Mr. G. K. Gray oii new Species of Birds. 827 



XXXIV. — Descriptions of new Species of Birds from the So- 

 lomon and Ba/iks\<i Grotq)S of Islands. By G. R. Gi{AY. 



A COLLECTION of birds that had been obtained among the va- 

 rious ishuids of the Pacific Ocean by Julius Brenchley, Esq., 

 a series of which he has presented to the British Museum, 

 enabk's me to select several species as new to the Solomon 

 and Banks's groups. The avifauna of the Solomon Islands 

 was ably treated by Mr. Sclater at a meeting of the Zoolo- 

 gical Society held on the 11th February 1869 ; and the paper 

 aj)peared in the ' Proceedings ' for the same year. This 

 collection containing several species hitherto undescribed 

 induces me to give descriptions of them, and thus assist 

 towards completing the ornithological knowledge of these 

 islands. 



Accipiter albogxdaris. 



Male. The upper surface plumbeous black tinted with grey; 

 the base of the feathers on the hind head white ; the entire 

 surface beneath the body also white, but irrorated with plum- 

 beous on the chest and thighs. 



Length 17" 6'", wings 10", bill 1" 1"', tarsi 2" 4"'. 



This bird, of which there is only a single specimen, miglit 

 at first sight be taken for the Accipiter haplochrous of New 

 Caledonia ; but it is larger and possesses a Avhite throat, which 

 at once distinguishes it from the latter-mentioned species. It 

 was obtained at Hada or Recherche Bay, San-Christoval Island. 



Philemon Sclateri. 



Female. Above brown, with an olive tinge ; rump and tail 

 dull rufous brown, each feather of the latter margined with 

 yellowish olive ; wings fuscous black, with the outer margins 

 of quills yellowish olive, especially of the tertials ; top and 

 sides of head fuscous black, each feather broadly margined on 

 its sides with yellowish white ; throat white, tinged with grey, 

 with a broad line of black on each side, proceeding from the 

 ears ; breast white, with black dashes down the middle of each 

 feather, the black fading into brown on the upper part of the 

 abdomen. Bill yellowish white ; feet plumbeous. 



Length 11", wings o" 6"', bill 1" 6" , tarsi 1" 4"'. 



" Eyes dark brown. Contents of stomach honey." 



A single specimen only is in the collection, which was ob- 

 tained at Wanga, San-Christoval. This bird was recorded by 

 Mr. Sclater, in his list of Solomon-Islands birds, under the 

 name of Philemon vultarinus (Ilomb. & .1.). Through the 

 kindness of that gentleman, I am enabled tu rectify, by com- 



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