52 Mr. W. R, Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 



Platalea intermedia, sp, n. (Plate I, figs. 2 & 2a.) 

 This species, as already mentioned, is based solely on the 

 head and feet of a specimen obtained by Mr. H. Romilly at 

 Port Moresby, New Guinea, in or about the month of Janu- 

 ary 1888. It appears to have been a nearly fully adult bird, 

 in winter plumage, and, judging from the appearance of the 

 feathers in quill, would in a short time have possessed a 

 crest. The plumage is said to have been entirely white, like 

 that of the head ; but whether the primaries were entirely 

 white is uncertain, and it seems to me probable that they 

 were still more or less tipped with brownish black, as I 

 believe the bird to have been in the second season. The 

 species is most nearly allied to P. melanorhyncha of Australia, 

 but is distinguished by having the naked skin of the fore- 

 liead and throat, as well as the culraen, intense black, with- 

 out any yellow spots above the eyes, and the spatule rounded, 

 instead of being obtusely truncate, a character which will be 

 easily seen by referring to the Plate, where the culmen is 

 figured side by side with that of an Australian specimen of 

 about the same age. 



Since writing the above, I have received, through the 

 kindness of Dr. Biittikofer, life-sized water-coloured drawings 

 of the heads of two specimens from Borneo, which are pre- 

 served in the Leyden Museum. These birds agree in every 

 particular with the head of my type from New Guinea, 

 but are, unfortunately, neither of them fully adult, having 

 the crests only partially developed and the ends of the 

 primaries still tipped with black. They are both said to 

 have been female specimens, and, judging from their mea- 

 surements, are doubtless correctly sexed ; but unfortunately 

 the dates when they were obtained are not recorded, nor the 

 exact localities; but they were probably obtained in the 

 south of Borneo, which is said to be swampy and suited to 

 their mode of life. It is to be hoped that, ere long, we may 

 receive fully adult specimens of this bird, which has hitherto 

 been unrecorded. To Mr. A. H. Everett and Mr. John White- 

 head and other well-known travellers. Spoonbills are quite 

 unknown, but their explorations have been chiefly carried on 

 in the north of the island, where the mountainous character 

 of the countrv is unsuited to the habits of these birds. 



