I^i/Z.J DR. A. B. MEYER ON THE ECLECTI. 801 



Eclectus polychlorus auct.' (C 3/56 of the collection), which offers 

 not the least deviation from a common specimen from New Guinea 

 or Halmahera, except in the coloration of the tail-feathers : but 

 just this coloration is very remarkable ; viz. the left half of the tail 

 and the under tail-coverts are partly coloured red, like the same parts 

 iu Eclectus linnet, as shown in the accompanyino; drawings (Plate 

 LXXIX.), where fig. 1 represents the upperside, and fig. 2 the under- 

 side of the tail in the specimen. 



It will be observed that one half of the tail in figs. 1 and 2 is coloured 

 like the male, the other half like the female. In fig. 1, even a small 

 red patch is to be seen on the right web of the middle rectrix ; and 

 in fig. 2 the edges of the inner web of the rectrices are reddish. 



I had apparently strong evidence that the specimen in question 

 came from llahnahera ; but I am not able to distinguish the green 

 specimen from Halmahera from the New-Guinea ones, notwithstand- 

 ing the large scries before me. It may be said that specimens from 

 the islands Jobi and Mafoor appear to be somewhat darker, more 

 bluish green than specimens from Halmahera and New Guinea, where 

 this colour is a little brighter, or golden-tinged ; but specimens from 

 Halmahera and New Guinea are, in my opinion, not to be distin- 

 guished with certainty. I nevertheless do not doubt that the speci 

 men in question comes from New Guinea and not from Halmahera, 

 as the red parts on it correspond entirely witli those of the red 

 Eclecti from New Guinea, and not with those of the red ones from 

 Halmahera, which have these parts of a yellowish colour. 



I do not exactly know how to interpret this remarkable coloration. 

 Is it something of a hermaphroditism ? or is it the remains of the 

 dress of the young male 1 The specimen is not an old one, the bill 

 showing no traces of having been used very long ; else one would 

 perhaps suggest that it is a very old female, which has adopted the 

 dress of tlie male, and where the red is the remains of the female 

 plumage ; but this last supposition is out of the question. 



Formerly (/. c.) I discussed the question whether the young bird 

 in both sexes is plain green or not ; but I now believe that it is red 

 iu both sexes, i. e. bears the dress which the female keeps during 

 its whole life. To this belief I came when I saw the specimen No. 

 22428 of the Berlin Museum (which Professor Peters kindly sent 

 me for inspection), mentioned by Prof. Cabanis and Dr. Keichenow 

 in the ' Journ. f. Ornithol.,' 187G, p. 324^) as a young male from 

 New Britain. This is a green specimen, which has everywhere on 

 the wing and its coverts dark purple-red patches of the colour which 

 the female always has. These patclies appear to be in dissolution, 

 or fading away ; and if this really is the case, and if the specimen 

 is a normal one, we have the proof that the young male is 



^ Tbisspedmen was formerly in the Clorlitz Museum, whose Curator, Dr. Peck, 

 kindly trausmitted it to the Dresden Museum ; and I have to tliauk him cordially 

 for his courtesy. Dr. Peck published a note on this specimen in tlio Sitzungs- 

 borichte of the Zoological Section of the Naturf. Ges. of Grorlitz, 2i5t,h Jan. 1875. 

 ^ The remark made there is not quite intelligible, because, as 1 hear from Dr. 

 Reichenow, the words " ist der junge Vogel ' have been omitted after tlio word 

 " Geschlecter." 



