Changes in the Plumage o/Zosterops crerulescens. 325 



blackish at the base, squamous, punctate-striate, the punctures 

 large, quadrate, the rows somewhat interrupted and deflected 

 by the interstitial armature ; second interstice elevated at 

 base and furnished with three strong- teeth, the hinder one the 

 largest, the elevation connected behind by a ridge with one 

 on the apical half of the third interstice, which carries four 

 very large erect acute teeth ; fifth interstice (from the base to 

 the middle) with a crest of seven acute teeth, increasing in 

 size posteriorly ; seventh with a toothed crest from near the 

 base to the apex, which helps to form an acutely serrate 

 margin to the elytra when seen from above. 



Underside fusco-piceoua, pilose and thinly scaled. Legs 

 testaceous. 



Hob. British Bechuanaland {F. Whitworth Jones) . 



The extraordinary development of the elytral armature in 

 this species lias no parallel among any described Scolytidse, 

 though it is feebly approached by some species of Phloeosinus. 

 Of the teetli which compose it by far the largest are those on 

 the third interstice. I possess three examples, of which one 

 is much smaller than the other two and has this armature 

 less developed. The frontal and antennal characters, how- 

 ever, correspond, and it is likely that all three are males, the 

 small specimen being depauperized. 



XLV. — On the Seasonal Changes in the Plumage of Zosterops 

 casrulescens. By Alfred J. North, F.L.S., Ornitholo- 

 gist to the Australian Museum *. 



In describing Zosterops westernensis of Quoy and Gaimard in 

 the ' Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum ' f, Dr. R. 

 Bowdler Sharpe makes the following observations : — " An 

 Australian specimen has been described, and it is extraordinary 

 that a bird which seems to be widely distributed on that 

 continent should so much have escaped notice, the only allu- 

 sion to the species that I can find in Mr. Gould's work being 

 a passage where he mentions that some specimens of Z. casru- 

 lescens have the ' throat wax-yellow.' It seems to be the 

 Z. icesternensis (Q. & G.), a species re-instated in the system 

 by Dr. Hartlaub (J. f. O. 1865) p. 20." 



With a view of solving the mystery why so common a 

 species should have been overlooked by most writers, I have 

 given this subject my attention for the past two years, by 



* From the 'Records of the Australian Museum/ vol. ii. no. 7, 

 pp. 98-100. 



t Gadow, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. ix. p. 15G (1684). 

 Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 6. Vol. xvii. 2o 



