Birds of the Fiji Islands. 145 



1875) , composed entirely of rootlets, and thickly covered with 

 the yellow egg-bags of a common large spider. Diam. out- 

 side 2" 8"', inside 1" 9'"; depth outside 3" G"', inside 1" 9'". 

 It contained two eggs, hard-set ; ground-colour white, spec- 

 kled, in the shape of a ring at the obtuse end, with small pink 

 spots. Axis 10'", diam. 7'". 



Myiolestes macrorhynchus, sp. nov. 



This species, originally named by me from a specimen 

 brought in a miserable condition by Mr. Liardet from Ta- 

 viuni, replaces M. vitiensis, Hartl., in that island. It is not 

 uncommon in the forest, roaming about in search of the in- 

 sects on which it feeds. I never saw it on the ground ; but 

 I once shot it climbing up the trunk of a tree, and clinging 

 to the bark, pecking like a Woodpecker at a decaying rotten 

 limb. It is a thorough mocking-bird. The sexes do not 

 differ. The edges of the basal portion of the upper, and on 

 the major part of lower mandible, are yellow, as is the inside 

 of the bill and throat. This species affords another instance 

 of variation as in Platycercus. 



The Ovalau bird, Myiolestes vitiensis, Hartl., is much smaller 

 and lighter-coloured, and has always the tip of the tail almost 

 white; but I have a specimen from Bua, in Vanua Levu, 

 which seems intermediate. It is smaller than my M. macro- 

 rhynchus, paler, and with a well developed red-brown tip to 

 its tail. But I have a still more interesting bird from For- 

 tuna Island, outside this group, 350 miles to the N.E. It is 

 smaller than the Bua bird, and more like M. vitiensis ; but the 

 throat, chin, and breast are grey ; the tails, though damaged, 

 are evidently broadly tipped with white. I propose to sepa- 

 rate the varieties, or species, as follows : — M. vitiensis, Hartl. 

 (the type species) ; M. buensis, sp.nov.; M. macrorhynchus and 

 M. fortunes, sp. nov. Unfortunately I have not a specimen 

 of M. vitiensis at hand ; but I add the measurements as given 

 in the ' Ornithologie der Viti-, Samoa- and Tonga-Inseln ' of 

 Drs. Finsch and Hartlaub, wherein it is badly figured, the 

 white of the tail-tip and the red of the vent being too 

 prononce. The measurements of the four species arc as 

 follows : — 



