174 THE PEOCEEDINQS OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 



Id the fully adult birds, the centre two tail feathers loose all bars, 

 or have thera only slightly perceptible in certain lights. 



The back is of a clearer dark grey color, and the whole of the 

 under surface, which is narrowly barred, is of a rich tawny 

 rufous ; the feathers on the abdomen and under-tail coverts are 

 ashy-white barred with rufous. 



An examination of Mr. Gould's plate of A. cruentns (Bds. 

 Aust. foL, vol, I., pi. 18), will at once show that it is certainly not 

 the same as the Port Moresby Groshawk ; in fact, I am very much 

 afraid it is nothing more than Astur approximans in full plumage. 

 I have examined a large series from Western Australia, both 

 young and adults of both sexes and have birds exactly agreeing 

 with Mr. Gould's figure of A. cruentus. The only perceptible 

 difference in any of them is, that in some of the immature birds 

 the tail is of a slightly more square form than in those fromN.S.W. 

 Mr. Gould states that A. cruentus is very common in West. 

 Australia — it is the common Goshawk of those parts ; and it 

 would be curious indeed if so common a bird should not have 

 been obtained since Mr. Gould acquired his types. I should have 

 thought ere this that some of our Ornithologists in England or 

 America would have examined the type specimen if it is still in 

 existence, and so set the matter at rest. 



For the Port Moresby bird then, which is certainly not the 

 Astur cruentus of Mr. Gould. T propose the name of Astit/r 

 sJiarpei, in honor of my esteemed correspondent, R. B. Sharpe, 

 Esq., E.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. 



For the benefit of Australian ornithologists who may not have 

 the Works above cited, I give here a short diagnosis of this 

 species. 



Adult. — Side of the head and all the upper surface except the 

 collar, rich dark bluish ashy-grey, feathers of the nape white at 

 the base, ashy-grey towards the end, and becoming rich tawny-red 

 on the hind neck which color forms a broad collar joining the 

 sides of the chest; throat ashy, with minute wavy transverse lines of 

 whitish ; chest and breast and all the under surface rich tawny 

 rufous barred with transverse wavy lines of ashy-grey ; the base 

 of the feathers on the abdomen and under tail coverts whitish, the 



