4!)2 MR. E. L. LAYARD ON THE BIRDS [June 6, 



thrush ! " It cliugs in any position to the flowers that conceal its 

 favourite food (small insects), and is very pugnacious, driving away 

 from the feast any bird that attempts to share it. 



9. Leptornis samoensis, Hombr. 



Found in small flocks in the forests of Samoa, seldom approaching 

 the coast, where, however, I was fortunate enough to meet with it 

 and secure nice specimens. It has aloud flute-like call, and clambers 

 about the topmost branches of the tallest forest trees. When held 

 head downwards, a plentiful discharge of honey escapes from the 

 bill, and the stomachs of those dissected contained insects, bits of 

 leaves, &c. 



10. Tatare longirostris (Gm.). 



I sought for this bird in vain, both in Samoa and Tonga ; and all 

 my inquiries proved equally fruitless ; no one knew of such a bird. 

 The Rev. Mr. Whitmee also, who has devoted considerable atten- 

 tion to the zoology of the Navigators' Islands, doubts its being an 

 inhabitant of them. It may have become extinct, like a species I 

 shall have to allude to from Tonga ; but the natives have no name 

 for it. 



11. Petroica pusilla, Peale. 



This pretty little " Robin " is not very uncommon in the woods 

 in Samoa, and is generally found in pairs, <$ and 5 , or with the 

 addition of their young family. It is bold and fearless, and admits 

 of a close approach, being usually perched on the undergrowth of 

 young trees. Feeds on small insects, ants, &c. 



12. Turdus vanicorensis, Quoy. 



This " Blackbird " might be easily mistaken for our English friend, 

 both when hopping about the ground, probing for worms, or when 

 speeding through the coppice, uttering its shrill metallic cry of alarm. 

 Several times, when darting from some thick bush, it flew down the 

 roads cut through the cocoa-nut plantation. When I saw it most 

 abundantly, I could not help fancying myself again for the moment 

 in some Staffordshire lane, where, as a boy, I chased them with 

 loaded ash sticks ! 



I saw eggs in Mr. Whitmee's possession closely resembling those 

 of the English bird, and gathered from him that the nest was also 

 similar. 



The acquisition of this bird revealed to me the fact that our Fiji 

 bird is quite distinct, and of a new species, which I have therefore 

 described under the title of Turdus vitiensis, Ann. N. H. 4 ser. vol. 

 xvii. p. 305 ; and since I returned, the same kind friend to whom I 

 am indebted for it has found another species in Taviuni, which I 

 have had much pleasure in naming after him, T. tempesti {anted, 

 p. 420). This, with the Kandavu bird {T. tricolor, Ibis, 18/6, 

 p. 153), makes three species of this genus peculiar to Fiji ; and I 

 doubt not others yet remain to be found in the centre of the large 

 island Yiti Levu. 



