1888.] BIRDS OF THE SOLOMON ARCHIPELAGO. 203 



dark brown, and pale buff. Rump and upper tail-coverts dark ash, 

 fringed with white. Quills and tail-feathers ashy black, with buff 

 margins. Cheeks and under surface of the body cinnamon, paling 

 into dirty white below. The feathers on the throat and neck 

 streaked and spotted with dark brown. Axillaries whitish, under 

 wing-coverts dark grey mixed with buff. Quills below ashj' black. 



So far as I have been able to ascertain, this species stands remote 

 from anything that has hitherto been described, and the most 

 nearly allied species appears to be A. flavicollis. The adult male 

 probably resembles the female described above, but is of a somewhat 

 darker colour on the upper surface. 



65. Nycticorax mandibularis, sp. n. 



Nycticorax manillensis, Ramsay, Proe. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, 

 vii. p. 39 (nee Vigors). 



a. c? imm. Aola, Guadalcanar ; 20. 4. 87. Bill above black, 

 below yellow ; legs yellowish green ; iris yellow. Food, fish. 



b. (S imm. Aola, Guadalcanar ; 2. 5. 87. Bill above black, 

 below yellow ; legs olive ; iris yellow. 



c. 2 imm. Aola, Guadalcanar ; 8. 5. 87. Bill above black, 

 below yellow ; legs olive ; iris yellow. 



d. 5 ad. Aola, Guadalcanar ; 25. 5. 87. Bill black, base of 

 lower mandible and skin of eyes yellow ; legs yellow ; iris yellow. 



Char. Female adult (specimen d). Head and crest black ; rest 

 of the upper surface, quills, and tail-feathers dull chestnut. Rump 

 and upper tail-coverts rather brighter. An indistinct chestnut 

 superciliary streak. Cheeks, neck, breast, and flanks bright chestnut ; 

 throat, belly, and under tail-coverts white. Axillaries chestnut, 

 edged with pale chestnut. Quills and tail-feathers below light 

 rufous grey. The crest is as yet unadorned with white feathers 

 (see Ramsay's description). 



Toung male (specimen a). Head black, each feather with a 

 longitudinal shaft-streak of buff ; rest of the upper surface reddish 

 brown, each feather darker towards the extremity and ending in a 

 rufous-buff coloured spot. Cheeks, neck, breast, and flanks dirty 

 cinnamon ; throat, belly, and under tail-coverts whitish, each feather 

 with a dark brown longitudinal band down one or both edges, most 

 strongly developed on the throat and upper breast. Quills and tail- 

 feathers below light rufous-grey, shading into darker and terminating 

 in a dull buff spot. 



This species occupies a somewhat intermediate position between 

 N. manillensis and N. caledonicus, being perhaps most nearly allied 

 to the latter. It is easily distinguished from both by its smaller 

 size and much smaller bill. It resembles the former in having the 

 breast and neck chestnut, but differs in having the throat white. 

 It is at once distinguished from the latter by the absence of the 

 white superciliary streak so strongly developed in N. caledonicus. 

 Even the young of these two species may be readily distinguished, 

 for the new bird is generally darker and has the shaft-streaks aud 



