1887.] PROCEEDmGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 389 



NOTES ON PSITTIROSTRA PSITTACEA FROM KAUAI, UA.WAMAN 



ISLANDS. 



Through the courtesy of Mr. Valdemar Knudsen the Museum receiv^ed, 

 a few days ago, two specimeus of what appear to be adult males of Psit- 

 tirostra psiiiacea (Temm.), from Kauai, Hawaiian Islands. I am not 

 aware that this species has hitherto been recorded from this particular 

 island, hence the present note additional to my previous paper on the 

 birds of Kauai, collected by Mr. Knudsen (c/. these " Proceedings," pp. 

 75 et seq.). 



Both birds appear to be quite adult, aud agree tolerably well with 

 Sharpe's description of the adult male (Cat. B. Br. Mus., X, 1885, p. 51), 

 of which lie appears to have had four specimens before him, three of 

 which, at least, came from Hawaii, and, as he makes no remarks to the 

 contrary, I sui>pose that all his specimens were quite alike. I remark 

 this because Latham's and Temminck's descriptions (and the hitter's 

 plate) differ considerably from Sharpe's description and the specimens 

 before me. In order to point out these differences intelligibly I may de- 

 scribe one of the Kauai birds as follows : 



[ $ ] ad. (U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 111455. Kauai, Hawaiian Islands).— 

 Entire head and upper part of neck deep gamboge yellow ; rest of up- 

 per plumage olive-green, with indistinctly dusky centers to the feathers, 

 becoming yellowish, olive-green on the lower back, rump, and upper 

 tail-coverts ; upper wing-coverts, remiges, and rectrices blackish-brown, 

 margined with yellowish olive-green ; lower portion of fore neck and 

 upper breast olive-gray, washed with yellowish, and more greenish on 

 the sides of the neck; middle of breast and abdomen pale olive-buff, 

 becoming whitish on the lower abdomen and crissum, the lower tail- 

 coverts being similarly colored aud somewhat spotted with olive-green; 

 sides of breast and flanks vivid olive-yellow ; tibiae pale ashy ; axillaries 

 and under wing-coverts whitish, edges washed with yellow. 



The other specimen (No. 111454) differs in haviug the yellow of the 

 head more lemon-colored, and in having the whole occiput and upper 

 nape yellowish olive-green, like the rump ; the olive spot on the inner 

 webs of the under tail-coverts are more distinct; otherwise the two 

 birds are identical, and, I may add, they have no indication of whitish 

 spots at the tips of upper wing-coverts or tertiaries. 



Temminck (PI. Color., Ill, livr. 77, pi. 457) describes his Psittacirostra 

 icterocepliala (only another name for Ps. psittacea) thus: '^tout le reste 

 du corps [all except the head] d'un vert mat, legerement grisatre a la 

 poitrine," and on the plate quoted (badly reproduced by Reichenbach, 

 Handb. Spec. Orn., i)l. cccclxv h) the entire under surface, including 

 tibiae and uufler tail-coverts, is uniform deep green. The "Planches 



