreptus are of small size, and characterized by being very similarly coloured ; yet, with all this, if due attention be given to certain peculiar characters, the specific distinctions are very evident. All have the eyelash thickened and bare of feathers ; and in each species this naked skin is differently coloured: for instance, in the larger species inhabitmmg Tasmania the skin is described by me from the life as being white tinged with bright green; while I have noted (also from the living birds) that the AZ. gudaris of New South Wales is of a beautiful bluish green. In the present bird, which is intimately allied to the species just mentioned, the eyelash is bright yellow. After remarking that in the common JZ. linulatus of New South Wales these same parts are bright scarlet, it will not be necessary to say more on this point with regard to the species found in Western Australia, Port Essington, and Cape York. Every country surrounding Australia has, then, it will be seen, a species of this genus peculiarly its own; and that the more distant interior does not want a representative is evidenced by Mr. F. W. Andrews’s discovery of the beautiful bird now under consideration. One thing, I expect, is pretty certain, that wherever there are Eucalypti, such trees will be enlivened by one or another species of the present group. It has always been a supposition on my part that some larger species will yet be discovered, so that Melithreptus and the great Lntomyze will become more nearly united than they are now. In writing to me about this bird, Mr. Waterhouse, to whom I am indebted for a beautiful specimen, says :—‘ This is the finest species of the genus that I have yet seen. Only four were shot, and I send you one of the best. When alive they had a bright yellow rim round the eyes.” The following is a transcript from my original description as published in the ‘ Annals ’:— Head and nape black, as well as the lores and ear-coverts ; the cheeks and a band of feathers round the occiput pure white ; back greenish yellow, brighter on the rump and shading off into bright lemon-yellow on the hind neck and sides of the latter; tail brown, with a narrow whitish edging at the tip, all but the outer feathers margined with greenish yellow ; wings ashy brown, externally washed with grey, the primaries narrowly margined with whitish; under surface of body white, the breast and flanks shaded with ashy, and the chin black, fading into ashy brown on the throat and producing a distinct chin-stripe ; under mineeconent: white, shaded with ashy; naked skin surrounding the eye bright yellow. Total length 5:5 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 3:4, tail 2-7, tarsus 0:75. Although very closely allied to IZ gularis, this species is altogether a much more finely coloured bird. In size it is slightly larger, and is at once to be distinguished by its white under surface and the beautiful lemon-yellow na the neck, as well as by the yellow naked skin surrounding the eye, which part is greenish blue in Af gularis. The ashy shade which pervades the entire lower surface of 41 gularis is not seen in M. letor. The figures are of the natural size. % a WD 9 as Pee ZA YX A J) ay me of Y; wy, i} ie 31673 W.Hart del. et lith Walter Imp. HUIJATA IAG UUAALATTpmreyeaTTTTH TATE a i" “ ‘i yy PHILEMON PLUMIGENIS. Hoary-throated Honey-eater. Tropidorhynchus, n. sp., Wall. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1857, xx. p. 473. Tropidorhynchus plumigenis, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, pp. 174, 191.—Id. Cat. Birds New Guinea, pp. 24, 56 (1859).—Id. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1861, p. 434.—Finsch, Neu-Guinea, p. 165 (1865).—Rosenb. Reis. n. Zuidoostereil, p. 79 (1867).—Meyer, Sitz. k. Akad. Wien, Ixx. p. 144 (1874).—Rosenb. Malay Arch. p. 365 (1878-79). Philemon plumigenis, Gray, Hand-list of Birds, i. p. 160, no. 2081 (1869).—Salvad. P. Z. S. 1878, p. 88.—Id. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xiv. p. 655 (1879), xvi. p. 79 (1880).—Id. Report Voy. ‘ Challenger,’ 11. p. 70 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia, ete. ii. p. 353 (1881).—Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1883, p. 51. Tue Timor Laut examples of this species cannot be said to be strictly identical with the PAzlemon plumigenis of the Ké Islands, for the head is so much paler brown, more like that of Philemon bouruensis, which it further resembles in having the light mottling above the eye, on the ear-coverts, and sides of face. There can be no doubt that P. plumigenis and P. bouruensis are very closely allied—so closely, indeed, that it is not easy to assign distinct specific characters to them. In our article on Oriolus decipiens we have drawn attention to the way in which its plumage mimics that of the present species of Honey-eater, and we would invite our readers to compare the descriptions and figures of the two birds, and to notice how wonderful is the resemblance between them, even to such details as the light hind neck, the appearance of an eyebrow, and the blackish colour of the Oriole’s side face, where the bare skin occurs in the Honey-eater. Mr. Forbes tells us that the resemblance is even carried out in their mode of life, and that they are difficult to tell when sitting in the same tree, were it not for the difference of their notes. We have described here an adult male collected by Mr. Forbes in the Tenimber Islands. Adult male. General colour above brown, a little paler on the head and mantle; the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts darker and more ashy brown; feathers of the crown somewhat lanceolate in shape, with narrow blackish shaft-lines and dusky centres, not sufficiently pronounced to impart a streaked appear- ance ; wing-coverts and quills brown, shaded with ashy on the outer webs of the quills ; tail-feathers light brown, rather paler at their ends and crossed with dusky bars under certain lights; sides of the face and region of the eye bare, as well as the ear-spot ; ear-coverts and hinder cheeks brown, the fore part of the . cheeks washed with hoary whitish; sides of neck hoary grey, extending in a narrow collar round the hind neck ; throat and fore neck hoary, the malar line brown; remainder of under surface of body pale ashy brown, the chest with narrow dark-brown shaft-stripes ; axillaries and under wing-coverts like the breast, washed with rufous on the edge of the wing; quills dusky brown below; ‘bill, legs, and feet black ; iris dark brown” (1. O. Forbes). The Plate is drawn from one of Mr. Forbes’s specimens ; the principal figure is of the natural size. Pe asal W. Hart dol UUIINTUITAA ALLY AUTTTUET OTT UL WTEEE un " 7" y! " et Lith a ay Salwad : 5 ee Vinterm Bros. unp STIGMATOPS CHLORIS, sewad Mysol Honey-eater. Stigmatops argentauris, pt., Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xii. p. 336 (1878). Stigmatops chloris, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xii. p. 337 (1878).—Id. op. cit. xvi. p. 76 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p. 325 (1881).—Sharpe, Rep. Voy. H.M.S. * Alert,’ Birds, p. 19 (1884). Glycyphila ocularis, pt., Gadow, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. ix. p. 213 (1884) CounT Satvaporr separated the Honey-eater from Mysol from S#gmatops ocularis of Australia on account of its greener coloration and whitish auricular spot. Dr. Gadow, in treating of the last-named species, unites not only Stigmatops chloris but also S. subocularis to §. ocularis, stating that intermediate forms frequently occur. We have already had occasion to controvert this reasoning on Dr. Gadow’s part, and we do not hesitate to restore to these species of S¢igmatops the distinct position accorded to them by Count Salvadori, whose work Dr. Gadow has somewhat unreasonably upset. S. chloris is yellowish both above and below, instead of greyish as S. ocularis, and the ear-spot is whitish. Two specimens are in the British Museum from Mysol; and we are indebted to the kindness of our friend Dr. Jentink for the loan of a specimen from the Leyden Museum, collected in Mysol by Hoedt in June 1867, and one of the types described by Salvadori. The following is a description of this specimen :— Adult male. General colour above dull greyish olive, more distinctly greyish on the neck and scapulars, lighter and tinged with olive-yellow on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; wing-coverts like the back, the greater series dusky brown, edged with the same colour as the back, the median and greater coverts indistinctly tipped with ashy olive; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills dusky brown, margined externally with olive-yellow, brighter on the quills; teil-feathers ashy olive, with olive-yellow margins and blackish shafts ; crown of head like the back ; lores and sides of head above the ear-coverts somewhat more dusky; cheeks pale ashy ; below the eye a patch of silvery white dots, followed by a spot of silvery white on the ear-coverts ; under surface of body pale ashy washed with light olive-yellow, the centre of the abdomen rather brighter olive-yellow; the feathers of the fore neck and breast with obsolete margius of pale olive- yellow, with a few mesial streaks of the same colour ; under tail-coverts pale ashy, margined with light olive- yellow ; axillaries and under wing-coverts also pale ashy with light olive-yellow margins ; quills dusky below, ashy whitish along the edge of the inner web. Total length 5 inches, culmen 0°7, wing 2°75, tail 2:1, tarsus 0°75. The Plate represents an adult bird in two positions, the figures being drawn from the typical specimen lent to us by Dr. Jentink. Eee [R. B. S.J 4 405") Zi 4) © RZ fis) “y a m PA STIGMATOPS KEBIRENSIS » Meyer. W. Hert cel. ek Lith Mintern: Bros. ump: YHA ci ay iareayey a} Yi " a Mi Se y 3 > i _ STIGMATOPS KEBIRENSIS, Meyer. Kebir Scaly-throated Honey-eater. Stigmatops kebirensis, Meyer, in Madarasz, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. i. p. 218 (1884). Tuts species has lately been described by Dr. Meyer from specimens sent to him by Mr. Riedel, and we have thought it advisable to give a figure of it in the present work. As might be expected, it is very closely allied to Stigmatops squamata from the neighbouring group of islands ; and it is somewhat remarkable that any difference should be found in specimens from adjacent islands like Kebir and Timor Laut, when examples from the latter island-group are not to be distinguished from others collected in the island of Choor, which is much farther distant from Timor Laut than Kebir. The adult Stgmatops kebirensis is a much greyer bird than S. sqguamata, especially on the wings. Underneath, the squamations or mottlings of the plumage are confined to the lower throat and chest, not extending nearly so far down the breast. Beyond this we cannot perceive any differences, and the distinctive characters must be admitted to be very slight. The pair sent by Dr. Meyer measure as follows :— oe: Culmen. Wing. Tail Darsus: (ame NGeeisebin (iirede)). «ww SC OD 0-75 2°95 2°3 0-80 ereluveisebin(hiede)). 5. . . 00 0-+0 2°90 2°4 0-75 The second specimen, which, in spite of some of its larger dimensions, we take to be a somewhat younger bird, is greener than the type, especially on the wings and sides of the body, but it preserves the more restricted mottling on the breast which distinguishes the species from Sfgmatops squamata. The Plate represents an adult and a somewhat younger bird, of the size of life. The figures are drawn from the pair of birds described above and lent to us by Dr. Meyer. [R. B. S.J Sa naan 5 W. Hart del ot ith. STIGMATORPS SQUAMATA, Salvad. Mintern Bros.unp- UMLTIANY UNA LLYUTpOONT TAT ATT a y " My " STIGMATOPS SQUAMATA, Sawaa. Scaly-chested Honey-eater. Stigmatops squamata, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xii. p. 337 (1878).—Id. op. cit. xvi. p. 76 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p- 326 (1881).—Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1883, p. 198. Nectarinia, sp. ine. (2), Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. ISIE, JO. Hil. Glycyphila squamata, Gadow, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. ix. p. 217 (1884). Stigmatops salvadorir, Meyer, in Madarasz, Zeitschr. Gace O)inemies een (1884), Dr. Meyer has very kindly sent us from Dresden all the specimens of Stigmatops which have recently x Se Nv Wa oe View AOP ‘ , or « , been the subject of his studies. We regret that we are unable to follow our learned colleague conclusions, for we cannot find any cause for separating Stigmatops salv in all his adorti from Stigmatops squamata ; and after comparing a series of Timor-Laut specimens with others from Choor collected by Von Rosenberg, we consider them all identical and belonging to one and the same species. Two specimens from the typical series of S. sguamata were kindly presented to the British Museum by Dr. Jentink, and have been compared by us with several specimens collected by Mr. Forbes in Timor Laut, as well as with those obtained from the same place by Dr. Meyer, and they appear to us to be specifically inseparable, though we must confess to having entertained a different expectation. The following descriptions are taken from a pair of specimens collected by Von Rosenberg in the island of Choor, and presented to the British Museum by Dr. Jentink, the director of the Leiden Museum. They are from the typical series described by Count Salvadori. Adult male. General colour above dull olive-greenish, somewhat clearer olive towards the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts ; wing-coyverts like the body, the greater series smoky brown, edged with the same colour as the back, the median coverts margined with pale yellow at the tips; quills dusky brown, externally edged with olive-greenish ; tail-feathers pale ashy, washed externally with yellowish olive ; crown of head rather more dingy olive than the back ; lores and feathers round the eye dull ashy; from the base of the bill below the eye a patch of silvery white dots, with a slight tinge of yellow on the fore part of the patch, followed by a spot of silvery white on the ear-coverts ; cheeks dull ashy, as well as the malar line and base of chin; entire under surface of body pale sulphur-yellow, mottled slightly on the throat, but very distinctly on the fore neck and breast, with dusky brown centres to the feathers ; under tail-coverts very pale sulphur-yellow with dusky centres ; under wing-coverts and axillaries pale yellow with dusky bases ; quills dull brown below, ashy yellowish along the inner web. Total length 5-4 inches, culmen 0°75, wing 3:0, tail 2:3, tarsus 0:9. The female sent by Dr. Jentink seems to be immature, being dull olive-yellowish underneath, with only here and there traces of the squamated feathers on the breast which distinguish the adult male. Total length 5:2 inches, culmen 0:8, wing 2°70, tail 2:1, tarsus 0°85. The figures in the Plate represent a full-sized adult and a younger bird, the former being drawn from one of Dr. Meyer’s specimens of 8. sa/vadorii, the immature bird being one of those given by Dr. Jentink. [R. B. S.J STUGMATOPRS W. Hart, lel, et lith AULBO=AURICULARIS > hamsay. Mintern Bros.ump. HILAL AAA AUTpTMEy TATOO a r 7 "i i STIGMATOPS ALBO-AURICULARIS, Ramsay. Broadbent’s Honey-eater. Stigmatops albo-auricularis, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. W. iii. pp. 75, 285 (1879), iv. p. 100 (1879).—Salvad. Ibis, 1879, p. 325.—Id. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xvi, p. 76 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia, ete. ii. p. 324 (1881). Glycyphila albtauricularis, Gadow, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ix. p. 217 (1884). Tue difficulty of distinguishing the smaller Honey-eaters is so well known that no apology will be needed for offering to our readers a Plate of the present bird, drawn from the only example which has as yet been brought to Europe. The two most recent writers on the Honey-eaters, viz. Count Salvadori and Dr. Gadow, had neither of them ever seen a specimen, and the former author placed it in the vicinity of Stigmatops ocularis. Not only, however, is it a much darker bird on the upper surface, but it is easily distinguished from that species by the squamulated appearance of the throat and breast, the feathers of which have dusky centres. This character allies it to Stigmatops squamata, in the vicinity of which species it has been more correctly placed by Dr. Gadow; but from the latter bird it is easily recognized by its brown upper surface and by the absence of the yellow on the throat and breast. It was discovered by Mr. Kendal Broadbent in South- eastern New Guinea, The typical example having been brought to Europe by Mr. Ramsay daring his official visit to the International Fisheries Exhibition, we have been enabled to give the following description of it :— Adult male. General colour above nearly uniform brown, only slightly mottled with obscure dusky centres to the feathers of the head, neck, and mantle; wing-coverts like the back, the greater series, bastard wing, and primary-coverts dusky brown, edged with lighter brown, tinged with olive on the two latter; quills dusky brown, edged with olive-greenish, the inner secondaries with ashy brown; tail-feathers dusky brown, obscurely margined with dull olive; lores dingy brown like the head; an auricular patch of silvery grey, with numerous minute dots of white forming a conspicuous eye-patch ; cheeks and chin dull ashy ; throat and breast dingy white with an olive tinge, thickly mottled with dusky triangular centres to the feathers ; sides of the upper breast nearly uniform brown; sides of body and flanks dull ashy, slightly mottled with dusky white edges ; abdomen white; thighs dingy brown ; under tail-coverts dull white with brown centres; axillaries and under wing-coverts dull whitish with pale dusky centres ; quills dusky below, whitish alone the inner web. Total length 5:0 inches, culmen 0°89, wing 2°75, tail 2°3, tarsus 07. The single figure in the Plate is of the size of life, and has been drawn from the type specimen kindly lent to us by Mr. E. P. Ramsay. [R. B. S.J oe — Sbeuld 4WHart del. et lith GILAYCTPEOLA SUBFASCIA’ LA. Ramsay Walter ump. UINLJIVA YUAN LLL IfAeTpoaarreeagrT ite a vi ” i! i" GLYCIPHILA SUBFASCIATA, Ramsay. Dusky Honey-eater. Glyciphila subfasciata, Ramsay, P. Z. S. 1868, p. 385; 1875, p. 594. > —_ NS a ee > re In the present work, which includes the most gorgeous of all birds (I mean the Birds of Paradise and their oured species; but it will in most cases be found that, without brilliancy of plumage to attract the eye, the allies), we shail also figure some very plain-coi Nes y yet possess some marked feature in their economy ry . . . . 7 . . . r = The present species 1s a case In point; for it is perhaps the plainest of all the Honey-eaters, many of which are very beautiful birds ; but yet we find, fr which arouses our interest. om Mr. Ramsay's observations, that it stands unique among that large group for its mode of nest-building. I shall, however, allow him to tell the history of the species in his own words, merely premising that the following notes comprise all that has been as yet discovered about the species. Mr. Ramsay observes :— “This species, although possessing nothing in its sombre plumage to recommend it, is certainly very interesting on account of its peculiarly shaped nest, being the only one of the Australian Meliphagine that I have met with which constructs a dome-shaped nest. It is a neat structure, composed of strips of bark, spiders’ webs, and grass, and lined with fine grasses &c. The opening at the side is rather large; but the nest itself is rather deep, being about 4 inches long, and 23 to 3 inches wide. The eggs I did not obtain; but one taken from the oviduct of a bird is 0-75 inch in length and 0°5 in breadth, pure white, with a few dots of black sprinkled over the larger end. ‘The nests were invariably placed among the drooping branches of a species of Acacia, always over- hanging some creek or running water. All the nests I found were so situated ; and my young friend Master I. Sheridan of Cardwell, who has paid considerable attention to objects of natural history, assures me that he has never found them otherwise; and the usual number of eggs for a sitting are two, and frequently without any black dots on the surface. Their note is a sharp, shrill, monotonous cry, oft repeated at intervals ; iris reddish brown.” The following is the original description of the species, extracted from Mr. Ramsay’s paper :— Female.—Total length 4°8 inches; bill, from the angle of the mouth 0-6, from forehead 0:5, width at base 0°2, across nostrils 0-1; wing, from flexure, 2:5; tail 2; tarsi 0°65. The whole of the upper surface, sides of the head, and neck glossy brown, a short oblique stripe under the eye white, feathers on the crown of the head centred with dark brown. The whole of the under surface and the extreme tips of the ear- coverts silvery white. The chest faintly barred with lines of brown, which join the sides of the neck above | the shoulders ; flanks and under coverts of wings tinged with brown ; under surface of the wing dark brown, | | the inner margins of the feathers whitish brown ; bill and legs reddish horn-brown.” | The sexes differ considerably in size, while in colour there is no difference. a | Besides having seen the type specimen in Mr. Ramsay’s collection, | have specimens of this bird m my : : . < Plate are drawn. own cabinet, from which the figures in the accompanying Plate are drawn HITAUINAY AAG AAA LATTTONy Tag a y 7 f ' W. Hart del eb lath ALBONO TATA, Salvad. Mavierr, Bros. unp- omae PTILOTIS ALBONOTATA, sewad. W hite-marked Honey-eater. Ptilotis albonotata, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Ciy. Genov. ix. p. 33 (1876) —Id. op. cit. xvi. p. 76 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p. 333 (1881).—Gadow, C at. Birdsin Brit. Mus. ix. p-. 229 (1884). Tuts species is easily distinguished from its near ally, Peilotis analoga, by its white ear-spot, which is yellow in the last-named bird. It was first discovered by D’Albertis in South-eastern New Guinea, where a considerable series was forwarded from Naiabui. It has also been found in North-western New Guinea, at Ramoi by Dr. Beccari, and at Dorei by Von Rosenberg and Mr. Bruijn’s hunters. The Marquis Doria has very kindly sent us a pair of birds for examination, the male being from Naiabui, and the female from Ramoi. We find that these two specimens are certainly of the same species; but the small size noticed in the female bird may be either peculiar to that sex, or may indicate a smaller race existing in North-western New Guinea. At present the series of specimens examined has been too small to decide this question. Count Salvadori has separated a mountain form from the Arfak range as Péilotis montana; but Dr. Gadow considers it to be the same as P. albonotata. As, however, he has never seen a specimen of either species, we think that it would have been wiser to have kept the two distinct, until he bad had an opportunity of examining the materials at Count Salvadori’s disposal, taking into account the experience and ability of the latter ornithologist. The following descriptions are taken from the pair of birds lent to us by the Marquis Doria :— Adult male. General colour above dark olive-green; wing-coverts, quills, and tail-feathers ashy brown, externally light olive-green like the back, especially on the primaries; head like the back; lores and feathers below the eye dusky blackish ; ear-coverts dull ashy, with a white spot behind the lower parts; a mark of yellowish white behind the angle of the mouth ; cheeks and under surface of body ashy, washed with olive-yellow, the abdomen ashy whitish tinged with yellow ; the flanks, sides of body, and thighs browner ; under tail-coverts light brown, with olive-yellow margins 5 under wing-coverts and axillaries pale fulvous, washed with olive-yellow ; quills dusky below, yellowish white along the inner web: ‘ bill black ; feet ashy ; iris ashy” (D’ dibertis). Total length 6°5 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 3-4, tail 2°75, tarsus 0:9. = Adult female. Similar to the male in colour, but rather smaller. otal length 6 inches, culmen 0:70, wing 3°0, tail 2°45, tarsus 0°8. The Plate represents the two specimens above described, of the natural size. [R. B. S.J J Zi ea