Collecting-trip in the New Hebrides, &c. 295 
CaLornis caNToR (Gm.). 
This short-tailed Starling is much commoner in New 
Britain than on the Duke-of-York Island. It nests only in 
rotten cocoanut-trees, one pair to a tree. When acocoanut- 
tree dies the crown falls off first, the top of the stem decays 
down the centre, and in the hole thus formed the Starlings 
nest. The trunks were always so rotten before the nests 
were made in them, that even the little native boys would not 
climb them, though offered large rewards in pipes and tobacco ; 
and I never saw an egg of this species. 
CaLoRNIS METALLICA (Temm.). 
The Long-tailed Starling is much commoner on the Duke-of- 
York Island than in New Britain. It nests in large colonies, 
each pair having a separate nest, big enough to fill an ordi- 
nary-sized bucket. There are hundreds of these nests on one 
tree, and the more isolated and conspicuous the tree is, the 
better they appear to likeit. J induced some natives to make 
a bamboo ladder, and very soon had some of theeggs. ‘They 
were nearly all hatched out by the end of August. The 
ground-colour is greenish white, more or less pale, spotted 
and blotched throughout with dark reddish brown and purple. 
These markings are often crowded together at the obtuse end. 
In some specimens they are confined to that end only; in- 
deed, in the large series before us, these markings, in shape 
and size, differ considerably. The same may be said of the 
sizes of the eggs themselves; but a good average one is, axis 
Wii diam’ 9!" 
GRACULA KREFFTT, Scl. 
GRAUCALUS LINEATUS. 
New Britain: not seen on the Duke-of-York Island during 
our visit. 
Latace KARu, Less. 
Common wherever we went. 
MonarcHA VERTICALIS, Sclater, P. Z. 8. 1877, p. 99. 
This beautiful Flycatcher is found only on the main island, 
Duke-of-York group, and on none of the other islands com- 
posing the archipelago. It builds a lovely little cup-shaped 
