102 TEERONID^;. 



Ptilopus rarotongensis, part., Elliot, P. Z. 8. 1878, p. 534 



(Savage Isl.). 

 Ptilonopus porphyraceus clementinae, Wiglesw. Aves Polynes. p. 50, 



n. 260 (1891). 



Adult male. Front and crown rosy purple, faintly margined 

 posteriorly with yellow ; throat yellowish white ; occiput, neck, 

 and breast greyish green; abdomen and flanks green; a dark green 

 spot, occasionally tinged with dark purple, separates the breast from 

 the abdomen ; vent and under tail-coverts pure yellow, or more or 

 less tinged with orange ; back, rump, and upper tail-coverts bronze- 

 green ; wings shining green, the quills with narrow yellow edges; 

 inner secondaries or tertials with lilac spots towards the tip ; tail 

 above green with a subapical greyish- white band, tinged with green 

 and on the edges with yellow, beneath dark grey with a broad 

 apical light grey band: "iris yellow; bill green-grey; feet 

 mageuta" ( E. L. Layard). Total length 9 inches, wing 5 - 4, tail 

 3-2, bill 0-5, tarsus 0-85. 



Female. Similar to the male, and (if constant) with the ab- 

 dominal dark green spot without purple tinge. 



Hub. Tonga Islands — Tongatabu, Eua, Lifuka, Hapai, Vavau, 

 Niuafou, Futuna Island : Savage Island and Fiji Islands — Balaou, 

 Wakaia, Hokani, Loma-loma, Mango, and Taviuni. 



This species is easily distinguished from the Samoan P. fasciatus 

 by the grey instead of yellow apical tail-band, by the abdomen 

 being green with no rufous-brown tinge, by the purple tinge of 

 the dark green abdominal spot being absent or very faintly shown, 

 and by the lilac spots near the tips of the tertials being darker 

 and more bluish. 



I do not think it possible to separate Fiji from Tonga speci- 

 mens : the band at the tip of the tail is grey in birds from both 

 localities ; a purple tinge on the dark green band separating breast 

 and abdomen is occasionally found in specimens from both localities ; 

 also the yellow under tail-coverts are often tinged with orange in 

 both ; and, lastly, the spots at the tips of the tertials and scapulars 

 are also the same. 



a, l>. cJad.sk. Tongatabu. 'Challenger' Exp. 



c. Ad. sk. Tongatabu (A. Dietrich). Salvin-Godman Coll. 



(1. <J ad. sk. Tongatabu, Feb. (E. L. Tweeddale Coll. 



Layard) . 



e, f, g. Ad. et Tongatabu. J. Brenchley, Esq. [P.]. 



imm. sk. 



h. Ad. sk. Friendly Isl. E. Wilson, Esq. [P.]. 



i. Ad. sk. Friendly Isl. Zoological Society's Coll. 



/.-. Imm. sk. Friendly Isl. Gould Coll. 



I. Ad. sk. Vavau, Friendly Isl., J. Brenchlev, Esq. [P.]. 



July. 



m. cJad.sk. Vavau, Friendly Isl., Feb. Tweeddale Coll. 



(E. L. Layard). 



n, o, p. Ad. sk. Savage Isl. J. Brenchley, Esq. [P.]. 