a I Mane rr IS. fe ce | SI WHart deb. a tih, Walter ump. {AAVANAA\ANNAUUUULL y inl i iilk 2 ‘ | 3 mM | 5 e PTILOTIS MARMORATA, Sharpe. Mottled-breasted Honey-sucker. Ptilotis marmorata, Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soc., Zool. vol. xvi. pp. 319, 438 (1882). Tuts large Honey-sucker was discovered by Mr. Goldie in the Astrolabe Mountains in South-eastern New Guinea. It is very closely allied to P. cinerea from North-western New Guinea, but is distinguished from it by the whitish edgings to the breast-feathers. Nothing has been recorded of the habits of these Honey-suckers ; but they doubtless do not differ from those of the ordinary species of Péilotis. Mr. Goldie’s specimens were obtained in the Morocco district, at the back of the Astrolabe range. He says that the native name is haga. The following is a copy of the original description :— “General colour above dusky brown, the feathers margined with olive, rather lighter on the head, which has a mottled appearance ; on the forehead and over the eye a slight shade of ashy; wing-coverts like the back, but the outer median and greater coverts edged with paler olive, inclining to whity brown near the tips; quills and tail dusky, externally edged with yellowish olive, the tail-feathers margined with light rufous on the inner web ; sides of face and ear-coverts dusky blackish, with a slight shade of silvery whitish on the ear-coverts, and a streak of dull white from behind the lores under the eye; cheeks dusky blackish, with a slight indication of ashy tips to the feathers ; a narrow malar streak of dull yellowish white ; throat yellowish white, mottled with dusky bases to the feathers ; remainder of under surface of body ashy, the feathers tipped with a white bar and slightly washed with olive ; the whole appearance of the under surface mottled, excepting on the lower flanks, which are uniform olive; thighs dusky; under tail-coverts light rufous with dusky bases, the outer ones externally yellowish white, mottled with dusky bases to the feathers ; axillaries pale olive-yellowish ; under wing-coverts light rufous-buff; quills dusky below, pale rufous along the inner web. Total Jength 7 inches, culmen 1:05, wing 3°8, tail 3°7, tarsus 1-05.” : The figure in the Plate is drawn from one of Mr. Goldie’s specimens kindly lent to me by Mr. Edward Gerrard, jun. [R.B.S.] a Se } Sos f ed iS rh BO Y yy wir »? => 3 N J. Gould &WHart, del. et lith Walter unp. STNNNHNNAAAUNAAUNGAATTVOTUTV TENT UU yUHI a uy ie y "i Eero Trt S FREN AT A, Ramsay. Bridled Honey-eater. Ptilotis frenata, Ramsay, P. Z.S. 1874, p. 603. r of the recent additions to the family Meliphagide in the Australian continent. I give the following extract from Justiryine the remarks which I have made on Pélotis flavostriata, the present species is anothe Mr. Ramsay’s article, as it comprises all that is at present known respecting the species :— «Of this new species, for which I beg to propose the name of P. frenata, on account of the markings at the base of the bill and round the face, some few individuals were obtained, frequenting the Sucalypti while in blossom, near the margin of a swamp in the Cardwell district. «The birds were shot by my (then) collector, Mr. Broadbent, who is already well known as an enthusiastic and careful taxidermist. To Mr. Broadbent’s researches my collection is also indebted for the first specimen of Lopsaltria inornata, nov. sp. *¢ Description —Whole of the upper surface dull brown; head, lores, and nape of neck blackish brown, the feathers having indistinct lunulate markings and a gloss of olive in certain lights ; a semi-bare space below the eye has a few minute buffy white feathers ; behind the eye a semilunar patch of white feathers tipped with black, which, extending in a narrow line, almost encircles that organ. Eye-lashes black ; ear- coverts black ; above them, immediately behind the eye, is a small tuft of bright wax-yellow feathers joing a large triangular patch of light greyish brown feathers on the side of the neck, which has the upper portion of it, nearest the ear-coverts, tinged with olive ; a narrow indistinct line of yellow on either side bounding the ear-coverts below, extending obliquely to the lower part of the chin, where, meeting in au angle, they form an indistinct yellow patch on the throat. Chin and remainder of the under surface dull brown, slightly darker in tint on the breast and sides of the neck, lighter on the centre of the abdomen and under tail- coverts ; across the chest are indistinct wavy lines of a darker tint, on the flanks indistinct lanceolate markings of the same tint. Under surface of the shoulders, inner margins of tertiaries, secondaries, and the basal portions of inner margins of the primaries light buff. The outer webs of the spurious wing- feathers, the tertiaries, and secondaries, with some of the primaries, are on the upper surface tinged with olive. Bill black, with the basal portion (except the culmen) yellow. The gape, with a narrow fleshy appendage, yellow. Feet and tarsi dark brown. * Total length 8°5 inches; bill from angle of mouth 1:05 inch, from feathers 0-2, breadth 0-2; wing from flexure 4:05; tail 83:6; tarsus 0°30. at the nostrils 0°65, from forehead 1-05, height at nostrils “ Hab. Rockingham Bay. eee alike i specimen, said be a male, is considerably smaller 1 “« Sexes alike in plumage. One specimen, said to be a male, 1s j . : : G : onches . wine 3:00) tall So: 20m nilnicommamelenon measurements, which are as follows :—Total length 76 inches ; wing 3°65 ; tail 3 ; . — a : =~ ¢ Pee Eun meni: orehead 0:9, height at nostril 0-2, breadth Ovz. the mouth 0-95, from feathers at nostrils 06 inch, from forehead 0:9, height « My figures represent the species of the size of life. all its a: (a } my eh 1 6 ere x i>, + 7 aod re ic Ss = \C YONI MHL LATTINITINT IINIITIIIL a vm 7 yy Mm L tit Walter un: PTILOTIS FLAVOSTRIATA, Gowa. Yellow-streaked Honey-eater. Ptilopis flavostriata, Gould, P. Z. S. 1875, p. 316. Ir Australia is peculiar for its Lyre-birds and for its mound-building Megapodes and Brush-Turkeys, it certainly presents a no less marked feature in the extraordinary development of the family of Meliphagidee (or Hones: eaters) within its limits. Nor can we suppose that the number of species known to us fom dhai coutiinent is yet exhausted, seeing that not a year passes without our receiving some notable addition to our list of the Australian species of this group of birds. The one which I have now the pleasure to introduce to my readers is from the neighbourhood of Rockingham Bay, in Queensland, and was sent to me for examination by Mr. Waller of Brisbane, to whom it appeared undescribed. Of this there is no doubt; and I have accordingly described the species under the name of /laro-striata, on account of the yellow chest-streaks which are such a conspicuous feature in the bird’s appearance. The following is my original description of the species :— Head and hind neck dusky blackish, with a distinct shade of olivaceous on the crown, leaving a pare black patch on each side of the occiput; hind neck distinctly marked with triangular spots of dull white; mantle straw-yellow, the bases to the feathers dusky brown; scapulars brown, with large triangular whitish spots ; lower back and rump brown, with dull olive margins to the feathers ; upper tail-coverts and tail brown, paler at tip, the feathers narrowly margined with olive; wing-coverts brown, with large triangular whitish spots as on the scapulars, the greater series dark brown, tipped with whitish and margined with whity brown ; quills dark brown, externally edged with olive and slightly tipped with whitish ; region of the eye bare and yellow; the few feathers on the ear-coverts hoary ; cheeks dull olivaceous buff, running into a distinct tuft of bright yellow; throat greyish white, washed with olive on the lower part; chest olivaceous, distinctly streaked with shaft-lines of bright yellow, the breast paler, the feathers being brown with broad triangular longitudinal spots of white; flanks and under tail-coverts light brown, washed with olive ; wncler wing- coverts yellowish buff; the lower surface of the wings and tail ashy brown, with broad rufous-buff margins to the inner webs. Total length 73 inches, bill 14, wing 33, tail 3, tarsus +3. The figures in the Plate are of the size of life. Minterm Bros. ump. 5 OTIS aw C o>) UR PES 6 ITH O7 LAN del, et Lith. W. Hart i 5 UNL CGMTpETyOONT TTA jr omy ‘TUNMNILAYINN Cj of AO4% es as AL - BIC? ys S59) LS Fi Mh, Rela Tye | We ae y Se, a " m XANTHOTIS cY RYSOTIS. Golden-eared Honey-eater, Philedon ne Lesson, Voyage de la Coquille, Zool. i. p. 645, pl. 21 (1826).—Rosenb, Malay Arch. p. 395 Myzantha flaviventer, Lesson, Man. d’Orn. ii. p. 67 (1828). Myzantha chrysotis, Lesson, Traité d’Orn. p. 302 (1831).—Td, Compl. Buff., Ois. p. 594 (1838). Bs aoriynchus chrysotis, Gray, Gen. B. ii. Pp. 126 (1846).—Bp. Consp. i. p. 390 (1850).—Sclater, Proc. Linn Soe. B poe (1858).—Gray, Cat. Mamm. etc. New Guinea, Pp. 25, 56 (1859).—Finsch, Neu-Guinea, p. 165 (1865). Xanthotis chrysotis, Bp. Comptes Rendus, xxxviii. p. 262 (1854).—Meyer, Sitz. k. Akad. Wien, Ixx. pp. 113, 207 (1874).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. Vull. p. 401 (1876), x. p. 147 (1877), xvi. p. 78 (1880).—1a, Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p- 347 (1881). Ptilotis flaviventris, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 190.—Id. Cat. M Zool. Soc. 1861, p. 429. Pitilotis chrysotis, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. S59 eles Guillemard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1885, p. 642. Xanthotis flaviventris, Reichenb, Handb. Meropine, p. 139, fig. 3512 (1862). Anthochera chrysotis, Gray, Hand-list Birds, i. p. 159, no. 2070 (1869).—Rosenb. Malay Arch. p. 553 (1879). Xanthotis rubiensis, Meyer in Madarész, Zeitschr. ges, Orn. i. p, 289 (1884), amm. etc. New Guinea, p- 95 (1859).—Id. Proc. 5.—Gadow, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. i. p. 238 (1884).— Tue present species is the Papuan representative of the Australian X. filigera, and is found in many parts of North-western New Guinea and the neighbouring island of Mysol. It is not found in Waigiou, as stated by Dr. Gadow (4.¢.), as in this island the allied species X. fusciventris of Salvadori takes its place. The specimen in the British Museum from Waigiou belongs to the latter species, which is easily recognizable, being, indeed, allowed by Dr. Gadow, though he refers the only specimen in the Museum to X, chrysotis. There is considerable variation in a series of specimens, some showing a more rufous coloration on the under surface than others, and in many specimens the grey ear-spot is nearly obsolete. These differences seem to us to be due sometimes to age, and sometimes to the preparation of the skin, and we cannot perceive any specific characters sufficient to separate X. rudiensis of Dr. Meyer (2 ¢.). The latter gentleman has been so kind as to send us over the types of X. rudbiensis, as well as the birds he considers to be true _X. wanthotis, and after comparing them with the series in the British Museum, we believe the two species to be inseparable. Dr. Guillemard has lent us the specimen from which the following description is taken :— Adult male. General colour above dark brown mottled with yellowish olive; wing-coverts like the back ; the outer greater coverts, bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills dusky brown edged with brighter olive- yellow, the secondaries margined with dull olive; upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers dusky brown, edged with yellowish olive; crown of head greener than the back; lores dusky; below the oa vane patch ; ear coverts dark slaty grey, with a tuft of bright yellow below the hinder part; cheeks and sides of face dark a throat ashy grey; fore neck and chest olive-greenish, becoming yellower towards the breast, which is du : fawn-brown washed with olive-yellow ; abdomen, sides of body, and flanks fawn-brown ; thighs and under tail-coverts light brown washed with buff; under wing-coverts and ae ae ee edge of the wing; quills below dusky, tawny along the inner edge : ; bill and . Coe CS (EL Guillemard). Total length 8 inches, culmen 1-15, wing 4:1, tail 3, tarsus is ye The figures in the Plate represent an adult bird of the natural size and in two positions. yé é P 5 RS ts ; -, Guillemard’s collection. from the specimen aboye described in Dr. Guille [R. B. S.] ITZ a: oe n » rs rs Ay a. CH Rt, ree Fd MELIARCHUS SCLATERI W. Hart acl. ect lth. py mm ie yn pm Mintern Bros. amp - MELIARCHUS SCLATERLI. Sclater’s Honey-eater. Philemon vultwrinus (nec Reichenb.), Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1869, pp. 120, 124 Philemon sclatert, Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 1870, v. p. 327.