C 20 ) 



material at my disposal are too limited to solve the (juestioii. I cauiiot think that 

 .Shavpe is riglit in separating //. fitimii as a species, nor am I able to recognize all 

 his races, bnt 1 do not either believe that ail the forms can finally be united as one 

 race. One of the Dammer birds has the bill ciuiousiy Hat and nptnnud, very mnch 

 like a Todirhamphii.i, and mnch like Shar]je's meyeri from Togian, whicli, however, 

 is also an individual aberration. 



27. Astur polionotus Salvud. 



Three /ema^e.'? of a hawk from Dammer seem to be Salvadori's .1. /tolioxotus, 

 described from Timorjaut. These birds are above of a Cdnsiderably darker grey 

 than .1. albirentris from the Key Islands, and the rnfous collar is more developed 

 than in most -1. albicentris. All the females {males are not in the collection) 

 have very distinct cross-bars on the breast and abdomen, while the chest is miiform 

 rufons. This rnfons colour is darker than in most albicentris. The throat is very 

 jiale, wliitish rnfons, under wing-coverts white with narrow rosy-rnfons cross-bars, 

 thighs of a pale rufous, with or without faint cross-bars. '-The iris is ochreous, 

 feet ochreous, bill black." 



Wing (?) 240—24.5 mm. 



A series from Great Banda seems to belong to the same form, but tlie thighs 

 are quite white (as they seem to be in the type of A. poUonotitx); only owe female has 

 a faint red tinge and the faintest indication of cross-bars on the thighs. The male 

 from Banda has a broad and distinct rufous collar, and the underside is uniform, 

 only on the abdomen are faint indications of liars. 



28. Baza subcristata reinwardti (Mill!. & Schleg.) 

 Four skins of B(i:<i from Dammer differ enormously from each other in the 

 colouration of the underside, two having dark rnfons, one ashy brown, one (a young 

 example) narrow rufous brown zigzag bars. 



I almost doubt the jiossibility of separating Daza subcristata and reinwardti 

 even subspecifically ! The only diiference is in fact, as already shown by Salvadori, 

 in his great " Ornithologia Papiiasia," the smaller size of B. reinwardti, the 

 difierences in colouration, which Sharpe {Cat. B. v. I.) and others thought to be 

 of specific value, being individual variations. While recognizing the generally 

 smaller size of reinwardti, I find individuals (Djampea, Fergusson), which differ 

 not from some Australian skins in size. If, however, reinwardti can be separated 

 subspecifically (a specific separation is impossible), then 7>'. subcristata .mbcristata 

 should be restricted to Australia, the birds from the Moluccas, Lesser Suuda 

 Islands and New Guinea being all reinwardti. 



Baza subcristata riifa from Batjan, Halmahera and Obi Major is a mere rufous 

 closely allied form. 



B. subcristata yurneyi from the Solomons seems to be fairly distinct, but 

 B. subcristata hismarcki from New Britain and New Hanover does not seem 

 to differ from gurneyi, except in having a longer bill. 



B. subcristata timorhioen.iis from Timorlant is somewhnt doubtful, being based 

 on a young binl, the adult of which is not yet known. 



20. Cuculus canorus intermedius Yahl. 

 ?, Kuwray, Dammei' Island, Novemlier 11th, l;?'.tis. 



