276 THE PBOCEfiDINGS OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 



One specimen, which does not differ materially in other 

 respects, has a very short thick bill, swollen laterally, curved 

 and ridged ; this may be an individual peculiarity, as I have not 

 found others at all resembling it in this respect. 



The bill from forehead, 1*3 ; from nostril to tip, 08; culmen, 

 1*5; width at nostril, 0'5; height, 0*5; width at base, 0'7; height 

 at base, 0'55. 



ARTAMID^. 



87. — Artamus leucopygialis, Gould; -Eamsay, P.L.S., N.S.W.^ 

 vol. I, p. 392 ; Sharpe, t. c. p. 501 ; I^amsay, List, of Aust. 

 Bds., sjp. 75. 



This species seems to be very generally distributed over Torres 

 Straits and the south coast of New Guinea. I have seen speci- 

 mens in every collection that I have examined from those 

 parts. The birds were common about Port Moresby itself, and 

 also for twenty miles inland, and at Cloudy Bay. It has also 

 been found over the whole of the southern, eastern, and northern 

 portions of Australia. 



DIC^ID^. 



88. — Dictum edbkocoronatcm, Sharpe; Nature, 17th Aug. ,1876, 

 p. 339, id. Journ. Linn. Soc. Zool., XIII, p. 496. 



This beautiful little species was first obtained during Mr. 

 Macleay's expedition to New Guinea. Messrs. Broadbent and 

 Petterd also obtained fine specimens during Mr. Stone's expedi- 

 tion, from which Mr. R. B. Sharpe took his descriptions. 



Morton found them frequenting the topmost branches of 

 some low trees in the watercourses on the hill sides near Port 

 Moresby, feeding on berries. 



89. — Melanocharis, sp. 

 Probably M. unicolor of Salvadori; Ann. Mus. Civ. St. Nat. 



Genov. XII, p. 333. 

 The whole of the plumage black, with a greenish metallic 

 gloss ; except on the quills ; underwing coverts and axillaries snow 

 white ; lateral feathers of the under tail coverts blotched at the 

 base with white and an indication of a spot of white at the tip 

 of the inner web of the outer tail feathers. 