—Id. Cruise of the Curacoa, Birds, p- 362, pl. v. (1878).—Tristr. Ibis, 1879, p. 439.—Gadow, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. ix. p. 279 (1884). Meliarchus sclateri, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xvi. p. 75 (1880).—Id. Orn. Pa puasia e delle Molucche, ii. p. 322 (1881). Tuts fine species of Honey-eater appears to be confined to the Solomon Islands, and is probably found only on the island of San Christoval. Here it was procured by the late Mr. Brenchley, and Lieut. Richards also met with it at Makira Harbour, in the same island. Very few specimens exist in European collections, and nothing has been recorded of its habits. We follow Count Salvadori in referring the present species to a distinct genus, as it appears to us to be by no means a true Philemon, excepting under the very elastic definition which Dr. Gadow gives to the latter genus. The following description is taken from a specimen lent to us by Mr. E. P. Ramsay :— Adult male. General colour above dull olive on the back and mantle, dull reddish brown on the body, rump, and upper tail-coverts ; wing-coverts dark brown, edged with olive ; bastard-wing blackish brown; primary-coverts and quills dusky brown, edged with lighter olive-yellow, except on the inner secondaries; tail-feathers reddish brown with olive margins; crown of head pale yellow, streaked with black, the hind neck with dusky; feathers round the eye and eyebrow and the upper part of the ear-coverts yellowish white, with a black spot on the lores; cheeks and lower part of ear-coverts black, streaked with pale yellow edges to the feathers; throat pale ashy grey; breast pale olive-yellow, with dusky centres to the feathers; lower breast and abdomen dull ashy ; sides of body and flanks reddish brown washed with olive ; thighs and under tail-coverts reddish brown, edged with olive-yellow ; axillaries and under wing-coverts dark ashy, washed with olive; quills dusky below, ashy along the inner web: ‘bill yellowish ; feet oe iris brown” (G. E. Richards). Total length 9°5 inches, culmen 1-9, wing 4°5, tail 4°25, tarsus 1:35. The Plate represents an adult bird of the natural size, and is drawn from the above-mentioned specimen lent by Mr. Ramsay. It was procured at Makira Harbour by Lieut. Richards. a oe Dass tb i oe ‘< fw) x we Minter Bros.ump- v G ( J LAL 9 Schlegel, FILAV SN CIEDUS ae LY Ao jas) Af THY Y 7] EU W Hart del et lith i 5 i THM 4 {(\TTyTTITTT mg 2 \ omy WANYIUNGHUN pm vr EUTHYRHYNCHUS FLAVIGULA, seaz Yellow-tinted Brown Honey-eater. Euthyrhynchus flavigula, Schl. Neder). Tijdschr. Dierk. iv. p. 40 (1871).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xii 9. 340 (1878).—Rosenb. Malay. Arch. pp. 553, 586 (1879).— Salvad, Ann, Mus, Civic. Genov. ol) ». 78 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p. 341 (1881). Timeliopsis, nov. sp.?, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genoy. vii. p. 964 (1875). Euthyrhynchus faviguaris, Gadow, Cat. B. in Brit. Mus. ix. p. 287 (1884). ? Euthyrhynchus griseigularis, Guillemard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1885, p. 642. — eH Tuts species differs from its near ally 2. griseigula in having a more distinct wash of olive-yellow on the under surface of the body; but under certain lights the two species seem to be almost inseparable. In size it is rather smaller than L. e7rzsergula. The type of this species is in the Leyden Museum, where it was described by the late Professor Schlegel. It was discovered by Baron Von Rosenberg on the western shores of the bay of Geelvink in North-western New Guinea, and it has been obtained at Sorong by the late Dr. Bernstein, and at Ramoi by Dr. Beceari. Dr. Guillemard’s specimen from Andai was also evidently the present bird. He gives E. flavigula as a synonym of E. griseigula without any comment. These two species may prove to be identical, it is true, but at present the material at our disposal is not sufficient to settle the question. General colour above olive, a little duller on the back, tail, and under tail-coverts ; the head and neck slightly clearer olive, with the frontal feathers stiffened; wing-coverts dusky, edged with olive, the lesser coverts like the back; the bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills pale dusky brown, externally edged with olive like the back ; tail-feathers also dusky brown, broadly edged with olive like the back; lores and feathers round the eye a little lighter olive than the head; cheeks and ear-coverts olive like the head, a little paler on the former ; under surface of body pale drab-brown, clearer on the flanks and thighs; the throat, breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts distinctly washed with olive-yellow; under wing-coverts and axillaries pale drab-brown, washed with olive-yellow ; quills web. Total length 6°3 inches, culmen 0°8, wing 31, tail 2°5, tarsus 0-9. The above description has been taken from the specimen lent to us by the Marquis Doria, and the Plate dusky below, pale ashy rnfous along the edge of the inner has been drawn from the same bird. [R. B. S.J / ty 4 n 7 = | , (Cs [ Ce a. LAW J Nor LEZEN @) Schlegel t del, et lth Mintern Bros. ump ULLLHULLLYLLLAY LUNA) TTPOTITUUTTAGATTY TUL TGTTTE a " i" "i Mi EUTHYRHYNCHUS FULVIGULA, sew. Buff-throated Honey-eater. Euthyrhynchus fulvigula, Schl. Neder]. Tijdschr. Dierk. iv. p. 40 (1871).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xii. p. 343 (1875).—Rosenb. Malay. Arch. pp. 553, 586 (1879).—Salvad. op. cit. xvi. p. 78 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p. 342 (1881). Timeliopsis acutirostris, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vii. p. 964 (1875). Tris is the most distinct of all the species of the genus Euthyrhynchus, and is distinguished not only by the olive-green colour of the upper surface, but also by the amount of olive-green on the lower parts, which causes the tawny buff colour of the throat to appear in strong contrast. It was first described by Professor Schlegel from a specimen in the Leyden Museum, and has since been discovered in the Arfak Mountains by Mr. Bruijn’s hunters, as well as by Dr. Beceari. Count Salvadori remarks on the affinity of this genus to the Australian Plectorhyncha, a fact also observed by Mr. Ramsay, who named one of the species Plectorhyncha fulviventris. Adult. General colour above dull olive-green, a little lighter on the lower back and rump; lesser and median wing-coverts, greater coverts, bastard-wing, and primary-coverts as well as the quills dusky brown, edged with olive-green like the back, a little more yellow on the primaries ; tail-feathers dusky brown, edged with olive-green ; head like the back, but a little more dingy and inclining to dull ashy olive ; lores ashy fulvous; eyelid and ear-coverts dull ashy, as well as the feathers below the eye; throat light tawny ; breast pale pinkish brown, slightly washed with olive-yellow; sides of body and under tail-coverts pale olive-greenish as well as the thighs ; axillaries and under wing-coverts pale fawn-buff; quills dusky below, whitish along the inner web. Total length 5 inches, culmen 0.65, wing 2°65, tail 2°00, tarsus 0°8. The above description is that of a specimen which the Marquis Doria lent to us; it is figured in two positions, and of the natural size. [R. B. S.J EUTHYREYNCHUS GRISEIGUILA, Schlegob. Mintern Bros. ump W. Hart delet lith TULLEHUULLYLLLLY LULL) ATTPITITHUTTAGATTNUULTGTUTL " v" 7” y i EUTHYRHYNCHUS GRISEIGULA, seaz Brown Honey-eater. Euthyrhynchus griseigula, Schl. Nederl. Tijdschr. Dierk. iv, p. 39 (1871).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xii p. 342 (1878).—Rosenb. Malay. Arch, Pp. 553, 588 (1879).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xiv. oe 78 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p. 340 (1881). Timeliopsis trachycoma, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vii. p. 963 (1875). Euthyrhynchus griseigularis, Gadow, Cat. B. in Brit. Mus. ix. p. 287 (1884), Tus genus Luthyrhynchus is apparently a very vatural one, allied to Plectorhyncha of Australia and containing four species ; for we cannot admit Melipotes gymnops to be a Euthyrhynchus, as Dr. Gadow bas done. It differs so entirely in its bare ocular region (alw ays a character of importance in the Honey-eaters) that we sympathize with Count Salvadori when he remarks :—‘ ‘The union of Melipotes gymnops in one genus with the species attributed to Luthyrhynchus is beyond my comprehension ! ” Having had an opportunity of comparing the four species described, we give a short diagnosis, which will serve to distinguish them :— E. griseigula—Olive-brown above ; throat and breast pale pinkish or vinous-brown, with scarcely any shade of olive-yellow. Hab. N.W. New Guinea. LE. flavigula.—Olive-brown above ; throat and breast distinctly marked with olive-yellow, this colour pervading the entire under surface. Hab. N.W. New Guinea. E. fulviventris.—Olive-brown above ; entire under surface pale pinkish or vinous-brown, with a slight mark of olive-yellow on the throat, Hab. S.E. New Guinea. E. fulvigula—Olive-green above, paler olive-green below; throat tawny, contrasting with the breast. Hab. N.W. New Guinea. Of these four species, L. flavigula aud EL. griseigula are so closely allied that it would never surprise us to hear that their specific identity had been established, and the differences are so slight that the utmost difficulty has been experienced in rendering them in a coloured figure, while at the same time the texture of their plumage is so delicate that to make a drawing of them has been uo easy task. LZ. fulviventris is much more recognizable, its vinous-brown under surface being a strongly Se ee character, “ The measurements of the present species are as follows :—Total length a ee culmen 0°85, wing 3°45, tail 2:7, tarsus 0-9. These dimensions are a little in excess ee Q TS aed | The Plate has been drawn from a specimen lent to us by the Marquis Doria from the Genoa Museum ; it is represented in two positions, of the size of life. [R. B. S.J q* ai Sen) i = wes Top ~ Sra: TAKS x q SS Za LK R1T Al Tait OLIOP'T DD/f { appa ESTES POL TH 1 i} ALLA MET WHart del. et lith YUINTLIA) AL UI TTpTNpTayTT ATT af I) " y! " | Po By 2 nal MELILESTES POLIOPTERU S, Sharpe. Grey-winged Honey-eater. Melilestes polyopterus, Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soc., Zool. vol. xvi. pp. 318, 438 (1882) Tue genus AMelilestes was founded by Count Salvadori for the reception of a little group of Honey-eaters peculiar to the Papuan subregion. The four species comprised under the genus present considerable difference in coloration ; but the affinities of the present bird are clearly with MZ nove guinea, a little species which was for a long time thought by naturalists to be an Arachnothera. The latter genus is now considered to be exclusively Indian; and although JZ. nove gwinee and M. poliopterus have much the appearance of a Spider-hunter, they would be expected from their habitats to be more nearly allied to the Australian Mel- phagide. The chief differences which JZ. poliopterus exhibits when compared with JZ. nove guinee are the plumbeous wings and head, as well as the yellow spot on the throat. Mr. Goldie obtained a single specimen of this new species in the Choqueri district, at the back of the Astrolabe Mountains, in South-eastern New Guinea, where it was called by the natives “ bererita.” The following description bas been taken from Mr, Sharpe’s paper on Mr. Goldie’s collections :— “General colour above green, the whole of the crown and nape dark slaty grey; wing-coverts slaty-grey , quills dusky, externally slaty grey, rather lighter