( 19 ) 



.Akiluccan bird is easily recognisable as being whiter, and it is therefore desirable to 

 give the Papnan bird a subspecific name. I do not know the R. minor Schleg. from 

 the island of Misori in the Geelvink Bay, but R. hrovnii (Scl.) is a very distinct 

 species. Count Salvadori, to whom we owe so much of our knowledge of the Papuan 

 Islands, has already (see Ornitol. Papiuts. III. p. 128) pointed out. some differences 

 between Moluccan and Pa];iuan specimens, but gave no new name, as he did not 

 consider such local forms important enough to give them a name. E. H. 



Goura albertisii Sahad. 

 Two typical specimens from Mailu. 



II. 



NOTE ON TWO MOKE SPECIMEX,^ OF ASTRAPIA SPLEiXDlDISSIMA. 



Since I described and figured this .splendid bird in Vol. II. of this journal, I 

 have received two more nudes, which are quite complete. The central rectrices are 

 185 and 210 mm. long, cream-colour with black tips for 70 and 81 mm., and 

 onlv 1'5 inch (= 38 mm.) longer than the next pair. The wings of these specimens 

 measure about 5'\r> inches (= 130 mm,). W. R. 



III. 



ON THE FORMS OF MAGROPTERYX MYSTACEA. 



When arranging the Swifts in the Tring Museum I found two specimens, a riuile 

 and a female, of Macropteryx niystacea, collected on the island of Guadalcanar 

 by ]Mr. Woodford, and recorded by Grant in Proc. Zool. Soc. Loiul. 1888, p. 194- 

 They struck me at once by having a uniform grey imderside, while M. niystacea 

 from other localities have the middle of the abdomen white and a good deal of white 

 on the lower tail-coverts. On further examination I found that the wings of the two 

 Solomon Island specimens were aliout three-quarters of an inch, or about 20 mm. , 

 shorter. These differences, if the two specimens are compared with a number of 

 New Guinea specimens of M. ni,ystacea, are so obvious that I should not have hesi- 

 tated f,o describe them as a species had I not found that both the length of the wing 

 and the colour of the under parts vary to a certain extent in J/, niystacea. So I find 

 thai the Moluccan specimens have the wings mostly shorter than those from New 

 Guinea, and the extent of the white colour on the abdomen varies ahso. There are 

 a skin from ]5uru and one from Ceram in the British Museum which have very 

 little white on the belly only. Nevertheless the Guadalcanar birds are striking 

 enough to deserve a subspecific name, and I propose for them that of 



Macropteryx mystacea woodfordiana llartert subsp. nov. 



It differs from M. myatucea typica from New Guinea in the uniform grey under tail- 

 coverts and abdomen (without white in the middle) and the shorter wing. It 

 has the wings 8-21 inches ( = 208 mm.) and 8-15 inches ( = 20G-5 mm.), the tails 

 7 and 7'.5 (=177'5 and 190 mm.). 1 think it is quite po.s.sible tiiat the Jloluccan 

 birds will be separated subspecifically at one time or another, Init at present 1 have 

 not sufficient matt-rial to decide, and I find too much variation in size, while I can 



