80 Dic^ro^. 



Key to the Species. 



a. Aboye blue-black. (Males.) 

 a'. Underneath ashy olive. 



a". Outer aspect of quills black nigra, p. 80. 



h". Outer aspect of quills olive-green chloroptera, p. 80. 



v. Underneath black. 



c". Outer under tail-coverts black with white 



bases hicolor, p. 81. 



d" . All under tail-coverts black unicolor, p. 82. 



b. Above olive-green. (Feynales.) 



c'. Below ashy olive chloroptera, p. 81. 



d'. Below pale yellowish olive bicolor, p. 82. 



1. Melanocharis nigra. 



Dicfeum niger, Less. Voy. Coquille, Zool. i. p. 673 (1828)'; id. Cent. 



Zool. p. 83, pi. 23. figs. 1, 2 (1828) ; id. Traite, p. 304 (1831). 

 Hvlocharis niger, Midi. ^ Schl. Verh. Nat. Gesch. Land- en Volkenk. 



p. 102 (1839-44) ; Hartl. Rev. Zool. 1846, p. 48. 

 Dicaeum nigrum, Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 100 (1847) ; Bp. Consp. i, 



p. 403 (1«50) ; Reichenb. Handb. Spec. Orn. Scans, p. 242, figs. 

 3786-87 (1853) ; Rosenb. J. f. O. 1864, p. 123 ; id. Malay. Arch. 



p. 553 (1879). 

 Melanocharis nigi'a, Sclater, Proc. Linn. Soc. ii. p. 157 (1858) ; Gray, 



Hand-l. B. i. p. 116, no. 1445 (1869) ; Meyer, Sitz. K. Akad. Wien, 



Ixx. p. 127 (1874, pt. ) ; Salvacl. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. x. p. 143 



(1877), xvi. p. 69 (1880) : id. Orn. Papuasia etc. ii. p. 283 (1881). 

 Prionochilus niger. Gray, P. Z. S. 1858, p. 190 (pt.) ; id. Cat. Mamm. 



etc. New Guinea, p. 23 (pt.) ; id. P. Z. S. 1861, p. 434 ; Finsch, 



Neu- Guinea, p. 163 (1865). 



Adult male. General colour above shining blue-black from the 

 bill to the tail ; lesser and median wing-coverts like the back ; 

 greater coverts, bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills black 

 edged with blue-black, more narrowly on the primaries ; tail-feathers 

 black, margined externally with blue-black ; lores, eyelid, and 

 upper portion of ear-coverts shining blue-black ; remainder of ear- 

 coverts, sides of face, cheeks, and under surface of body olive with 

 an ashy shade ; the abdomen paler and more olive-yellow ; thighs 

 black : under tail-coverts ashy, with pale edges of olive-yellow ; 

 axillaries pale yellow : under wing-coverts white, with the edge of 

 the wing black ; quills black below, ashy white along the edge of 

 the inner web. Total length 4*8 inches, culmen 0-6, wing 2-55, 

 tail 1-75, tarsus 0'65. 



Hah. Now Guinea, Waigiou, and Mysol. 



a. S ad. sk. Waigiou. A. E. "Wallace, Esq. [C.]. 



b. S ad.sk. 'W&igiou (Wallace). Gould Collection. 



c. d. (S ad. sk. Mysol. A. E. Wallace, Esq. [0.]. 



2. Melanocharis chloroptera. 



Prionochilus niger, Gray, P. Z. S. 1858, pp. 173, 190; id. Cat. Mamm. 

 etc. New Guinea, pp. 23, 53 (1859, pt.) ; Finsch, Neu- Guinea, 

 p. 163 (1865, pt.). 



