( 183 ) 

 IT. Chalcophaps chrysochlora timorensis Flp. 



[C'llninbii cliri/surhlora \Va.gler, Si/st. Ar., Oilvmba spec. 79 (18l'7 : fSyuonyms partly and habitat 

 ("Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, China") erroneous ! Description solely referable to the Australian, 

 etc., form. I accept Australia as the typical habitat ! ).] 



Chtilciiphajis timorensis Bonaparte, Comptes Reml. xliii. pp. (148, 949 (IB.'iC) : Timor). 



CImk'iphaps i-Jirijsochlom Finsch, Xotes Lrydeii Mils. xxii. p. '299 (Letti, Wetter, Kisser, Bablier). 



It is difficult to understand why recent authors have "lumped" the true 

 chri/socIUora aud iiinorensis. The former is found in Australia, New Guinea, and 

 small islands near it. New Hebrides, New Caledonia, the latter over the South- 

 West Islands, and on the Timor groups of islands. True cliri/soi-hlorn has the head, 

 neck and ujiper back vinous, even in the oldest males ; with or without a grey 

 wash on the occiput, and only a band across the shoulder, formed by the tips of 

 some of the lesser coverts, greyish white. Adult males of true timorensis, on the 

 other hand, have the hinder crown (from about the eyes), the occiput and a continuous 

 wide stripe along the hind-neck together with the upper back bluish grey, and 

 more white on the lesser wing-coverts, |the white occupying nearly the whole 

 lesser upper wing-coverts and forming a large patch. Thus far the two forms 

 are as distinct as possible, only immature males being less easily recognisable, 

 and should by all ornithologists of the " species-or-not-species-jieriod " be recognised 

 as two different sj)ecies, but this has generally been overlooked. Nowadays, 

 in the " subspecies-as-well-as-species-period," we look upon these representative 

 forms as subspecies and name them triuomially. Moreover the birds from the 

 South-East Islands (Koer and Manggoer) seem to be intermediate : they have the 

 large white patch on the shoulders as in timorensis, but there is not much grey 

 on the head, neck aud back. Our series of adult ?nales is, however, very small, 

 and I therefore do not name this form. From the Timorlaut and the Key Islands 

 we have only one adult male each. The former looks like those from Koer 

 and ]\Ianggoer, the latter more like chrysochlora, with au apparently small white 

 shoulder-stripe, as in the latter. 



All our examples from the South-West Islands are true typical timorensis. 

 They are as follows : — 



12 cJ ?, Kisser, April, May, June 1901. (Nos. 3873—3875, 3870, 3952, 4057, 



4060, 4061, the rest without numbers.) 



4c??, Moa, November, December 1902. (Nos. 6316—6318, 6404.) 



7 <? ?, Wetter, September, October 1902. (Nos. 5714—5718, 5656, 5657.) 



7 (??, Letti, November, December 1902. (Nos. 5926, 5959, 5960, 6043 



6487—6489.) 



21 J?, Roma, July, August, 19U2. (Nos. 5187—5191, 5216—5220, 5327, 



5328, nine without numbers.) 



Two of the lloma birds have some white feathers on the back and middle wing- 

 coverts, one also some on the breast, the other one white rectrix and one of the 

 under tail-coverts white. A male from Kisser (3879) has the lower flank-feathers 

 very pale bluish grey, and on one of them a glossy coppery spot. One from Wetter 

 has several round coppery spots on the abdomen. " Iris (dark) coffee-brown 

 (dark brown), feet purplish (violet, pale purple, crimson, in young birds pale 

 purplish, blackish 1)rown and greyish brown), bill coral-red, base purplish, in very 

 young birds brown or blackish." 



