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ON THE BIRDS COLLECTED ON SUDEST ISLAND IN 

 THE LOUISIADE AECHIPELAGO BY ALBERT S. MEEK. 



J5y ERNST HAKTERT. 



lyyTR. ALBERT S. MEEK, whose name is well kuowii (o the readers of this 

 -'-'-'- journal, has very successfull}- collected ou various islands of the Louisiade 

 Archipelago, and I shall give lists of the birds of the various islands in succession, 

 beginning with those from Siidest Island, or Tagnla, whicli is the largest of the 

 group, being forty miles long and averaging about eight miles in breadth. It 

 ascends in the centre to '2tiS\> feet, and is well wooded and inhabited. The natives 

 have a very good reputation, and are said to be less warlike than those of many 

 other islands of the group. The island was visited by John Macgillivray, of 

 H.M.S. Ratthxno/tc, as long ago as 1840, and ii few specimens have been collected 

 there by Sir William Macgregor's official parties and Mr. Basil H. Thomson during 

 short inspection tours ; but no extensive collections have ever been made on Tagnla 

 before Meek's visit. He staged on the island ])ractically the whole of the month of 

 April 1889, and made large and fine collections. It will be seen from the following 

 list that the number of species collected is small (only forty-two), and it is, I think, 

 evident that there must be more laud-birds on the island ; in fact I am inclined to 

 believe that nearly all those found on the smaller Rossel Island should occur, or be 

 replaced by closely allied forms, while it is not to be wondered at that Sndost 

 Island should have forms which are not found on any of the other islands. Of liirds 

 not sent by Mr. Meek, Mr. De Vis mentions as occurring on Sndest Islanil the 

 following : — Eopsaltriu sudesten'sis De Vis. Unknown to me. See note under 

 No. ~ .— Chlamijdodera cerviniventris Gonld. — Momirchu melanopterus Gray. — Mr. 

 De Vis' ('nUuricinclri discolor is, I think, the same as my Pachjcephahi fortix. 

 Canon Tristram mentions no bird which has not been collected by Mr. Meek. 



Besides the Lmmis hjpoemchroiis (No. 31), I know of no birds being described 

 from Sndest Island e.xcept by Mr. De Vis in the Appendices to the Official Reports on 

 Briiish New ftninea, and by Canon Tristram in the Ibi>< for ]snO. 



l''rom Meek's collection there can bo little doubt that we are now on the whole 

 well acijuainted with the resident specie's of Sndest Island. The number of " new 

 species " and local forms is very great ; but many of them occur also on other 

 islands of the Louisiade Archipelago, as will be shown in a following article. 



I. Manucodia atra (Less.). 



It is somewhat surprising to find on Sndest Ishmd (and apparently ou none of 

 the other islands of the Louisiade gronji) the common Manacodia ntnt from New- 

 Guinea. Mr. W. Rothschild and I have carefully compared the Sndest birds with 

 many specimens from New Guinea, and we could find no differences. The specimens 

 sent by Meek are in jierfect condition, the head and neck greenisii, rest of upjicr 

 parts rather purjilish. " The iris is bright red ; bill and feet black." Wing 

 195 — :i05 mm. The smaller ones are not all marked ytv««7ej*, but there is perhaps 

 an error in the sexes of two specimens. 



