Ornithologists' Club. 44,7 



No. XLV. (May 29th, 1897.) 

 The forty-fourtli meeting of the Chib was held at the 

 Restaurant Frascati, 32 Oxford Street, on Wednesday, the 

 19th of May, 1897. 



Chairman: P. L. Sclater, F.R.S. 



Vice- Chairman : P. Crowley. 



Members present -.—E. Bidwell, W. E. De Winton, 

 Dr. F. Drewitt, E. Hartert, G. E. Lodge, Sir Herbert 

 Maxwell, Bart., M.P., R. Nesham, E. W. Gates, F. Penrose. 

 E.LoRTPHiLLips,R.BowDLERSHARPE(£'f/i^o?),E. Cavendish 

 Taylor, W. B. Tegetmeier, N. F. Ticehurst, H. M. Upcher, 

 PI. M. Wallis, W. Watkins, L. P. Williams, C. A. Wright. 



Visitors: F. Curtis, E. A. Fltch, A. J. Fitch, Donaldson 

 GuNN, Arthur Holland, F. C. Selous, H. E. S. Upcher. 



Dr. F. Penrose alluded to the loss which the Club had 

 recently sustained by the death of its Member, C. Bygrave 

 Wharton. 



The Hon. Walter Rothschild sent some skins of the 

 common Yellow-plumed Bird of Paradise {Paradisea minor, 

 Shaw), of which he recognized three sub-species. The typical 

 form inhabited Dutch New Guinea, and he possessed a good 

 series from Arfak, Etna Bay, and Kapaur. It was a small 

 bird, with the wing about 177-189 mm., the tail 130-136, 

 the ornamental plumes from 400 to 460 mm. 



The second form, from Jobi Island in Geelvink Bay, 

 differed in its larger size and longer and fuller side-plumes ; 

 the wing measured 196-200 mm., the tail 145-150, the 

 ornamental plumes 530-610 mm. in length. ]Mr. Rothschild 

 proposed to call this form P. minor johiensis, subsp. nov., 

 and of this form he had five skins, collected by Dr. Guillemard 

 and others. 



The third was the bird from German New Guinea. It was 

 of the size of the typical form, from which it differed in being 

 darker vinous-brown on the breast, Mhile the chest-feathers 

 were more crisp and produced a slight shield-like appearance, 



