TOWNSEND AND WETMORE". THE BIRDS. 203 



The type of Muscylva Lesson, 1831, has never been properly desig- 

 nated, although Lesson (Compl. oeu\Tes Buffon, 1837, 8, p. 366) him- 

 self cited " MnscicajM aJhogidaris" as the type. As it has been shown 

 that this species was a nomen. miduvi in the original reference this 

 designation is not valid. To eliminate the name Muscylva Lesson 

 1831 the type is here fixed as Muscicapa caerulea Gmelin, reducing 

 Muscylva to a synonym of Hyyotkymis Boie, 1826. 



In 1846, G. R. Gray (Gen. birds, 1846, 1, p. 258) named a bird from 

 the Fiji Islands Rhipidura lessoni, basing the species on the " Muscylva 

 de Lesson" of Hombron and Jacquinot (Voy. Pole Sud. Zool., October, 

 1844, 3, pi. 11, fig. 2, Oiseaux). This bird was later described by 

 Jacquinot and Pucheran on page 75, vol. 3, of the text of the work just 

 cited, published in 1853, as Muscylva lessoni. With it was described 

 another species, M. pccforalis. Muscylva was not designated as a 

 new genus by these authors and it was not intended as new, but the 

 name has been generally accredited to them since the date of its 

 appearance in the Catalogue of birds in the British Museum (Sharpe, 

 1879, 4, p. 233). It is evident from the outline above that the status 

 of Muscylva as a generic term was in hopeless confusion, so that it 

 has seemed best to eliminate it and substitute a new name to avoid 

 future complications. Following are emendations of Muscylva that 

 have appeared: 



Mvscicylva Gray, Gen. birds, 1849, 3, app., p. 53. 



Muscisyhia Agassiz, Nom. zool. Aves, 1841, p. 88. (Not 



Muscisyhia Hodgson, 1844 and 1845). 

 Miiscyla Gray, Cat. gen. and subgen. birds, 1855, p. 51. 



58. Haplornis lessoni (G. R. Gray). 



Rhipidura lessoni Gray, Gen. birds, 1846, p. 258. (Fiji Islands). 



There are in the collection four "mummies" of this species, with 

 sex not indicated, that were collected at Viti Levu, Fiji Islands, 

 16 December. The specimen of this bird that Peale (U. S. explor. 

 exped., 1848, 8, p. 101) described as Monarcha cinereus was secured 

 on this same island. 



59. Metabolus rugensis (Hombron and Jacquinot). 



Muscicapa rugensis Hombron and Jacquinot, Ann. sci. nat., 1841, ser. 2, 16, 

 p. 312. (Ruk Islands). 



An adult male was secured at Uala in the Truk Group (Middle 



