( 249 ) 



Mr. Meek sent the followiiin- specimens : 



3 (^ J, 1 ¥. Eendova, February 19n4 (Nos. A. 1254, ]25o, 1200, 1344). 



1 (?, Cboisenl, 10. xii. 1903 (No. A. 977). 



2 t?c?, Bougainville, May 1904 (Nos. A. 1707, 1771). 



"Iris cliocolatc-browu ; feet dull tan-colonr (liglit tan) ; bill lilack (slate)." 



18. Astur albogularis (Gray). 



An'ipiter alhor/iilari.'' Gray, Ann. Nat. //is/. (4) v. p. 1)27 (1870 : San Chi'istoval). 

 Aslur holomeius Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1888. p. 182 (Aola, Guadalcanar). 

 .Is/Hi' wnuilforili Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1888. p. 183 (Guadalcanar), 



.■\slur rersiciilnr Ramsay, Prnn_ Linn. Siir. X. .S. W'ale.^, vi. ]i. 718 (1882 : Ugi, near San Christoval). 

 (Cf. Nor. Zool. 1901. pp. 379, 380.) 



Asf/n- albogularis and woodfonli were separated, because the latter has 

 a vinous collar on the hind-neck. We have found tliat specimens with this 

 collar occur side by side with others without any indication of it, and others 

 again, in which it is more or less indicated and developed. This clearly shows 

 that it is no specific character. ^Vheu .1. rcraicolov was descrilied, it was suggested 

 that it might be a melanistic aberration of nlhofiidriris, and when /w/omela.s was 

 named the suggestion was made that it might be a melanism of iroodfordi. 

 We iSoi-. Zool. 1001, p. 380) also suggested the probability of the black 

 birds being melanistic examples of .1. ulhogidarh (= icoodj'oi-di). Now we 

 cannot any longer doubt that this is the case. We have an adult male from 

 Ghoiseul (No. A. 1105) which has the throat and chest slaty black, towards 

 the abdomen mixed with greyish and white, while the abdomen, thighs and 

 under tail-cnverts are pure wliite. Another male is white below with one small 

 black isli spot on the chest and a vinous-rufous collar above, which encroaches 

 on the underside, a third white below without a collar on the upper surface. 



It is thus evident that we have a black-and-white species which varies 

 very much, and is spread over most of the Soloraou Islands— in striking opposition 

 to the grey-and-rufons species, which is rather constant in any given locality, 

 but varies locally, thus being separable into a number of subspecies. 



Great as the variation is among the adult birds, it is equally striking in 

 the young birds. A male from Rendova has the upperside blackish brown and 

 rufous, the central rectrices slaty grey, gradually merging into jiale cinnamon 

 with a grey wash on the outer rectrices, all being barred with blackish bands. 

 Underside rusty buff, each feather with a longitudinal lanceolate spot in tlie middle, 

 but those of the throat and under tail-coverts uniform, those of the flanks with wide 

 dark brown bars. A female from ( 'hoiseul is above much more dark cinnamon, 

 with less black, the middle rectrices more tinged with cinnamon, the underside 

 bright cinnamon with brown stripes on the throat, and brown, variously shaped 

 cross-markings on the rest of the underside. Another female from Choiseul has 

 the chest and breast narrowly barred witli brown, on a cream-coloured ground, 

 while a male from the same island has much wider and deeper brown bars. The 

 heads and hind-necks of these birds are white with liroad black tips to the feathers. 



1 S jnv., Eendova, 24. ii. 1904 (No. A. 1372). 



1 S ad., New Georgia, 11. iii. 1904 (No. A. 144u). 



3 cJc? ad., 2 ?¥ jnv., 1 $ juv., Choiseul, December loo:',, -huinary 10ii4 

 (Nos. A. 913, 980, 1040,' 1105, 1125, 1102). 



" Adults : Iris cadmium-yellow (dirty yellow in a bird moulting from the 



