ON THE GENUS MYZOMELA. 83 



The male of this species resembles that of Myzomela pammelcena from 

 the Admiralty Islands, but differs as below specified. The female 

 retains more of the normal colouring of the group, and approaches those 

 of M. boicei and M. adolphince. The young birds resemble the female, 

 the red on the head in the young males being obtained before any indi- 

 cation of the black plumage. Dr. Meyer obtained only females and 

 young of this bird, and referred these with considerable hesitation to 

 M. erythrocephala of Gould, a very different species. Count Salvadori saw 

 that this was a mistake, and proposed the name meyeri for the specimens 

 collected by Dr. Meyer. But on subsequently examining the birds at 

 Dresden, he found that in reality they were the young and females of 

 the present species, the female having been only briefly indicated in 

 Gray's original description. 



Mr. Murray notes of a male from "Wokan, Aru Islands, that the eyes p. z. S. 1879, 

 are " hazel," the " bill and feet black." P- 267. 



12. MYZOMELA 

 Myzomela pammelcena, Sclat. P. Z. S. 1877, p. 553. 

 cJ ad. nigerrimus, remigum marginibus internis cineraceo-albidis, rostra 

 pedibusque nigris. Long. tot. circa 5, al. 2*7, caud. 2, rostr. *65, tars. 

 65 (poll. Angl.). 

 *Fun. prcecedenti similis, sed omnino sordidior, abdomine et subcaudalibus 



rufo-tinctis, et subalaribus albis distincta. 

 Hob. in insulis Admiralitatis. 



Two specimens, an adult male and a young bird, of this Myzomela 

 were obtained during the stay of the ' Challenger ' at Nares Harbour, 

 Admiralty Islands. It is closely allied to Myzomela nigrita of the Aru 

 Islands and JNew Guinea; but the adult male of the new species differs 

 from the more western one by its black under wing-coverts (although 

 these are white in the young bird), dirty white margins to the remiges, 

 and longer and stouter feet and tarsi. In size it exceeds any specimens 

 I have seen of M. nigrita from the Aru Islands, but is equalled in length 

 of wing and tail by the larger birds from the islands and shores of Geel- 

 vink Bay. 



Mr. Murray marks the irides of the adult bird as " hazel-brown." 



13. MYZOMELA EQUES. 



Cinnyris eques, Less. Yoy. Coq. p. 679, t. 31. fig. 1 (1826). 

 Nectarinia eques, Miill. & Schleg. Verhand. p. 62 (1839-1844). 

 Cosmeteira eques, Meyer, Sitzungsber. Wien. Akad. Ixx. pp. 215-217 

 (1874). 



Cosmeteira minima, Wald. Ibis, 1870, p. 50 ( ? ). 



Omnino cinerascenti-brunnea, subtus dilutior ; stria gulari nitide cocdnea ; 



G2 