along the edge of the primaries, the secondaries with a very aint olive tint on the outer webs; tail-feathers dusky, externally edged with slaty grey and having a small white spot at the tip of the inner web ; lores, sides of face and ear-coverts dull slaty grey with a slight wash of green; under surface of body olive-yellow, the chin dusky grey washed with yellow, the lower throat bright yellow ; thighs ashy washed with yellow ; under tail-coverts yellow, ashy grey along the centre ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white, the latter washed with yellow ; quills dusky brown, edged with white along the inner web. Total length 4:4 inches, culmen 1:2, wing 2°85, tail 1-55, tarsus (ema The figures in the Plate are drawn from the typical specimen in the British Museum, and represent an [R.B.S.] adult bird of the natural size in two positions. h \\ \ MELILESTES Wh ILESTES ILIOLOPHUS, Salvad, W. Hart del et Lith € La. Minterr Bros. unp. TUALLYAINAANN By | | NAAVNAAAVVAAAANLLG | m " i 3 iy! yi \ vy MELILESTES ILIOLOPHUS, sawaa. Long-plumed Honey-eater. Melilestes iliolophus, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genoy. vii. p. 951 (1875), e delle Molucche, ii. p. 316 (1881), iii. p. 543 (1882) (1882). Arachnothera iliolophus, Gadow, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. ix. p. 3, pl. i. fig. 2 (1884). Xvl. p. 75 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soc., Zool. xvi. p. 437 Tux genus Mellestes has been united by Dr. Gadow to the genus Arachnothera; but in our opinion Count Salvadori was right in placing it with the MJekphagide or family of Honey-suckers, rather than with the Sun-birds or Nectariniide, where it is located by Dr. Gadow. The long fluffy plumage and the silky tufts on the flanks are characters which ally the genus to the Honey-suckers, though the general appearance of the birds is very much that of the Spider-hunters (Arachnothera). Count Salvadori includes four species in his genus AZelilestes, of which the present and AZ. affinis (a species summarily suppressed without just cause by Dr. Gadow, who has never seen a specimen) are distinguished by their greyish-olive underparts. A fifth species has been discovered since Salvadori wrote, which is figured in the present work. The present species was discovered in the islands of Jobi and Miosnoum, in the Bay of Geelvink, by Dr. Beccari, and we cannot find any marked difference between some of the typical examples now in the British Museum and others obtained in South-eastern New Guinea, where it has been obtained by Mr. Goldie and Mr. H. O. Forbes in the Astrolabe Mountains. The following description is from one of Mr. Goldie’s specimens :— Adult. General colour above dull olive-green, the head a little duller than the back; feathers of the lower back and rump very long and silky, and a little lighter than the rest of the back ; wing-coverts like the back ; the primary-coverts and quills dusky brown, edged with olive-green like the back, the secondaries more broadly ; tail dusky black; lores and feathers round the eye ashy olive ; ear-coverts lighter olive; under surface of body very pale yellowish, ashy on the cheeks and throat; sides of the body with long Be plumes of paler yellow; under tail-coverts like the abdomen, and washed with pale Coe 5 axillaries light yellow like the sides of the body; under wing-coverts light ashy brown, washed with yellowish olives quills dusky below, whitish along the edge of the inner web. Total length 3-9 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 2:7, tail 1-45, tarsus 0°85. The figures in the Plate are drawn from two specimens procured by Mr. district of the Astrolabe Mountains. H. O. Forbes in the Sogeri ieee ila Nea WEP = Me foe WES a > Sod fol = wh i W. Hart del et lth TUNNN}TNVIVANNAVQNGUHAGTTYOTONUCOTOGOOUU AHO UGH a "i ue a jy LUSTEROPS VIRO PYGILALIS , Salvad. Mintern Bros.imp ZOSTEROPS UROPYGIALIS Ke-Island White-eye. » Salvad. Zosterops uropygialis, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genoy. cit. xvi. p. 82 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasi Brit. Mus. ix. p. 190 (1884), vi. p. 78 (1874).—Id, op. cit. xiv. p. 655 (1879) —Td. op. a e delle Molucche, ii. p. 373 (18 81).—Sharpe, Cat. Birds in a Dr. Beccari discovered this species of Zosterop sin Little Ké Island in 1873, and the Museum at Genoa. We have seen several examples in the Leiden Museum to the British Museum by our friend Dr. Jentink, type is in the Civic , and one of these was presented the Director of the Rijks Museum at Leiden. This White-eye belongs to the section of the genus with the under parts entirely yellow, and has been separated by Count Salvadori under a sub-section characterized by the brownish colour of the quills and tail. personally examining specimens of the species, we are somewhat inclined to doubt the importance of this colour of the wings and tail-feathers, as to all appearances the fresh-moulted feathers of the White-eyes are always much darker than those which have been well worn. In the specimen originally obtained by Beceari the white eye-ring, which is the chief character of a Zosterops, was wanting; and as it is not present in the specimens at Leiden, its characteristic of the species. Since absence is doubtless The other characters which distinguish it are the dusky head and ye rump, the latter contrasting with the yellowish-green back. The following is a translation of Salvadori’s original description :— “ Above yellowish green, the head tinged with dusky ; the rump yellowish ; entire under surface of body yellow, the under tail-coverts and throat brighter ; quills and tail-feathers dusky, margined with the same llow colour as the back, the former margined internally with yellowish white; under wing-coverts mixed yellow and ashy; bill dusky ; feet lead-colour. Total length 4:4 inches, wing 2°5, tail 1°8, bill 0°5, tarsus 0°65.” The Plate represents an adult bird in two positions, and is drawn from a specimen presented to the British Museum by the Leiden Museum. ee 5 ay 7 rT. “a S Ir ees iY i BS 86 be “= (om WJ ae ek ro * “oF Wi rs wise) oe x a As ." ' AB ae a ee ae 4 Sh ad Nas Ni a A e Pe s SENN / wo DI ee pA y aN AN RJ ra f g x aw eal Zz oy. pr Me abn Tl Pom a ~z ZOSTEROPS BRUNNEICAUD, \4 Salvad. W. Hart olel et lith. Mintern: Bros.unp. UNLGAVA GAA LANYAOTOONp TTT ATT Ly i 7" y Mi Salvad. ZOSTEROPS BRUNN EKICAUDA, Brown-tailed White-eye. Zosterops rufifrons, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vi. p- 79 (1874). Zosterops brunneicauda, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xv1. p. 82 (1880).—Id. Orn. P il. p. 373 (1881).—Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. ix. p. 190 (1884). Turs species was also discovered by Dr. Beccari, at Gesser in Ceram Laut, during his e in 1873, and was first named by Count Salvadori Zosterops rufifrons. The describer, however, afterwards discovered that the red colour on the forehead was due to a blood-stain, and he therefore very wisely changed the name, as it had become inapplicable to the species. That of drunneicauda does not strike us as very appropriate, as many of the allied species appear to have the tail-feathers quite as pale. xpedition to the East Besides being found in Ceram Laut by Dr. Beccari, this White-eye has been met with in the island of Choor by the Dutch traveller Von Rosenberg, and was afterwards procured in the island of Pulo-babi, in the Aru group, by Beccari. We have also seen specimens collected by Dr. Guillemard in the island of Sumbawa, one of the Timor group, which we have been unable to separate from Z. brunneicauda. The following description is translated from Count Salvadori’s work :— ‘* Above yellowish green, conspicuously yellowish ; under surface of body deep yellow, the sides of the body greenish; eye-ring snow-white, surrounded below by dusky black ; quills and tail-feathers brown, margined with the same colour as the back ; under wing-coverts and inner edge of the quills whitish yellow ; bill dusky, the lower mandible paler at the base; feet apparently lead-colour. Total length 4°75 inches, wing 2°45, tail 1-65, bill 0°5, tarsus 0°65.” The figures in the Plate represent an adult bird in two positions; they are drawn from a specimen presented to the British Museum by the Leiden Museum. ay Bao: apuasia e delle Molucche, ey ew > aye on 4 aes aw ve os oa CX 7 oes War “a, ay ' fe ae SK IS) Pm , oD) ZUSTEROPS FUSCIFRONS, Salad. W. Hart del, et, lith Mintern Bros. up. {MAT}AA GAA UA LTapTNpT ye TT a y " y " LOSTEROPS FUSCIFRONS, sawaa. Dusky-fronted White-eye. Zosterops fuscifrons, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xii. p. 339 (1878), xvi. p. 80 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia etc. il. p. 365 (1881).—Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ix. p. 201 (1884). Tuis species comes from Gilolo or Halmahera, in the Moluccas, and is very nearly allied to Z. atriceps from the neighbouring island of Batchian ; but it has not so much black on the head as that bird, only the sinciput and lores are dusky, the occiput and nape being yellowish olive like the back. The typical specimens were three in number, and were procured by the late Dr. Bernstein near Galela in the island above mentioned, and were sent by him to the Leyden Museum. During a visit to Leyden in the autumn of 1883, we examined these types and were allowed by Professor Schlegel to bring one of them to England, and have thus been enabled to figure the species in the present work. The following is a translation of Count Salvadori’s original diagnosis, which, by an accidental omission, has not been acknowledged in the ‘ Catalogue of Birds’ (4. ¢.) :— Very similar to Z. atriceps of Gray, but having only the sinciput and the lores dusky; the occiput, hind neck, and cheeks yellowish olive, uniform with the back, and not dusky at all; wings and tail dusky, under surface of body white, with the exception of the under tail-coverts, y} margined with yellowish olive ; Total length 4°25 inches, wing 2:1, which are yellow; round the eye a conspicuous ring of white feathers. bill 0:8, tarsus 0°6. The figures in the Plate represent an ac one of the typical specimens lent to us by the late Professor Schlegel. RBS] lult bird of the natural size in two positions ; they are drawn from ae f P or ee AS Card i ay Gj “ CH 7 4 h * —— e Bait 72 ews aR 4OSTEROPS LONGIROSTRIS, Ramsay. W. Hart, del et, With ; - Muntern, Bros.ump. a ia II] : ih a ZLOSTEROPS LONGIROST R I S, Ramsay. Heath-Island White-eye. Zosterops longirostris, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. W. Civic. Genov. xvi. p. 82 (1880).—Id. Orn. P p. 189 (1884). Mr. Ramsay having brought the type of this interesting White-eye to England, an opportunity was offered us of figuring it, which we gladly accepted, as the difficulty of determining the species of Zosterops from descriptions alone is well known to every student of this difficult group. The original specimen of Zosterops longirostris was discovered by Mr. Kendal Broadbent on Heath Island, off the south coast of New Guinea, a locality which has not been found by us in any atlas, but which is included by Mr. Ramsay under th heading of the South Cape District of New Guinea and the Louisiades. This large species of Zosterops belongs to the brown-tailed section of the yellow-coloured group of the genus. It is distinguished from Z. uropygialis by having the head of the same colour as the back, and from Z. brunneicauda by its light brown bill and by the absence of any dusky spot in front of the eye. The following is a description of the original specimen :— Adult male (type of species). General colour above dull yellowish olive, a little yellower on the head and rump, the former with indistinct paler shaft-streaks on the forehead and sinciput ; wing-coverts a little yellower than the mantle; bastard wing, primary-coverts, and quills dusky brown, externally washed with dull olive-yellow ; tail-feathers pale brown, with dull olive-yellow edges; lores yellow; round the eye a ring of whitish feathers ; ear-coverts olive-yellow, a little brighter than the crown; cheeks, throat, and centre of breast and abdomen clear yellow, deeper and slightly inclining to orange-yellow on the under tail-coverts ; breast somewhat overshaded with greenish; sides of body and flanks decidedly greenish; thighs yellow ; under wing-coverts and axillaries pale yellow with whitish bases, brighter on the edge of the Wing 5 quills light brown below, whitish along the edge of the inner web. ‘Total length 4:2 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 2°5, tail 1°8, tarsus 0°75. The figures in the accompanying Plate represent the species of the natural size. [Re Bsa lil. p. 288 (1879), iv. p. 100 (1879).