184 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.54. 



The adult male will of course prove to be probably a bird of black, white, 

 and gray plumage like the males of the species in the genus Lalage. 



Family DICRURIDAE. 



DICRUROPSIS PECTORALIS SOLOMBENSIS, new subspecies. 



Subspecific characters. — -Similar to Dicruropsis pectoralis leucops 

 from Celebes, but smaller; iris Hght yellow (adult) or pale brownish 

 gray (immature); hair-like plumes of forehead longer; back duller, 

 less bluish or purphsh black; hackles on sides of neck longer and 

 somewhat less purphsh (more greenish) ; posterior lower parts duller, 

 more brownish (less velvety), black, with a less bluish (more greenish) 

 sheen; metallic spots on feathers of throat and breast decidedly more 

 greenish (less bluish). 



Description.— Type, &d\i\t female. No. 181512, U.S.N.M.; Solombo 

 Besar Island, Java Sea, December 4, 1907; Dr. W. L. Abbott. 

 Upper surface velvety black, with a slight bluish green sheen., the 

 feathers of pileum and some pointed feathers on cervix, shining 

 metaUic bluish slate black, and the upper tail-coverts shining metaUic 

 dusky yellowish green; tail black, more or less edged with shining 

 metalhc dusky yellowish green on exterior vanes of rectrices; wings 

 black, becoming somewhat brownish on tips of primaries and inner 

 margins of all the quills; the exposed portions of aU the superior 

 wing-coverts, the tertials, outer webs of secondaries, and outer webs 

 of primaries except distal portion, shining metallic dusky yellowish 

 green ; sides of head and neck velvety black, the long pointed feathers 

 of the latter shining metalhc dull dusky bluish green; lower surface 

 brownish black, the feathers of lower throat, jugulum, and upper 

 breast with short lanceolate tips of slmnng metalhc dusky dull green, 

 giving to these parts a spotted appearance; hning of wing black, 

 with a greenish or bluish metallic sheen, and a few of the ur.der v/ing- 

 coverts tipped with wliite; "iris pale straw yellow." 



This race is apparently more nearly like Dicruropsis pecioralis 

 lorjieensis (Sharpe) than hke either Dicruropsis pectoralis pecioralis 

 or Dicruropsis pectoralis leucops, but it differs in its duUer, less vel- 

 vety upper and lower parts, longer and more bluish neck hacldes, and 

 possibly also in the color of the iris. 



Of the five examples obtained by Doctor Abbott, two, Nos. 181512 

 and 18151.5, U.S.N.M., are adults. The three others are somewhat 

 immature, though fully grown, and differ from the adults in still more 

 brownish black posterior surface and duUer dorsum. None of the 

 five seem to be in process of molt. The color of the bill and feet is 

 given by the collector as black; of the iris in adult birds as pale yel- 

 low or straw yellow, in immature individuals pale brownish gray. 



Both Dicruropsis lorneensis (Sharpe) ^ and Dicruropsis leucops 

 (Wallace)^ seem without doubt to be but subspecies of Dicruropsis 



1 CUbia borneemis Sharpe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1879, p. 246 (Mount Kina Balu, Borneo). 



2 DicTtirus leucops Wallace, Proc. Zool Soc. Lond., 1865, p. 478 (Celebes). 



