( 102 ) 



luforracd by Dr. Fiusch that this was not the case, lie named the hitter P. finschi, 

 relegating dahli to the synonyms of melanuni. This, however, was also incorrect. 

 The iKdlca from the Crcduer Islands diflor from typical 7n.alex of P. mdanura. of 

 Australia in their larger size, stronger and longer bill, longer wing and a])iiareutly 

 also slightly more golden underside and more yellowish back. The j'ciindcs, 

 however, are (pite different, being brownish or olive-greeu above and having a 

 deep yellow abdomen and deep yellow under tail-coverts, while those of typical 

 mehuiuro are grey above, have a buify white abdomen and pale sulphur-yellow 

 under tail-coverts. 



It is not certain if dahli can be treated as a subspecies of melaiiuru, but we are 

 inclined to think that all these yellow Thickheads must be geographical forms of 

 P. itU'laitura. 



We have a malv, collected by Kleinschmidt on the Credner Islands near New 

 Britain in 1880, and we saw others from Paliknrn in the British Museum. We are 

 further obliged to Dr. Heinroth, who most kindly lent us some specimens collected 

 by him in the Bismarck archipelago. He obtained tlahli on Vulkaniusel, Credner 

 Islands, N. New Ireland, and a small island near Nakung. 



33. Pachycephala finschi Kchw. 



Pa ■/ti/cephala finschi Reichenow, Oi-ii. Moiudiiber. 1899. p. 8 (Ralum, New Britain). 



Differs from P. m. dahli in having the outer edges of the primaries yellowish 

 olive-green, not grey 1 The upperside seems to be a shade darker, but the black 

 pectoral crescent is not wider. The /i'Wfl/c is like that of /'. m. dahli, but the throat 

 is imiform, while it is said to be always faintly barred with grey in /'. m. dahli. 



New Britain (Ralum) and, according to Heinroth {J.f. 0. 1903. p. 68), also 

 Northern New Ireland and Blanche Bay. If it is true that the two forms, dahli 

 andjinsrhi, occur together, they would have to be treated as two species, bnt jirobably 

 y. dahli strays only exceptionally into the area inhabited by Jiiischi. The dis- 

 tribution, however, as it is known at present, is most strange, and wonders of 

 distribution seldom hold good, if more intricate explorations and studies are made. 



We have throt; tnali's and tv/o /'('Malm collected by C!aptain Cayley Webster on 

 New Hanover, which Dr. Finsch compared with the types of P. finschi, sent for 

 his ius]iection to Leyden, and declared them to be perfectly similar ; and we saw 

 tlie tnalc obtained bv Heinroth. 



34. Pachycephala aurea Hch 



w. 



Pwhyrcphala mimi Reichenow, (Ini. Mdiialsber. I8',i9. p. 131 (Kamufluss in Kaiser-Wilhelms-Land, 

 Tappenbeck coll.). 



2 c? ad., " Kone district," British New Guinea, June 1898. " Eye dark brown, 

 bill dark blackish grey, feet dark grey." A. S. Anthony coll. 



Tills fine Pachi/a'phala seems to be only, known from the male. The top and 

 sides of the head, chin, and wide pectoral crescent are black; throat white, some 

 of the upper leathers with narrow blackish tips. Back, rump, and scapulars golden- 

 yellow, irregularly tinged with olive in one of our examples. Tail and wings black, 

 the remiges ashy-whitish, slightly tinged with yellow, on the basal portion of the 

 inner webs. Upper wing-coverts black, the lesser series with yellow tips. Upper 

 tail-coverts black. Breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts golden-yellow. Under 

 wing-coverts whitish, tinged with sulphur-yellow. Wing 85—88, tail 03 — 67 mm. 



