620 the marquis of tweeddale on [may 21, 



32. Myzanthe pygm^ea (121). 



[P. Princesa, <5 , January 7, 1877 : iris dark brown ; bill and legs 

 black.] 



33. Nectarophila sperata (122). 



[P. Princesa, 6, January 1878. $, December 29, 1878: iris 

 warm brown.] 



Two males, not adult ; the violet throat and plastron bounded on 

 both sides with a white border, the scarlet breast mixed with white, 

 the crown dingy dull brown. 



34. Cyrtostomus aurora, n. sp. 



Notwithstanding that Captain Shelley, in his beautiful work on 

 the Sun-birds, includes the large group of Asiatic and Australian 

 Nectariniidte, of which C.jugularis and C. asiaticus may be taken as 

 types, along with a number of other species, under Cuvier's genus 

 Cinnyris, I still adhere to the view expressed by me (Ibis, 1870, 

 p. 19) that these Sun-birds form a natural, distinctive, and separate 

 section of the family. For it I adopted Dr. Cabanis's generic title 

 Arachnechthra ; but as the type of that genus is C. lotenia, L., which 

 may be considered generically separable (although not so in my 

 opinion), and as Dr. Cabanis established his genus Cyrtostomus 

 (type C.jugularis, L.) before that of Arachnechthra, according to 

 strict rule, the generic title of Cyrtostomus should be employed ; and 

 I observe that this is the view of Count Salvadori. There are now 

 twelve species of this group described — namely, C. asiaticus, C. lote- 

 nia, C. osea, C. brevirostris, C. flammaxillaris, C. andamanicus, C. 

 rhizophora, C. pectoralis, C.frenatus, C.jugularis, C. zenobia, and 

 C. Solaris. To this list Mr. Everett's researches in Palawan enable 

 me to add a thirteenth . 



Male. Above uniform dark olive-green. Forehead, chin, throat, 

 cheeks, and upper breast metallic steel-blue with shades of green 

 and violet in certain lights. Lower breast fiery orange-red. Re- 

 mainder of lower surface, under tail-coverts, and wing-lining bright 

 yellow. Quills brown, faintly edged with olive-green. Rectrices 

 black ; terminal half of outer pair white, a broad white terminal 

 patch on the penultimate pair ; apices of third pair fringed with 

 white, of fourth pair still less so. 



Female. Above and ear-coverts olive-green, slightly lighter in shade 

 than that of male. Superciliaries, cheeks, and all the under surface 

 and the wing-lining bright yellow. Wing-feathers brown, margined 

 with olive-green. Rectrices as in male. 



Dimensions : — 



Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Culmen. 



in. in. in. in. 



<5 ..... 225 162 0-62 1-00 



2 2-00 1-62 0-60 0-87 



[P. Princesa, d, November 30, 1877 : iris deep crimson ; bill and 

 legs black. $ , Jannary : iris dark brown ; bill and legs black.] 