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. apuasia, etc. il. p. 372 (188) ).—Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ix. Ss Vi FF = Y S te Ve S | ” om WW a) SANE ane eS Be pe a IAG a iN ORE mn S tre ¥ ~, : , (= WAS ra o f as bs >, a We a ‘ ‘ te Ve . At OP STA C PF) >) > ers se a «2 > Se 8S a) a = IP Pong q J v7 we" _ ra a a > sec x et, ZOSTEROPS DELICATULA, Shape, J Gould &kWHart dedetlith; j Valter, Lmp UNYLUNAAUA LUAU TGTOONVTTGTTTL THEY uf ue "7 y- " ZOSTEROPS DELICATULA, Sharpe. Grey-sided White-eye. Zosterops delicatula, Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soc., Zool. xvi. pp. 318, 440 (1882). Turs pretty little species belongs to the division of the genus Zosterops in which the species have a parti- coloured under surface with the throat and the under tail-coverts yellow. It would appear to be very similar to Zosterops frontalis of Salvadori; but in the description of the latter species given by that author in bis ‘ Ornitologia della Papuasia,’ vol. ii. p. 368, there is no mention of the grey on the sides of the breast and fore neck, the breast and abdomen being described as white. It will remain therefore for some future comparison of Z. delicatula with Z. frontalis to determine whether the two birds are absolutely identical as species. There would be nothing surprising if this should turn out to be the case, as there are many instances of the same species occurring in the Aru Islands and in South-eastern New Guinea. As far as our knowledge goes at present, Z. delicatula is only known from the Astrolabe range of moun- tains, whence several specimens were forwarded by Mr. Goldie. The following is a description of a specimen kindly lent to me by Mr. Edward Gerrard, jun. :— “© Adult. General colour yellowish green, brighter aud clearer yellow on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; wing-coverts like the back ; bastard-wing feathers black; primary-coverts and quills black, externally yellowish green, brighter on the primaries, which are narrowly edged with this colour ; the secondaries more broadly margined with the same colour as the back, the innermost secondaries being entirely of the latter colour; tail-feathers blackish, edged with yellowish green near the base; crown of head like the back ; forehead black, extending as far as above the middle of the eye; lores and feathers below the eye also black, as well as the fore part of the cheeks and a narrow line skirting: the rami of the lower jaws to the base of the chin; round the eye a band of silky white feathers ; ear-coverts and hinder cheeks dark green; throat bright yellow ; remainder of under surface white with a delicate tinge of ashy grey, extending from the sides of the fore neck down the sides of the breast ; thighs white washed with yellow; under tail-coverts bright yellow; under wing-coverts and axillaries white slightly washed with yellow ; quills ey below, ashy along five inner web. Total length 38 inches, culmen 0°49, wing 2°3, tail 1:5, tarsus 0:65.” The figures in the Plate represent an adult bird in two positions. [R. B. S.J el unp Minterr Bres 15 Instram. et Lith ] =< lel W, Hart od \ 5 {ANAHAATTHOTITYTTTTGTTTT TTT jm omy UNHLVNYUNN 9 ps 4 So" as 7 AYN ZI 5 ~ we ZOSTEROPS RENDOV MK, Tristr. Rendova White-eye. Tephras olivacea, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, vi. p- 180 (1881, nee Zosterops olivacea ip) Zosterops ramsayi, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xviii. p. 425 (nec Masters). Zosterops rendove, Tristram, Ibis, 1882, p. 135.—Salvad. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, iii. p. 546 (1882).— Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, vii. p. 42 (1883).—Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. ix. p. 188 (1884). Tue genus Zosterops contains several species which have not the white eyelid upon which the trivial name of “‘ White-eye”’ is founded, and the present bird belongs to the section in which this peculiar character is not developed. All such species are at least subgenerically distinct from Zosterops, and in that case the genus Tephras might well be employed, as has been done by Mr. Ramsay in the present instance. The original specimen was procured by Lieut. Richards in the Island of Rendova in the Solomon Archipelago, and was described by Mr. Ramsay as Tephras olivacea. Count Salvadori, considering that Tephras was congeneric with Zosterops, gave to the Rendova species the name of Zosterops ramsayi, as there was already a Zosterops olivacea of Linneus, from the Island of Réunion. Mr. Masters had, however, previously bestowed Mr. Ramsay’s name on a species of the genus, and therefore the bird must be called Zosterops rendove, which title was given to the identical specimen procured by Lieut. Richards when it came into Canon Tristram’s hands in England, and the latter author recognized at the same time that the name Z. olivacea was pre-occupied in ornithology. We have copied the description of the type specimen given in our ‘ Catalogue of Birds’ :— “General colour above uniform olive-yellow, a little brighter across the ramp; wing-coverts like the back, a little yellower on the median and greater coverts; bastard-wing feathers dusky, washed with olive ; primary-coverts and quills blackish, externally olive-yellow, brighter on the edge of the primaries; upper tail-coverts olive-yellow ; tail-feathers blackish, washed with olive-green near the base; crown of head and lores like the back ; no ring of white feathers round the eye ; in front of the eye a dusky spot; ear-coverts, cheeks, and throat olive-yellow, scarcely brighter than the upper surface; fore neck, breast, and abdomen bright yellow, greener on the sides of the body and flanks; thighs and ae tail-coverts bright yellow 5 under wing-coyerts and axillaries white, washed with bright yellow ; au bee eae inner edge af quills ashy white tinged with yellow. Total length 4-6 inches, enim 1°65, wing 2°55, tail 1:8, ee O%. The Plate gives two representations of this species, of the natural size, the figures being drawn from the typical example lent to us by Canon Tristram. [R. B. S.J NT I Ta tual WORE AN % << ——w f = a Sa Lee MYZOMIELA WAKOLOENSIS , Forbes. W. Hart del et | : Hart del et lith Muntern Bros ump. TUNTTHIULLYUUUAY UNNI |AASTHPTETYTOTTy TTA AHNTFTTTE a "i " y " MYZOMELA WAKOLOENSIS, HT. O. Forbes. Lake Wakolo Honey-eater. Myzomela wakoloensis, Forbes, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1883, p. 116 iicmespecies of Honey-sucker was discovered by Mr. H. O. Forbes during his expedition to the Malay Archipelago, in the island of Bourou. Even in that island he met with it in one place only, Lake Wakolo, a locality to which few Europeans have ever penetrated before. In general appearance it resembles M. cruentata of Meyer (figured in this work) more than any other species of Myzomela, but it is quite distinct specifically. The tint of the red colouring is quite different, and the black wings with their olive margins to the quills, as well as the absence of red on the tail, are good specific characters. Adult male. General colour above scarlet vermilion; the feathers of the back and scapulars black at base, with broad ends of scarlet vermilion ; rump and upper tail-coverts like the back; lesser and median wing- coverts black, the innermost of the latter tipped with scarlet; greater coverts and quills blackish, edged narrowly with olive-yellowish; bastard wing and primary-coverts blackish; tail-feathers blue-black ; head like the back; lores black; sides of face, ear-coverts, cheeks, throat, and under surface of body bright scarlet, the feathers of the latter part with dusky bases; vent and under tail-coverts pale olive-yellowish, with dusky centres and somewhat tinged with red; under wing-coverts and axillaries white, with a yellowish tinge along the edge of the wing; quills dusky below, ashy white along the edge of the inner web, with dusky centres ; axillaries and under wing-coverts white ; the quills dusky below, whitish along the edge of the inner web; “bill black, the lower mandible yellow at base ; legs and feet sooty grey ; iris dark brown ” (1. O. Forbes). Total length 3:6 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 2:08, tail 1-3, tarsus 0°65. Mr. Forbes unfortunately did not procure an adult female, but he managed to get the immature male, which will doubtless give us some idea of the plumage of the old hen bird. The young male is brown above, with pale streaks on the forehead ; wing-coverts ee Eon os with paler or whity brown; quills dusky, edged with an olive fringe, the inner secondaries margined with tail-feathers dusky brown, with olive-brown edges; lores brown, tinged with pale brown, like the coverts ; : uh le yellowish, with a distinct red; ear-coverts and cheeks ochreous brown, with a reddish tinge ; throat pa wash of red on the chin; lower throat and fore neck more ashy; abdomen yellowish white, the breast and sides of the body browner; under tail-coverts ruddy brown. Total length 3-7 inches, culmen 0°6, wing Palacaiinlia2atansus) O10: [Ro BSS unp Mintern Bros LOUNS OW. ) YMEURINA , ER LAN Je] 1 | A ,OMUE WZ, ly y i 3 ie S Dd cS 3 ee = 3 =a 5 = ib > = : es = | _— = == oN — —F — A DORE ef g (me Dry y MYZOMELA ERYTHRINA, Ramsay, New-Ireland Honey-sucker. Myzomela erythrina, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South W 1879, p. 270.—Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879, pp. 4 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia, etc. ii, p. 297 (1881). Myzomela coccinea, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wal ales, ii. p. 107 (1877).—Forbes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 49.—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xvi. Dee : | es, ll. p. 106 (1878).—Forbes, Proc. Zool. Soc. nae 270.—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xvi. p. 72 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia, ete. ii. p. 296 (1881). | Tue original specimen of this elegant little Honey-sucker came from New Ireland, where it was collected by Mr. Cockerell, and, according to our judgment, is a young bird, probably a male. In the succeeding year Mr. Ramsay described a second species from Duke-of-York Island as 1. coccinea, and, from an examination of the type, we have little hesitation in saying that it is only the adult male of his JZ erythrina. Indeed Mr. Ramsay tells us that this was his first impression, but that the collectors insisted that the birds in the two islands were always constant in their colouring. We think, however, that there has been some mistake in the matter. M. coccinea is closely allied to MZ. cruentata of Meyer, from the Arfak Mountains, but, as Count Salvadori has pointed out, it differs in the red colouring, which is more crimson or rosy, and also in having the head darker red than the back. The bird from New Britain appears to us to belong to an undescribed species which we propose to call Myzomela kleinschmidti, after the late well-known collector who discovered it. It closely resembles JZ. erythrina, but differs in its dusky head and throat and in the colour of the under wing- coverts and axillaries; these are smoky brown, washed with crimson, whereas is JZ. erythrina they are pale earthy brown, with scarcely any tinge of red. The following is a description of the types of AZ. coccinea and M. erythrina respectively :— Adult male. General colour above crimson, rather glossy on the back; head rather more dusky crimson than the back, as also the lores, sides of face, ear-coverts, and throat, becoming brighter crimson again on the lower throat and remainder of under surface of body; under tail-coverts rosy ; wing-coverts and quills dusky brown, narrowly edged with crimson, brighter on the margins of the quills; centre tail-feathers dull crimson, the rest brown, dull crimson along the outer web; under wing-coverts and axillaries pale earthy or ashy brown, with a very faint tinge of red; quills dusky below, ashy white along the edge of the inner web. Total length 4 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 2°25, tail 1-6, tarsus 0°00. Young. Much duller in colour than the male, being obscure rosy on the upper surface, the feathers being brown washed with rosy ; head a little brighter ; wings and tail as in the adult, but edged with much duller crimson ; sides of head like the crown; throat brighter crimson; the remainder of the we surface earthy brown, washed with rosy, deepening into the latter colour on the under tail-coverts. Total length 3:4 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 1:9, tail 1-4, tarsus 0°09. tale Bele en The figures in the Plate represent the two birds lent to me ly su Ramsay, a ac _ ae ee br his M. coccinea, and the young being the type of his MZ. erythrina. They are represented of the size . [R. B. S.] Is SD a Er TL Bros.unp. JMudern VOCEPHALA, Ramsay. \ \ \\ | A \KA XL Lad 7 Uk MYZOM A et lit W Hart cel I 5 LAN) LUTTHOMITTTGOTT LET a om 4 HNVLANY INN wan / bP. War 7 sre. BS rw MYZOMELA MELANOCEPHALA. Black-headed Honey-sucker. Cinnyris (?) dubia, Ramsay (nec Bechst.), Proc. Linn. Soc, New South Wales, iv. 1879, p. 430.