26 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXII. 1915. 



THE BIRDS OF DAMPIER ISLAND. 

 By the Hon. WALTER ROTHSCHILD, F.R.S., Ph.D., and ERNST HARTERT, Ph.D. 



DAMPIER ISLAND, or Krakar, is one of the islands along the coast of north- 

 western New Guinea, stretching in a line from Umboi or Rook Island (see 

 Nov. Zool. 1914, p. 207) to Vulcan Island (vide infra). It lies about 16 or 17 km. 

 north of Cape Croisilles, is almost ronnd, and about 22 by 23 km. in area. It rises to 

 1500 m. in the form of a cone, and is inhabited on the coast. 



No ornithological collector appears to have been at work on this island, except 

 Dahl, who has touched the coast and collected three species : Sterna anaetheta, 

 Orthoj-hampkus magnirostrh, and Gallinago megala (cf Reichenow, Vog. d. Bis- 

 marckinseln, pp. 2.3, 33, 37). 



Mr. Meek, owing to bad health, was not able to go to Krakar in person, but he 

 sent his boat with its well-trained staff of collectors and crew there, who collected 

 on it from January to March 1914. 



The island is named in honour of William Dampier, who, after perhaps the 

 most adventurous life known in history, discovered New Britain, this and many 

 other islands, in the year 1700. The native name is Krakar. 



On account of the pro.ximity to the mainland of Papna, the oruis of Dampier 

 Island is chiefly that of north-western New Guinea, bnt there are some elements of 

 the insular fauna of the Bismarck Archipelago, sach as Mi/zomela sclateri and 

 Carpopkaga rhodinolaema, while Ht/pocharmosjfna rubrigularis krakari, a close 

 ally of a New Britain form, and Macroptjgia nifa krakari appear to be peculiar to 

 this isle. 



1. Tringa hypoleuca L. 



Tringa hypolcucns Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. x. 1, p. 149 (1758 — " Europa." Restricted typical 

 locality : Sweden). 



2 " ? " Dampier Island, February 1914 (Nos. 6086, 6710). 

 2. Eulabeornis tricolor tricolor (Gray). 



Rallina tricolor Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1858, p. 52 (Aru Islands). 



? ad., Dampier I., 12.iii.l014 (No, 6803). "Iris brownish red or maroon ; 

 bill green and black ; feet dark olive green." 



We cannot see how the New Guinea form can be separated from the Am bird, 

 as no series is at hand for comparison. It is impossible to separate such closely 

 allied races after comparison with one or two specimens ; we therefore do not 

 accept Mr. Mathews' name " E. tricolor grai/i," by which he calls the Papuan 

 birds (B. Australia i. p. 20.5). The skin from Dampier Isle agrees well with 

 Papuan ones. The abdomen is hardly barred, but the amount of barring varies a 

 good deal in our examples. We can, at present, only recognise three races : 



E. tricolor tricolor : Arn, Papua (Dorey, Sattelberg), New Hanover, Dampier 

 Island. 



E. tricolor robinsoni Math. : North Queensland. 



E. tricolor victa (Hart.) : Tenimber, Koer, Dammer. 



[Mr. Mathews {yov. Zool. 1911, p. 193) separates E. tricolor generically from 



