OEXITHOLoaY OF NEW aUINEA. 815 



base ; ear-coverts and cheeks black, obscurely barred across with 

 brown ; under surface of body blackish brown, coarsely vermicu- 

 lated with white in transverse bars, these white bars becoming 

 broader on the breast; the abdomen pure white, with a few re- 

 mains of brown zigzag bars ; sides of body and thighs blackish, 

 vermiculated with white bars like the breast ; under tail-coverts 

 Avhite, with narrow dusky brown transverse bars ; under wing- 

 coverts blackish, the innermost and the axillaries barred with 

 white. Total length 9'5 inches, culmen 0'55, wing 4*65, tail 4"3, 

 tarsus 0*7. 



This seems to be a very well-pronounced species. It differs 

 from all the other species that I have seen in its blackish colour, 

 especially about the cheeks, which are black, with only a few 

 transverse light bars ; the bands on the tail also are very few in 

 number, being only nine. 



In examining the species oi JEgotJieles in the British Museum, 

 I must say that they seem to be at present imperfectly charac- 

 terized. Mr. Grould's figure of jM. leucogaster, for instance, is 

 figured with nine bands, whereas all our specimens have at least 

 twelve or even thirteen bands. In South Australia there appears 

 to be a species, not well discriminated, with dark brown ear-coverts, 

 minutely barred with dull white. This form seems not to have 

 been represented in Mr. Gould's work. 



Order PASSERES. 

 Fam. PiTTiD^. 



23. Pitta nov^ guinea. — P. novae guinese, Mull. Sf Schl. ; 

 Salvad. t. c. p. 37. 



a, S . Aleya, April 1875. Total length 6*3 inches, culmen 0*9, 

 wing 4'1, tail 1'3, tarsus 1"45. 



h. Aleya, April 1875. Eyes dark brown ; bill entirely black ; 

 feet and tarsi dark slate-colour. 



Fam. TuBDiDJE. 



24. CiSTicoLA EUEicEPs. — Cisticola, sp., Salvad. t. c. p. 35. 

 a,h, S ■ Yule Island, November 1875. 



c,d, $ . Yule Island, December 1875. 



25. Mat-uetjs alboscaptjlattjs.— M. alboscapulatus, Meyer; 

 Salvadori, t. c. p. 36 ; Gould, B. N. Guin. pt. iv. — M. naimii, 

 Salvad. ^ D' Albert, t. c. p. 827. 



