MICROGLOSSUS ATERRIMUS STENOLOPHUS. 239 
NOTE XVII. 
AN UNDESCRIBED FORM OF 
MICROGLOSSUS ATERRIMUS 
BY 
Dr. E. D. VAN OORT. 
The typical habitat of Microglossus aterrimus (Gmelin) 
is Australia, where the bird is found only in the northern 
part. Under this name black cockatoos from New Guinea, 
and by some authors also from the Aroe Islands, Misool, 
Salawatti and Waigeoe, have been mentioned; Messrs. 
Rothschild and Hartert, however, separate birds from the 
last named islands subspecifically from those of New Guinea. 
Specimens from the Aroe Islands are, as a rule, much 
smaller than those from New Guinea and the western 
Papuan Islands, so that it is correct to recognise them as 
a subspecies, named Microglossus aterrimus alecto (Temminck), 
or, probably more correctly, M.a. intermedia (Schlegel), as 
the type-specimen of Ara alecto Temminck is without in- 
dication of habitat and as there have been observed also 
very small specimens in the western Papuan Islands; 
Schlegel in 1861 mentioned under the name of Cac. inter- 
media birds from the Aroe Islands. In the Leyden Museum 
are 10 specimens from the Aroe Islands, measuring: (0, 
wing 310—357 mm., culmen 69—95 mm.; QQ, wing 
318—346 mm., culmen 73—92 mm. 
Specimens from Waigeoe, Gemien, Salawatti and Misool 
are, as a rule, larger than those from the Aroe Islands, 
measuring: 9’, wing 342—382 mm., culmen 94—112mm.; 
OQ, wing 335—370 mm., culmen 74—87 mm. Specimens 
from Misool seem to be smaller than those from the three 
other islands. The Leyden Museum possesses 7 specimens 
from Waigeoe, 1 from Gemien, 3 from Salawatti and 3 
from Misool. 
The largest specimens in the collection are those from 
the northwestern peninsula of New Guinea (3 from Dorei, 
1 from Andai, 1 from Doktur and 1 from Sorong) and 
from Skroe, Westcoast of New Guinea (3 specimens), 
Notes from the Leyden Museum, Vol. XX XIII. 
