26 MR. A. R. WALLACE ON THE BIRDS OF BOURU. [Jan. 13, 



back and wing-coverts black with a rufous margin ; quills dusky, the 

 primaries narrowly, the secondaries and tertiaries more broadly 

 rufous-margined ; tail pale, rufous-tipped ; the two middle feathers 

 rufous, with the central part and towards the apex blackish, the rest 

 black ; beneath with the sides of the neck, the breast, the flanks, 

 and the under wing-coverts and tail-coverts pale chestnut, becoming 

 nearly pure white on the throat and the middle of the belly ; quills 

 beneath brownish black, narrowly margined with pale rufous towards 

 the base ; tail beneath dusky, the feathers with narrow margins and 

 broader tips of pale rufous, and each with a large suhapical black 

 spot ; bill dusky above, pale beneath ; feet and claws pale yellowish ; 

 iris pale olive. 



Total length 4 inches ; wing l/^ inch ; tarsus f inch. 



Sab. Bouru. 



Remark. — Very near C. lineocapilla, Gould, with which I had 

 at first placed it ; but comparison with a specimen in the British 

 Museum has convinced me of its distinctness from any of the Austra- 

 lian species. 



MiMETA BOURUENSIS. 



Philedon bouruetisis, Quoy & Gaimard, Voy. de I'Astrol. t. 8. f. 2. 

 Tropidorhynchus buruensis, Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. p. 390. 



Cinereo-brunnea, suhtus pallidior ; facie et auriculis fusco-nigris; 

 capite et gula substriatis ; torque nuchali indistincto fulvo- 

 cinereo. 



Earthy brown ; beneath whitish brown ; head a little paler, the 

 feathers marked with a central blackish stripe, and on the nape a 

 narrow paler rufescent band ; ear-coverts dusky black ; lores and 

 cheeks blackish, mixed with whitish ; chin and sides of the throat 

 with a dusky stripe on each feather ; primaries outwardly edged with 

 pale rufous ; under wing-coverts and margins of all the quills beneath 

 towards the base pale rufous or buff ; under tail-coverts with a tinge 

 of buff; rectrices, all but the middle pair, tipped on the inner web 

 with the same colour; bill horny black ; feet lead-colour ; iris dull red. 



Length 9 inches ; wing 5f inches ; tail 4| inches ; bill, to front, 

 1|^ inch. 



Hab. Bouru (Moluccas). 



Remarks. — This curious bird resembles so closely a Honeysucker 

 of the genus Tropidorhynchus that it has been figured and described 

 as such, and even escaped the acute eye of Prince Bonaparte, who 

 has given it that place in his ' Conspectus.' But, more singular still, 

 there is a species of true Tropidorhynchus inhabiting the same island 

 of Bouru, which so closely resembles this bird that the two can hardly 

 be distinguished, except by a close comparison of the generic cha- 

 racters that separate them. We have here, in fact, a case among 

 birds of that mimicry of one species by another belonging to a dif- 

 ferent group, which Mr. Bates has so well illustrated among the 

 Lepidoptera of S. America (see Linn. Trans, vol. xxiii. p. 495). In 

 this case the Oriole has imitated the Honeysucker ; for it has de- 



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