( e- ) 



breast-]]atcli hy a green line, wliidi I do not find even iiidicati^d in P. lewlsii. 

 Iris light red (A. ]Meek). 



There are several specimens marked females by the collector, which are like the 

 males, except that the purple-red breast^patch is remarkably smaller, and that the 

 lower abdomen is more mottled with yellow, thLs latter, however, being also a sign of 



immaturity. 



Measurements of the ty]ie mule: total length about '1\ cm.; wing I2.j mm.; 

 tail 04 mm. ; tarsus 19 mm.; culinen Ki nun. Of the female: wing 123 mm.: 

 tail 58 mm. 



The specimens were collected in September and October on P'ergu.sson Island, 

 D'Entrecasteaux Gvouij, S.E. New Guinea, by Mr. Albert S. Meek. 



The above stated differences are very clear, but in one 'male the purjilish line 

 round the purple-red spot is rather broader, more like in P. lewisii. 



This character therefore not seeming to be absolutely constant, it is advisable 

 to consider the new form a subspecies rather than a species. 



It is remarkable that this pigeon should be so closely allied to P. lewisii, an 

 inhabitant of the Solomons, and not (hitherto) recorded from anywhere else. It 

 cannot be surprising that forms hitherto only known from the Louisiade Archipelago 

 occur on the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, as well as others which seem distributed over 

 New Ireland, New Britain, and the Solomons — in short, the islands east of New 

 Guinea ; but I did not .so much expect there forms like or nearest allied to the 

 Solomon Island species. 



PfUupus leavisii vicinus is easily distinguished from F. miissdiAnhroeki Schleg. 

 by the breast being darker and more purple, the wing being longer, there being 

 a purjjlish line more or less visible round the purple-red breast, of wlvich no trace is 

 found in P. musschenlyroeki, and by the grey spot on the shoulder and innermost 

 greater upper wing-coverts still being smaller.* 



Besides, the female of P. mussclienhweki is said to differ entirely from the male 

 (cf. Salvad., Gat. B., xxi., p. 153j, while apparently in P. lewisii and its subspecies 

 P. vicinus the sexes differ not so much from each other. Count Salvador! does not 

 {Gat. B., xxi., p. 153) de.scribe both sexes, but merely says "adult"; but Eamsay 

 (Journ. Linn. Soc. Zool., xvi., p. 131, 1881) had a female, which he, at tlie time, 

 believed to be the female of P. eur/eaiae ((jould). Grant (P. Z. S., 1887, p. 332; 

 1888, p. 199) and others mention having liad females, but do not describe them. 

 The Tring ^luseum possesses a bird sliot at Fauro, Shortland Islands, Solomon 

 Grouj), and sexed female by the collectors (Wahnes and Kibbe, November 21st, 1893), 

 which looks exactly like males collected (and marked <S) by Mr. Woodford on 

 Guadalcanar. Wahnes and Kibbe give the native name as " Bubuako," the iris 

 as red, the bill as yellow, feet red ; Woodford (on the label) the iris as yellow. The 

 iris of all the Fergusson Island specimens is given as light red or red. 



•J. Carpophaga salvadorii Tristr. 



Several specimens from Fergusson Island agree with specimens from St. Aignan. 

 This sjiecies was not with certainty recorded from anywhere else but from the 

 Loui.siade Archipelago (see Salvad., Cat. B., xxi., p. 224). Mr. Meek describes 

 the iris as red, the feet also as red. 



* I cannot see any diflerencc in the colour of the forehead in our specimen of P. iinisxclinihroeki 

 (Bruijn coll.) and our P. lewisii and P. leiciaii rictnv.t. 