—Salvad. Ibis, 1880, p. 129. Cinnyris melanocephalus, Ramsay, Nature, 1879, p. 125.—Reichen. ¢. ¢. p. 101. Hermotimia melanocephala, Layard, Ibis, 1880, p. 306. Cyrtostomus melanocephalus, Salvad. Ann. Mus. ii. p. 269 (1881). p. 83 (1879).—Reichen. J. f. O. Civic. Genoy. xvi. p- 66 (1880).—Id. Orn. Papuasia, ete. So peculiar is the coloration of this bird that it is scarcely surprising that some difficulty should have been experienced in finding its natural position. Mr. Ramsay doubted whether it was a true Sun-bird and called it Cinnyris ? dubia, and he afterwards changed the specific name to melanocephala. He also expressed an opinion that the species might belong to the family Meliphagide ; but Count Salvadori considers it to be a true Sun-bird and has placed it in the subgenus Cyrtostomus. On receiving the type specimen from Mr. Ramsay, we showed it to Captain Shelley, who has written such an excellent ‘Monograph’ of the Mectarinide, and, after careful consultation, we both agreed that it is in all probability a Meliphagine bird. We say this with all caution, as the question is a difficult one; but we notice that in Sun-birds the nostril is rounded off anteriorly, whereas in the MWeliphagide the anterior edge of the nostril vanishes gradually into the upper mandible, and this character is apparently accompanied by the brush tongue. We shall therefore expect to find that the present species has the last-named peculiarity. In plumage this bird is not unlike some African Sun-birds, and again resembles some of the Spider-hunters (Arachnothera). nu the genus Myzomela it is singularly out of place as regards it colouring, but appears to belong structurally to this genus. The following description is taken from the typical specimen, which came from Savo in the Solomon Archipelago, and has been lent to us by Mr. E. P. Ramsay :— Adult male. General colour above olive-yellow, with a slight appearance of brighter yellow on the mantle ; upper tail-coyerts dusky brown, edged with the same olive-yellow as the back; wing-coverts and quills dusky brown, narrowly edged with olive-yellow, brighter on the primaries ; bastard wing and primary-coverts uniform blackish brown; tail-feathers black, with narrow margins of olive-yellow ; crown of head as far as the occiput glossy black; the nape and the sides of the hinder crown olive-yellow, but dulie: and rather greener than the back ; lores, feathers above and behind the eye, cheeks, ear-coverts, sides of face, and chgont black like the head, witha slight metallic gloss; remainder of under surface of body dull olive-yellowish, clearer olive-yellow on the fore neck, chest, and sides of neck ; breast-feathers mixed with ashy, the bases being of this colour; under tail-coverts ashy brown, edged with olive-yellow: axillary tufts pale olive-yellow, with white bases; under wing-coverts white, those near the edge of ae wing be edged ees He yellow ; quills dusky blackish below, white along the edge ot the inner web. Total length 4°5 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 2°6, tail 1-9, tarsus 0°7. — ee coun Another specimen, apparently younger, has a pale reddish tint on he Oe e eu . ae the margin of the wing-coverts, the thighs and under tail-coverts being likewise ee with this ; the Were on the head and throat is also less clearly defined. Total length 4°2 inches, tarsus 0°7. The figures in the Plate are drawn of the siz wing 2°, tail 1-65, e of life, and represent the adult male, lent to me by ’ ie [R. B. 8.] Mr. Ramsay, in two positions. =D “aS ihe c ‘4 os ) FSR KX Ay ‘ aN: 4 > er | a \ Ss » om X Ca paw War ON: UMAYITA UU UU ATTTOey Tayo vr “4 I "7 i yf =n BS 7 7 Dom Sa 7) +4 eps Sy YX: Ted Se = eo a Ot BOOS Ce ed oe oe en ma Wer: eps SG SOL. CAE MYZOMELA ANNABELLA, Setater. Mrs. Forbes’s Honey-sucker., Myzomela annabelle, Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1883, p. 56. Turs little Myzomela belongs to a small section of the genus which contains AZ. doiei from Banda and M. adolphine from the Arfak Mountains in North-western New Guinea. The former, however, differs in having the whole of the back scarlet, while according to Count Salvadori’s description of the Arfak species, which we have never seen, the back is dusky greyish with a slight olive tint and the rump and upper tail-coverts scarlet, whereas in M/. annabelle the mantle is blue-black the rump and upper tail-coverts. The single specimen yet known was procured by Mr. Forbes in Loetoe while it was frequenting the cocoa-nut trees from which the natives had been collecting their ‘ Tuak,” or palm-wine. This pretty little species has been named by Mr. Sclater after Mrs. Forbes ; and we have great pleasure in figuring a bird bearing the name of this brave lady, who shared the perils of Mr. Forbes’s travels in the Moluccas and even accompanied him to Timor Laut, where, in addition to the risks from the climate, their collecting had to be done in a circumscribed area, with the constant dread of an attack from the neighbouring villages. and the lower back is scarlet as well as Adult male. General colour above blue-black, the centre of the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts bright scarlet ; wing-coverts blue-black, greater coverts and quills black, with a narrow margin of yellowish olive ; tail- ; 5 5 A a ; a feathers blue-black, narrowly fringed with white along the edge of the inner web ; crown of head and hind neck scarlet ; lores black ; sides of face, ear-coverts, cheeks, and throat bright scarlet, succeeded by a black patch ’ 9 & z ; : bs ae ‘ across the fore neck ; remainder of under surface of the body pale yellowish olive, the flanks mixed with 2 2 . . . i i : thighs ps sllowish olive ; under tail-coverts white, washed with pale ashy, the bases being of this colour; thighs pale yellowish olive ; aa , ieee. : yellowish olive and having faint dusky centres ; under wing-coverts. and axillaries white, washed with yellow 5 . . 7 ce o. Ales ; ade sr web; ‘bill black; legs and feet on the edge of the wing ; quills blackish, white along the edge of the inner web ; as eg ue dirty green; iris dark brown” (7. O. Forbes). ‘Total length 3°66 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 2:0, tail 1-3, Ay Seen § ¢ See ~ tarsus 0°6. . : naCe » typicé ‘imen, of the natural size, in three positions. The figures in the Plate represent the typical specimen, ‘ é [R. B. S.J Walter Inv RI 9 Lorhes sATE SCI ( K I y MYZOMELA [Could bY Hart del ct bith J UUUTVUUUUYUULUYULLEYLETOpTTOTyTTTTGOTTL YHA AY TTT Ly ae nny jx SISA oe i CAEN BRIT PERNT: We MYZOMELA SCLATERT, Forbes, Sclater’s Honey-eater. Myzomela sclateri, Forbes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879, p. 268, pl. 26, fig. 2.—Sclat. ibid. p. 448.—Reichenow et Schal. Journ. f. Orn. 1880, p. 198.—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, xvi. p. 72, no. 8 (1880).—Id. Orn. della Papuasia &c. ii. p. 298 (1881). ) Tus elegant little bird is another of the interesting discoveries made by that well-known collector the Rev. George Brown in New Britain and the neighbouring islands. It Was discovered by him on the island of Palakuru, a small island in mid-channel between New Britain and Duke-of-York lend It was first described by Mr. W. A. Forbes, in his excellent Synopsis of the Meliphagine genus J/yzomela (published in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for 1879), where he describes the single male bird at that time known. ‘“ At first,’ writes Mr. Forbes, ‘““Ihad some doubts as to this individual being adult ; but now, from the absence of red feathers on any other part, and from the singularly bright and shining colour of those on the throat, I have little doubt that it has very nearly or quite attained its full plumage. Jyzomela sclateri hardly admits of being compared with any other species of the group, the entirely dark upperside and the red being confined to the throat rendering it quite unlike any species yet known to us.” In May of the same year Dr. Sclater received a further collection from Mr. Brown, which contained a male and a female of this new A/yzomela, and amply demonstrated its distinctness from any other known species of the genus. It belongs to the section of the genus where the species have the undersurface either whitish or greyish-olive, and, further, to the division of black-fronted species comprising JZ. ewlnerata, M. jugularis, and M. lafargii ; but from all of these it may be told by its blackish head. The following description is translated from Mr. Forbes’s essay above mentioned :— Adult male. Upper surface of the body, with the wings and tail, dusky blackish, the head darker; the feathers of the lower back yellow at the tip; quills, wing-coverts, and tail-feathers externally edged with olive-yellow ; throat bright crimson ; undersurface of body greyish yellow, the throat rather duller ; under wing-coverts and imner margin of quills white 5 bill black ; feet dusky. : Total length about 4:5 inches, wing 3°65, tail 1:7, bill 0-6, tarsus Oe | The adult female is described by Mr. Sclater as follows mec surface dark One crown of head, wings, and tail blackish, the latter externally edged with olive; underneath greyish yellow; the throat slightly tinged with crimson. I have been indebted to Dr. Sclater for the loan of male nting two males and a female. and female birds, from which the life-sized figures in the Plate have been drawn, represe pr 2» oP NN ON i VW CZ > POP - CoN Sy hs 5 Ard —/ —_— ~ Fy ws BN 2 % % ae aK ~ 4 by = MYZOMELA CINERACEA, Sedzzer T Gould & W Hart, del et lity Walter, np yl ei IM 7 aa mi MYZOMELA CINERACEA. Ash-coloured Honey-eater. Myzomela cineracea, Sclater, Proc, Zool. Soc. 1879, p. 448, pl. xxxvii. fio, ] - XXXVI. fig, 1; : 1880, p. 65.—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, xvi. p. 73, no. 15 (1880).—Id. Jrn. della Papuasia&e. ii, p. 304 (1881), , 2) 2 4] , 4 Tan ee ~ 7 - S ~~ emerea, Reichenow et Schalow, Journ. f. Orn. 1880, p. 197, Tuts plain-coloured Honey-eater was met with by the Rev. G. Brown in New Britain, and belongs to the section of the genus without any bright colouring on the throat, and with the under surface ’ the same colour as the upper surface. Its nearest ally is my Myzomela obscura from Northern Australia, which has also been found to inhabit South-eastern New Guinea. The latter bird, however, in addition to its dusky grey colour, has a slight vinous tinge on the head ; this is absent in AZ. cineracea, which is entirely ash-coloured above and below. Beyond the mere fact of recording the discovery of this spe to say that I have absolutely nothing to add respecting the habits or mode of life. same as those of the other species of the genus. cies, I regret These are doubtless the As Mr. Forbes remarks, “in their habits the Myzomele seem to resemble the other smaller Honeysuckers, frequenting flowering shrubs and trees, not apparently so much for the sake of the nectar of the flowers as for the insects attracted thereby.” The following short description of the species is a translation of that given by Dr. Sclater in his paper on Mr. Brown’s fourth collection :—Uniform dark ashy; under wing-coverts and inner margins of quills white ; bill and feet black. Total length 55 inches, wing 2°8, tail 2-4, tarsus 0°8, bill from gape 1-05. I am again indebted to Dr. Sclater for the opportunity of figuring this species, which has since been added to the collection of the British Museum. The figures in the Plate are drawn from the typical example, and represent the bird in different attitudes, all the figures being of about the size of life. of the body of “ae oS So ee “4 ) / — r > Ne no a y AS Y; WO = 6 Sa gies rp eI AS he a8 "a as at ww FX ST) L <7 x ea ) Se Cs I 5 ITT UA 4 \AIhLl 2 3 AAT re Ss SHAE) 4 YS <. AES MYZOMELA ROSE NBERGL, Sehieges Von R osenberg’s Honey-eater. Myzomela rosenbergit, Schlegel, Nederl. Tijdschr. Dierk. iy, p. 38 (1871).