Vol. XIX, 



"I Shufki.dt, Material for a Study of the Megapodiida;. 21 



afford a sufticit'nt numtx-r for a fairly good study of tlic bird ; tlicy 



are as follows : — 



No. 125,028 (sex?) — The original label is in Italian, and docs not 



give the collector ; " nelle Giiinee." 

 No. 146,777 (sex ?) — Mus. Boucard. Collector, ]>ruijn, Salawatti. 

 No. 146,778.— Ditto. 



No. 146,779 (sex ?) — Ditto. Halmaheira. 

 No. 146,780 (sex ?) — Ditto. Waigiou. 

 No. 146,781 (sex ?)~Ditto. 



These old labels give but little information, and the data we 

 most need are entirely lacking upon them, not even the sex being 

 given in a single instance. No dates and no measurements ; 

 only the name of the collector and the locahty, which, if the latter 

 be correct, is given quite immaterial as to who the former happened 

 to be. 



There are still three more species of the genus Mega pod ins, of 

 which the National Museum possesses no examples in its collection ; 

 these are : — M. geelvinkianus, a form inhabiting certain parts of 

 North-West New Guinea and the island of Geelvink Bay (A. B. 

 Meyer, p. 459). I have never had the opportunity to examine 

 skins of this species, nor any of the following — namely, M. layardi, 

 of the New Hebrides, and M . laperousei, of the Mariannes — the 

 first being described by Tristran (p. 459) and the latter by 

 Temminck (p. 460).* 



Megapodius senex, Hartt. 

 (Hartert, Nov. ZooL, v., p. 62, 1898.) 

 At the present time (September, 1914) the United States 

 National Museum possesses, in its ornithological collection, but 

 one skin of this species — a bird thus far found only on the Pelew 

 Islands. Its label furnishes the following data : — 

 No. 112,653, o. — Linnege Naturhistorisches Institut, Berlin. N. 

 Pelew Islands. t 

 According to Lister, Otto Finsch says of M. senex that this 

 species, inhabiting the Pelew Islands, occurs also on nearly all 

 the sandy and rocky islands of the group ; some are separated by 

 intervals of some 3 or 4 miles. He considers this species " a good 

 flier," and able to fly from one island to another in the group. f 



Megapodius pritchardi, Gray. 



(" Brit. Mus. Cat.," p. 461.) 



Pritchard's Megapode, of the Ninafou Island, is another species 



of which the collection of birds of the United States National 



Museum stands in need at this time. It seems to have but the 



one specimen, namely : — 



♦The pagination cited refers to the "Cat. Birds Brit. ?*Ius.," vol. xxi. 



t " Cat. Birds Brit. Mus.," vol. xxii., p. 460 = M. lapcrousii, Temni., 

 pi., vol. v., livr. 69, p. 3. 



I Finsch, Otto, " Die Vogel der Palau-Gruppe," Jour, des Museum 

 Godeftray, Heft viii., Bd. iii., 1875, p. 30 (p. 162 of the volume). 



