XOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXI. Ini4. 291 



bronze-browQ. Quills with the nsnal whitish basal bar. Rectrices slaty blue-black, 

 tipped with white and with white spots or short bars on the inner and sometimes 

 also on the onter edges ; these white markings .are generally short and reach not 

 even to the middle of the outer webs, but occasionally right across to the shaft ! 

 Throat and crop jiale ashy grey, often more or less mixed with pale cinnamon- 

 rnfons, rest of underside, including under tail-coverts, pale cinnamon-rufons ; under 

 wing-coverts lighter. Edge of wing at base of primaries forming a conspicuous 

 white patch. Wing 109-113 mm. In 3-onnger birds the cross-bars on the outer- 

 most pair of rectrices reach to the shaft and are wider. 



Hub. Admiralty Island. Type S ad. Manus, 16. ix. 1913 (No. 0U72). 



This series is remarkably constant. The new form is apparently nearest to 

 C. assimilis (Gray) from New Guinea and neighbouring islands to Bismarck 

 Archipelago, but differs from the latter in its much smaller size, more greyish 

 crown, slaty-grey (not bronzy I) upper tail-coverts, and rnfesceat, evidently never 

 greyish underside. It difiers from G. sepulcralis sepulcralis (S. Miiller) by its 

 paler upperside, more extended grey on throat, brighter abdomen and lesser size. 

 From C. me.rulinus the new form is distinguished by the shortness of the cross-bars 

 on the outer rectrices, which only in one of our adult specimens extend to the shaft, 

 and generally darker upperside. 



Stresemann {Nov. Zool. xix. p. 332) has given a useful review of the forms 

 of C. merulinus and C sepidcra/ix, but after comparison with our series and the 

 specific characters as set forth by Stresemann, we find it difficult to say to which 

 of the two species our new form should belong, though we have no doubt that 

 it is the representative on the Admiralty Islands of C. assimilis, C. weOsteri, 

 C. aei-uginosus, etc., and therefore it should be C. sepulcralis blandus. 



In Mr. Sf.resemann's review we miss the statement that his C. sepulcvaUs 

 sepulcralis (undoubtedly, in our opinion, correctly called by this name) is the 

 C. threnodes of various publications on birds in the Tring Museum, though not of 

 Cabanis and Heine. 



Meek's collectors brought together eight adult males and females and two 

 )'oung of C. blandus, collected near Manus in the months of Se[>tember and October 

 (Nos. 5976, .5977, 5987, 5988, 5089, CU72, 6081, 6137, G144, 6163). 



" Iris brown ; feet yellow and black or dull yellow and brown ; bill black, liase 

 of lower pale." 



28. Tyto manusi sp. nov. 



Differs from the Australian forms of Ti/to uocaehoUandiae, of which it will 

 probably have to be classed as a subspecies, when all these forms are sufficiently 

 reviewed, in its smaller size. The rufescent bars on the tail are narrow and ill- 

 defined. Coloration dark, underside rufescent brownish-buff with rather large 

 blackish spots. Under wiug-coverts white, yellowish brown near the bend of the 

 wing, and with similar large spots. 



Wing 275, tail 122, tarsus about 78, culmen 41 mm. 



" Iris ilark brown; bill flesh-colour; feet greyish brown." 



Unfortunately only one single male from Manus, 10. x. 1913 (No. 6234). 



This form appears to be nearest to T. cayelii (Hart.) from Burn, but the tail, 

 instead of being yellowish brown with seven sharply defined black bars, which are 

 narrower than the brown portions, is black with narrow, ill-defined, irregular yellow- 

 brown bars. Size like that of 7'. cayelii. Evidently quite different from T. aaranlia 



