32 NOVITATES ZOOLOSICAE XXII. 1D15 



24. Cuculus optatus Gould. 



Ciiculiis optatus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. xiii. 18-15, p. 18 (1845—" Port Essington, 

 Australia ''). 



3, Dampier Island, 12. ii. 1914 (No. 6653). 

 " Iris lemou yellow." 



25. Cacomantis sepulcralis assimilis (Gray). 



Cuculus assimilis Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1858, pp. 184, 195 (Aru Is.) ; cf. Nov. Zool. 1007, 

 p. 434 ; 1912, p. 334 ; 1914, p. 212 (no. 21). 



10 c? ? ad. and jav., Dampier Island, Feliruary 1914 (Nos. 6596, 6609, 6615, 

 6637, 6655, 6673, 6685, 6708, 6728, 6729). 



26. Chrysococcyx malayanus poecilurns Gray. 



Chrysococcyx poecilurus Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 18i51, pp. 431, 437 (" Mysol and New 



Guinea"). (Type from Mysol in Brit. Museum ; Nov. Zool. 1907, p. 438.) 

 Chrysococcy-c malayanus poecilurus Stresemann, Nov. Zool. 1914, p. 116. 



2 c? c? ad., 1 ? ad., Dampier Island, 2., 11. ii., 3. iii. 1914 (Nos. 6526, 6631, 

 6764). 



" Iris brownish red, brown, chocolate ; bill black, in the female slate at base 

 of lower mandible ; feet slate-blue, dark slate-bine black." 



In Sov. Zool. 1907, p. 438, we mentioned that we had also specimens from 

 Cape York. Mathews, List. B. Austral/a, p. 157, separates the Cape York form as 

 russatus Gould, described from Cape York. Probably Mr. Mathews is perfectly 

 right in separating this form which we wonkl call C. malaijanus russatus Gould. 



27. Tanysiptera hydrocharis meyeri Salvad. 



[Tanysiptera hydrocharis Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1858, pp. 172, 190 (Aru Islands).] 

 Tany.iiptera mei/eri Salvadori, Orn. Pop. e Molucc., Aggiunte, i. p. 54 (1889— Kafu ; north coast 



of German New Guinea, opposite the Guilbert and Bertrand Islands). 

 (See also Nov. 1901, p. 161 ; about the name hydrocharis versus dea : Hartert, Nov. Zool. 



1903, p. 48.) 



10 cJ ? ad., Dampier Island, 2.-13. ii. 1914 (Nos. 6527, 6576, 6606, 6620, 

 6634, 6645, 6651, 6652, 6656, 6661). 



" Iris dark brown ; bill bright red ; feet yellowish or greenish yellow." 



We are unable to separate this series from 14 adult specimens from German 

 New Guinea and Takar. It is rather interesting to find that these birds are 

 indistinguishable from those of the opposite coast of New Guinea, while, on the 

 other hand, the series from Vulcau Island is sufficiently distinct to recognise it as 

 a different subspecies ; if the two scries are side by side on the table the difference 

 is obvious, even though the measurements do not make it very striking. 



We wish here to correct our views of 1901, when (iVou. Zool. p. 101) we 

 expressed our opinion that 7\ microrhyncha was not separable from T. hijdrocharis 

 galatea. With a series from Milne Bay, CoUingwood Bay, Mambare River, 

 Knmusi River, Mount Cameron, Mount Victoria, Aroa River, Brown River, and 

 Port Moresby, we are bound to admit, that the form from South-eastern New 

 Guinea must be separated from that of North-western Papua ; its bill is generally 

 much smaller, although occasionally a specimen of T. h. microrhyncha may not be 

 separable from one of T. h. galatea ; the wing is also on the average shorter in the 

 former, measuring 102, 102, 102, 103, 103, 103, 103, 103, 103, lU4, 104, 104, 104, 



