1885.] DURING THE VOYAGE OF THE YACHT ' MARCHESA.' 649 



bird, as in the first acquirempnt of the adult dress the change is 

 effected by means of the gradual assumption of the metallic colours 

 in pre-existing feathers, not by moult. 



The hunters found this bird not uncommon in the Arfak, and 

 informed me that it perched on the summit of the trees, and revealed 

 its presence by its loud, harsh cry. 



154. Drepanornis albertisi, Sclat. 

 Drepanornis albertisii, Salvad. op. cit. vol. ii. p. 549. 

 a-c. S • Arfak (Bruijn). 



d. S ■ Arfak. 



e,f. 2- Kriak {Bruijn). 



Iris, according to the hunters, brown ; bill black. Length of 

 wing 15-0-15"4 ; female 14"7-14'8 centims. 



The female, though much resembling the male on the upper 

 surface, is of a darker brown in the interscapular region. The small 

 wattle-like expansion of the rictus is less marked. 



155, Drepanornis brtjijni, Oustal. 

 Drepanornis bruijnii, Salvad. op. cit. vol. ii. p. 553. 



a. Jr. S .1 N. New Guinea, long. 139° E. {Bruijn). 



b. 2 ■ Long. 139° E. {Bruijn). 



While in Ternate Mr. Bruijn showed me the above skins of two 

 birds of the genus Drepanornis obtained by his hunters on the north 

 coast of New Guinea a little to the eastward of the mouths of the 

 Amberbaki River. One was marked 2 , the other c? ; but both were 

 destitute of any brilliant colouring whatsoever. The species, though 

 not unlike D. albertisi, was recognizable as distinct at a glance, and 

 was evidently not a local variation or representative form of that 

 bird. The greater thickness of the bill, and its colour (huffish horn, 

 not bhick), the bareness of the base of the maxilla and the nostrils, 

 the large postocular bare patch, the dark-brown head, the brown 

 (not rufous) upper tail-coverts, the dark moustache, the complete 

 and regular barring of the whole of the under surface, including the 

 under tail-coverts — all these easily distinguish it. Each feather on 

 the under surface is barred with from three to five dark l)rown bars, 

 the last of which is always subterminal. The dimensions seem to be 

 nearly the same as those of D. albertisi. Length about 38*0 centims., 

 wing 14*5-15*0, bill from gape (chord) (i"7-7"l. 



Mr. Bruijn informed me that his hunters had obtained seven or 

 eight examples of this species, but that, though of different sexes, 

 they were all of the same sober colouring. Judging from the habits 

 of others of the Paradiseidce, notably in the case of P. rubra, where 

 the immature males and females appear to live in districts quite 

 apart from the adult male at certain seasons of the year, and from 

 the fact that in this group of birds the males are all of brilliant 

 colouring, we can safely predict that the adult male of this species 

 has yet to be discovered, and that it will probably show a develop- 

 ment of subalar plumes closely resembling that of D. albertisi. 



