1868.] THE BIRDS OF THE PELEW ISLANDS. 5 



uucertainty about this species, which may possibly turn out to be a 

 younger state o{ H. cinnamomina, Sw., Rcichenbach's indication of the 

 habitat of his H. cinnamomina, the Marquesas Islands, being more 

 than doubtful. The measurements of our specimen are : — Long. tot. 

 7f' , rostr. C^'", alae 3" 3'", caudse 2" 1'", tars. 6|"'. In the middle 

 of the rufous crown there are a number of dark greenish spots. 



4. Myzomela rubratra. Less. 



Jun. av. Obscure atro-fuscescens, remigibus et rectricibus fusco- 



nigricantibus, marginibus externis olivaceo-flavescentibus ; sin- 



cipite, gulcB et genarnm plumis obsolete scarlatina limbatis ; 



pectore, abdomine, tergo, uropygio et tectricibus caudce supe- 



rioribus distinctius rubris. 



Long, alse 2" 6'", caudse 1" Sf, rostr. 6'", tars. 9'". 



The dimensions of the adult bird from the Pelews are exactly the 

 same as those of the Caroline specimens. 



PsAMATHiA, n. gen. 



Char. gen. — Rostrum elongatum, rectum, gracile, subulatum, com- 

 pressiusculum, carinatum, subemarginatum, cuhnine dimidio 

 apicali subarcuato, gonyde apice vix conspicue adscendente ; 

 naribus in fossa majore positis, linearibus ; vibrissis vix ullis. 

 A\ss breviusculce, caudee basin parum swper antes, subrotun- 

 datcB, remige prima subspurio, poUicari, quarto longissimo, 

 secunda et tertio subcequilongis. Cauda rotundata, longius- 

 cula, rectricibus decern, subangustatis, moUibus. Tarsus sub- 

 elangatus, caligatus. Pedes parvi ; ungues debiles ; digitus 

 interims externa breviar. Ptilosis tergi et urapygii mollis, laxa, 

 subelongata. 



5. PsAMATHiA ANNJE, n. sp. (Plate II.) 



Supra Jlavescenti-alivacea ; remigibus et rectricibus fuscis, dorsi 

 colore marginatis ; subalaribus flavis ; subtus flava, olivacea 

 adumbrata ; gula purius Jlava ; tinea superciliuri brevi, parum 

 conspicua, flavida ; mandibula jlava, maxilla brunnea ; pedibus 

 pallide flavidis. 

 Long. 6|",_ rostr. 8'", alse 2" 9'", caud« 2" 2'", tars. 13|"'. 

 The generic position of this new form is in the Calamoherpe 

 group : the feet are the same as in Calamoherpe ; but the beak is 

 weaker and slenderer, and the wings are very different. Calama- 

 herpe has the first quill quite spurious, the third is the longest, and 

 the second and sixth are subequal. In Calamoherpe there are 

 twelve tail-feathers ; in Psamathia I can find only ten. Tatare is 

 a very different form, with scutellated tarsi, a very different structure 

 of the plumage, a much more elongated beak, and a twelve-feathered 

 tail. Tatare syrinx is a typical Calamoherpe. In the structure of 

 the wing of Psamathia there seems to be a great resemblance to 

 the genus Arundinax of Blyth, a form with which it is not in my 

 power to compare it. 