—Meyer, Sitz. k. Akad. Wien, lxix pt. 1. pp. 211, 212 (1874).—Rosenb, Reistocht. Geelvinksbai, p. 138, pl. xvi. fig. 2 (1875).—Salvad. A Mine. Caste (Ale ee Pl eye a Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vii. Pp. 776 (1875).—Salvad. & D’Albert. tom. cit. p. 825 (1875). Tue genus A/yzomela contains a number of species of small Honey-eaters, most of them attractive from the mixture of scarlet and black which forms their staple coloration, and spread over the Austro-Malayan, Australian, and Pacific subregions. Some few of them are dull-coloured; but most have a more oaleee brilliant plumage. Perhaps the most beautiful of all the Myzomele is the subject of the present article, which was discovered by Baron von Rosenberg in the North-western Province of New Guinea. It was subsequently obtained by Dr. A. B. Meyer during his sojourn in New Guinea in 1873, when it was procured by him near the village of Atam in the Arfak Mountains, at an elevation of about 3500 feet above the level of the sea; and since that time numerous specimens have been procured, by D’Albertis, Beccari, Bruijn, and other collectors, from the same district. It js probably to be found over the mountainous portions of the whole of New Guinea, as Signor D’ Albertis procured two mutilated skins from the natives of Mount Epa in the south-eastern part of the island. With this exception, however, all the known specimens of Myzomela rosenbergi are from the Arfak district. Nothing has been recorded about the habits or food of this bird. Doubtless, like other J/yzomele, it frequents flowering trees and shrubs for the sake of the nectar of the flowers and the insects attracted thereby. Nor are we yet quite certain as to its changes of plumage and sexual differences ; for Dr. Meyer states that, of the specimens killed by himself, the adult males and females are similar in colour, and he treats the bird described and figured here as the female as a young bird which has not yet attained its full plumage. I have, however, followed Count Salvadori in considering that the sexes Bre dissimilar, as, owing to the large series at his disposal, consisting of forty specimens, his opinion on this point carries great weight. . ; I am indebted to Mr. W. A. Forbes for the loan of several fine specimens, from which my drawings were made. This gentleman has lately been preparing a monographic coe a the ae ee pod he intends to publish. He has also kindly supplied me with the Se diagnosis of MW. ee an Adult male. The back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, together with the neck and ee s He i the feathers greyish at their bases; the rest of the body, wings, and tail deep black, with a slight metallic i i ack; legs horn-c r. Length about 3:7 inches lustre ; the quills shining blackish grey beneath ; bill black; legs horn-colour. Length < ; ge ’ 2 Oo re @ culmen 0°65, wing 2°5, tail 1:7, tarsus 0:55. Young male. General colour reddish brown, athers blackish grey ; » base, and the shaft lighter. page Sacisish grey af the base, ne ail blackish brown, the greater and lesser wing- st. Wines and tail blackish brown, g g most noticeable on the back, head, and chest. ings and té | es | juills mareined externally with pale olive-yellow, becoming pale i 7 | io 7 = need as a lls with their inner margins white ; mostly so on the back and rump, and paler beneath; the This gives a streaked or flammulated appearance, s give coverts tipped with pale chestnut ; the « | oe 7 Say Ne To iy orey » chestnut on the innermost secondaries; wings underneath grey, ] bill blackish ; feet horn-colour. t ( ‘tained by Dr. Beccar!). Adult female (sex ascertained by Dr. Beccar1) en shin ¢ rOat DiaCKiISH. forehead, breast, and rump are scarlet, the chin and thro« ” > : s ahove desenbedes bimene Resembles the young male above desenwece This sex is also a trifle smaller than the male. 2 Se CS A i) js i | \ h i ai. i ; - — Hf i i 7 i 5 TTT 2 3 4 ll cu | UN}LNAYUNN \ E yy << ia MYZOMELA CRUENTAT A, Meyer. Red-tinted Honey-eater. 209 Vyzomela cruentata, Meye 5 nunesber. ¢ AC c 1 (lo W l W > 16 J O 4 V . ) Ss Acad. . 8 lata w {Zune A 1 Z e i ul Of » VO XX Dr. Meyer es geen good enough to send me the type of his Myzomela cruentata, acharming little bird which he procured in New Guinea. That this country should have contained an undescribed species of this well- defined genus is not surprising, considering that at least ten others frequent the adjacent Papuan Islands, Australia, New Caledonia, Samoa, &c. &c. MM. cruentata is closely allied to the Meliphagide, or, more appropriately speaking, a part of these honey-feeding birds, a little genus which frequents the flowering trees of the forest, particularly the acacias and Lucalypti. Sprightly in all their actions, they display their fine colours to the greatest advantage, their prevailing tints often contrasting with the blossoms of the trees upon which they subsist. Their principal food is honey and insects, which their little brush tongues facilitate their gathering. That Myzomela cruentata is a very rare species is evidenced by only one specimen being found; and, for my own part, I have never seen a second. As Dr. Meyer has favoured me with a short note respecting this new species, I have the pleasure of inserting it here. He says:—‘‘ Myzomela cruentata is distinguished from M. sanguinolenta, Gould, ‘ Birds of Australia,’ vol. iv. pl. 63, by the red colour predominating everywhere ; besides, the latter has the Jores black, and the tail and wings do not possess any red tint, whilst in crwentata the parts when closed appear quite red, although somewhat less intense on the back and under surface ; furthermore the whole of the n sanguinolenta they are brownish yellow. The figure of Certhia underparts are intense red, while cardinalis, Aud. and Vieill. Ois. Dor. ii. t. 58, shows the under surface to be quite red, and agrees in this respect with JZ cruentata; but the wings, tail, and region of the eyes are decidedly deep black. Male.— Red, especially on the head, back, and uropygium. Primaries and secondaries dusky black, with red margins; the tertiaries, as well as the upper wing-coverts, deeply tinged with red; underside of | f the inner webs whitish ; middle tail-feathers rufous; under surface of the tail grey wings grey; base 0 ctrices broadly margined with the same colour. Bill, feet, and with a reddish tinge ; outer webs of the re claws black. Total length 105 millims., wings 58, tail 42, bill from the front 14.” Hab. Arfak Mountains, New Guinea. The figures in the accompanying Plate are of the natural size. 1S. Up). Mintern Bro UTA, Gray. IR 1 5G NIG f MY Z O MUE LA W. Hart del ect lith \ 5 (AAUATTGOOTTyOOTagITY HH] jr POM WTAHINAYUNN J MYZOMELA w IGRITA, Gray. Black Honey-eater, Myzomela nigrita, Gra , Proc. OMe 5 ui eu oe pp. Ne 190.—Id. Cat. Mamm. & Birds of New Guinea, pp. 23, ee e ee ae p. 155, 1861, p. 434.— Rosenb. Journ. fiir Orn. 1864, p. 122.— Mee bas ace ee tee ae 1988 (1869).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. viii. p. 400 ee I 34 (1878).—Id. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 97—W. A. Forbes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879 p. 265.—D?Albert. & Salvad. Ann, Mus. Civic. Genov. xiv. p. 75 (1879) poe eee New South Wales, iv. p- 469 ( .—Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. ae eee mee Malay. Arch. p. 553 (1879).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. ee a ) : a oe e delle Molucche, ii. p- 291 (1881).—Id. Rep. Voy. ; eee ol i. Birds, p. 81 (1881).—Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soc., Zool. xvi. p. 437 (1883).—Gadow at. Birds in Brit. Mus. ix. p. 139 (1884). — Nectarinia nigrita, Finsch, Neu-Guinea, p. 163 (1865). Myzomela erythrocephala (nec Gould), Meyer, Sitz. k, Akad. Wien, lxx. p. 204 (1874) Myzomela meyeri, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genovy. vii. p. 947 (1875), | Myzomela pluto, Salvad. MSS., Forbes, Proc, Zool. Soc. 1879, p. 266. Tuts peculiar little Honey-eater was discovered by Mr. A. R. Wallace in the Aru Islands, and was described by the late Mr. G. R. Gray, who omitted to mention in his description anything about the white under wing-coverts, an error corrected by Count Salvadori. It is replaced in the Solomon Islands by a closely allied form, JZ. tristrami, in the Admiralty group by J. pammelena, and in New Ireland by M. ramsay. The latter differs in its smoky black colour, and the first-named by its yellowish bill. Considerable difference in size is exhibited in a series of this species, and the late Mr. W. A. Forbes, who wrote a most useful memoir on the genus AZyzomela, has given a table of measurements to show that the birds from New Guinea and the islands in the Bay of Geelvink (Jobi and Miosnoum) are the same as the typical examples from the Aru Islands. Count Salvadori also adopts this view, but Dr. Gadow tries to prove that JL. ngrita occurs in Western and Southern New Guinea and the Aru Islands, being replaced by M. pammelena on the north coast of New Guinea with its islands, the Admiralty Islands, and the Solomon group also. Besides the islands of Jobi and Miosnoum, the species has been found at Dorei by Mr. Wallace, and at Rubi in North-western New Guinea by Dr. Meyer. In South-eastern New Guinea Signor D’Aibertis met with it on the Fly River, and it has been procured at East Cape by Mr. Hunstein. More recently Mr. Forbes obtained specimens on the Astrolabe Mountains. The following is the description of a pair of birds sent to us by the last-named gentleman :— lack, both above and below; quills and tail-feathers black ; axillaries and Adult male. General colour | af “bill black; legs and feet lavender-blue; iris under wing-coverts white, the edge of the wing black : black” (HZ. O. Forbes). Total length 4 inches, culmen 0°59, wing oo Adult female. Different from the male. General colour oe dusky brown ee _ i ol a i i coverts an quills dusky blackish, edged with olive ; upper tail-coverts like the ae a oh ae oe crown of bead like the back, the forebead dull crimson ; lores and sides of face dull crimson, He under surface of body dusky, washed with olive, the dusky ; 9-25, tail 1°55, tarsus 0:50. “te le ile OP ms ear-coverts dusky like the crown ; a sides of body and flanks dusky ; thighs and under tail-coverts low dusky, white along the inner edge: “ bill black ; 3:7 inches, culmen 0°59, wing 2°0, cheeks and throat ; centre of the abdomen olive whitish ; overts and axillaries white; quills be ” (CH. O. Forbes). Total length under wing-c legs and feet dark yellow ; iris blue-grey tail 1:3, tarsus 0°50. The Plate represents by Mr. H. O. Forbes in the Astrolabe Mountains. fe TS i it air 7 5} ‘1 ZS C llected male and female 0 ‘ the na ural S1Ze, drawn fi om the pat of specimens CO a 2 ¢ c f S a) AZ SAREE SII ARIE SI) DULL SII DOL II) Nag Se i Wi or NAWANAGAR 4 4 2 2 Jam SAHIB WIT a a Citi aaa mn nin rw LETT OVER = Pry PAG Ni ia PEPE Renan OOP SESE IP FLOPS b FeSO CIC ICICI ICICI ODCICDCICICICICSCOS SEEGER aaa ae = Ee ae ab a a a ee Es ls a ee Me TTR COSCO SISO CN OO SOOO COCOONS OES COC SCD COCO CO COON CD OO OOCO ALD Xeie) Paaicsicaids cole eseoes eoieoeneI IONE | fil Fam | J IIES CSCS ES RCS CSCS CSCS. CO.CC CICA IOI CS, PETES DY Ge ee Ee VLA aa Sop eregee ee tyes BOATS