l32 Mathews, Some New Australian Birds. [iji^'jan. 



viz., excelsa. He had determined that the sub-species C. f. 

 hirundinacea, Stresemann, was of specific value. 



Having shown that even " doctors have disagreed," I now 

 claim usage for my own sub-species name in preference to 

 vanikorensis, Quoy and Gaimard. 



I have given Oberholser's comment that the species shows 

 constancy and little variation in its sub-specific forms. This is 

 confirmed by measurements taken by Stresemann, Ogilvie-Grant, 

 and myself. Thus two birds are in the British Museum from the 

 New Hebrides, the nearest locality to the Santa Cruz group. 

 They are both poor specimens, and a female from Efate Island 

 measures 112. 5 mm. in the wing ; a male from Espiritu Santo 

 Island measures 117 mm. in the wing. Which of these is nearer 

 the typical vanikorensis it is impossible to decide. However, I 

 found two birds from St. Aignan Island, South-East New Guinea, 

 collected by A. S. Meek, and I made the wings of both these— one 

 a male, the other a female — to measure 122 mm. I then noted 

 that Stresemann records six specimens from that locahty — two 

 in the British Museum and four in Lord Rothschild's museum at 

 Tring. He gives the measurement of the wing as 122, 122, 122, 

 122, 122, 123.5 i^m- 



Now, these show such constancy that they cannot be regarded 

 as the same as the New Hebrides birds, and are consequently not 

 true vanikorensis. Another bird in the same box in the British 

 Museum, labelled Astrolabe Range, New Guinea, collected by 

 Goldie, is smaller, wing 106 mm. (Stresemann records it as no), 

 darker above and greyer underneath, with shorter feathered 

 tarsus ; this is referable to a different species, as the present one 

 has the tarsus wwfeathered. 



-The Cape York specimen has the wing 117 mm., and Ogilvie- 

 Grant gives the measurements of the birds from S.W. New Guinea 

 as — wing, 117, 117, 116, 115, in ; so that my bird is nearest those 

 in measurement. Until more birds are available, and especially 

 specimens from the type locality of vanikorensis, my name should 

 be preferred for the Cape York specimen, and may be used for 

 the Southern New Guinea form. 



The name and references read — 



Collocalia fuciphaga. 



[Collocalia fuciphaga fuciphaga. 



Hirundo fuciphaga, Thunberg, Kongl. Velensk. Acad. Handl. 

 (Stockh.), vol. xxxiii., p. 153, pi. iv., 1812 ; " Java in montium." 

 Extra limital.] 



Collocalia fuciphaga yorki. 



Collocalia francica yorki, Mathews, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, vol. xxxvi., 

 p. -/y , 27th April, 1916. Cape York, North Australia. Range, 

 Cape York, North Australia. ? Extra limital. 



Notwithstanding this addition, the Australian specific forms do 



