578 The Natural History 



lar parrots known ; while the beautiful little long-tailed Char- 

 mosyna, and the great variety of gorgeously-colored lories, 

 have no parallels elsewhere. Of pigeons it possesses about 

 forty distinct species, among which are the magnificent crown- 

 ed pigeons, now so well known in our aviaries, and pre-emi- 

 nent both for size and beauty ; the curious Trugon terrestris, 

 which approaches the still more strange Didunculus of Samoa ; 

 and a new genus (Ilenicophaps); discovered by myself, which 

 possesses a very long and powerful bill, quite unlike that of 

 any other pigeon. Among its sixteen kingfishers, it possesses 

 the curious hook-billed Macrorhina, and a red and blue Tany- 

 siptera, the most beautiful of that beautiful genus. Among 

 its perching birds are the fine genus of crow-like starlings, 

 with brilliant plumage (Manucodia) ; the curious pale-colored 

 crow (Gymnocorvus senex) ; the abnormal red and black fly- 

 catcher (Peltops blainvillii) ; the curious little boat-billed fly- 

 catchers (Machairirhynchus) ; and the elegant blue flycatcher- 

 wrens (Todopsis). 



The naturalist will obtain a clearer idea of the variety and 

 interest of the productions of this country by the statement 

 that its land birds belong to 108 genera, of which 29 are ex- 

 clusively characteristic of it ; while 35 belong to that limited 

 area which includes the Moluccas and North Australia, and 

 whose species of these genera have been entirely derived from 

 New Guinea. About one-half of the New Guinea genera are 

 found also in Australia, about one-third in India and the Indo- 

 Malay islands. 



A very curious fact, not hitherto sufiiciently noticed, is the 

 appearance of a pure Malay element in the birds of New 

 Guinea. We find two species of Eupetes, a curious Malayan 

 genus allied to the forked-tail water-chats ; two of Alcippe, 

 an Indian and Malay wren-like form ; an Arachnothera, quite 

 resembling the spider-catching honey suckers of Malacca ; two 

 species of Gracula, the Mynahs of India ; and a curious little 

 black Prionochilus, a saw-billed fruit-pecker, undoubtedly al- 

 lied to the Malayan form, although perhaps a distinct genus. 

 Now not one of these birds, or any thing allied to them, oc- 

 curs in the Moluccas, or (with one exception) in Celebes or 

 Australia ; and as they are most of them birds of short flight, 

 it is very difiicult to conceive how or Avhen they could have 



