54 Dircclor s Annual Rcpori . 



ai'}' ; this latter character much more distinct in the female tlian in 

 the young males : the feathers of the thighs are also much brighter 

 rufous in the females. The general under coloring of the feathers 

 in this species is a dark gray, so that the outer coloring of the 

 feathers depends largely upon how much of the brownish or yellow- 

 ish tip is worn off. This is well illustrated by No. 9541, an old 

 male with the plumage so worn as to give the bird the appearance 

 of being gray, with rufous tint. Hab. Guam, Saipan. 



53. Aplonis kittlit^i F. & Har. Sali. Starling. 



Caiornis kitllilzi, Finsch. & Hartl., Fauna Central rolvn., 1867, p. 109. 

 Aplonh kitt!itzi\Cs,i. B. Brit. Mus., XIII., p. 136. 



This bird is common on the island of Guam. In color and 

 adtions they very much resemble the blackbird of the eastern 

 United States. They are noisy and quarrelsome, especially when 

 there are any of the j^oung birds about. Their food seems to con- 

 sist chiefly of the fruit of the wild papaya. They build their ne.sts 

 in the hollow of a tree, usually choosing the dead trunk of a coco- 

 nut for this purpose, and laying four, sometimes three eggs. 

 Fourteen specimens of this species were taken. The immature 

 bird, with its streaked breast, might be easily mistaken for a dis- 

 tinct species. The adult bird, both the male and female, is a 

 uniform black all over the body, with a slight greenish .sheen to 

 the feathers ; bill, feet and tarsus black ; the .shafts of the wing 

 feathers and the recftrices are black on the upper surface, white on 

 the sides, and browni.sh below ; this is especially noticeable on the 

 tail feathers and the secondary wing feathers ; under surface of 

 wings and tail dusky, but not quite so dark as the body; eyes golden 

 3'ellow. Length 9.25-9.75, wing 4.56-5.00, tail 3.17-3.60, tarsus 

 1. 25-1 .37, culmen .93-. 87, mid-toe and claw 1.19-1.20 Hab. Guam. 



The immature of this bird has the upper surface dusky, but 

 not so dark as in the adult ; there is also a greenish .sheen to the 

 feathers on the upper surface ; the upper sides of the rump have 

 more or le.ss of a mingling of bright buffy ; the entire under surface 

 has a streaked appearance, caused b}' the feathers having dusky 

 greeni.sh centres, with margins of buffy white ; this .streaking is 

 very fine on the chin and throat, broader on the breast and belly. 

 Still younger specimens have less of buffy on the breast and throat : 

 bill and feet dusky ; eye yellow. No. 9562, a big nestling, almost 



