18/6.] OF THE NAVIGATORS' ISLANDS. 495 



African Lamprotornis bicolor ! It often goes in little flocks, and 

 feeds much on the same trees frequented by the preceding, and also 

 on a larger berry much patronized by the "Green Doves" (Ptilo- 

 ?iopus). It also devours insects, and is subject to the same rapid 

 decay as A. brcvirostris. 



20. Erythrura cyanovirens, Peale. 



I obtained this pretty little Finch among the cotton-plants ; but it 

 was rare. It feeds on minute seeds. The young bird is furnished 

 with small caruncles at the base of the bill, and has been made 

 into a new genus by Drs. Finsch and Hartlaub, under the name of 

 Lobiospiza notablis (P. Z. S. 18/0, p. 817). The young of the 

 Fijian bird (E. pealei, Hartl.) possesses similar appendages. My 

 son has just procured it at Suva, on Viti Levu ; and we got it in some 

 plenty at Ngila, on Taviuni, in the forest, feeding on high trees 

 bearing berries. 



21. Ptilonopus perousei, Peale. 



On one tree (a species of Ficus) in the forest at the back of 

 Upolu, I saw at least thirty pairs of this lovely little Dove, in all 

 stages of plumage, some of which I obtained. 



22. Ptilonopus apicalis, Bp. 



Mr. Whitmee (in epistold) informs me that the bird designated 

 by this name is nothing more than the female of the preceding. 

 Drs. Finsch and Hartlaub also, in their 'Ornithologie,' place a mark of 

 doubt (?) before it. Great therefore was my astonishment when a 

 live bird was brought on board II. M.S. ' Nymphe,' which I at once 

 detected was quite distinct from our Fijian bird, and agreed very 

 well with the description in the ' Ornithologie' of P. apicalis. Subse- 

 quently I obtained the loan of the ' Journal des Mus. Godeffroy.' In 

 Heft 1, Tafel 7. No. 2 professes to be a figure of P.fasciatus, but has 

 evidently been taken from a Samoan bird, and consequently represents 

 P. apicalis. The deep orange of the vent and under tail-coverts, 

 (so different from the pale yellow of the Fijian P.fasciatus), is well 

 shown, as is also the bright yellow tip to the tail. This in P.fasci- 

 atus is dull grey, and does not extend to the end, the extreme tip 

 being green. The chestnut on the abdomen {entirely wanting in 

 the Fijian bird) is hardly dark enough, or bright enough ; and the 

 black indistinct line which exists at the superior edge of the same 

 is not given ; nor is the pale yellow patch from the chin along the 

 centre of the throat. The magenta colour of the head is not dark 

 enough ; but this is clearly a mistake of the colorist. A nother marked 

 difference remains to be noted, the lovely blue-green tips to the wing- 

 secondaries of P. fascia t us are changed in the Samoan bird to a 

 still more lovely bright lilac! and the blue-black patch on the abdo- 

 men of the former is changed into an exquisite dark magenta. I 

 now fancy the figure, pi. xi. of the ' Ornithologie,' must have been 

 taken from a Samoan bird (see ante, p. 436). 



I found P. apicalis abundant, feeding on various wild berries, 



3:-!* 



