collected in Dutch Keio Guinea. 



109 



From the series o£ M. alhoscapulatus be Fore me it would 

 at first sight seem that the black and white livery is perennial, 

 but two male specimens (Nos. 1275 and 1386) are almost 

 certainly adults in eclipse-plumao-e. It must, however, be 

 remembered that there is in the Tring Museum a £ull- 

 plumaged specimen killed in June, when, according to 

 Mr. Campbell's statement (t. c. p. 167), M. cyaneus is in 

 eclipse-plumage. Further remarks on this subject by Mr. 

 Hall will be found in the Proceedings of the Royal Society 

 of Victoria, xii. pp. 59-73 (1899). 



It has been stated that the males of Malurus take three 

 years to assume full-plumage, but in the present species 

 I can see no reason for believing that this is really the 

 case. 



A female in nestling-plumage (No. 45) has the whole of 

 the upperparts, including the wings, dark greyish-brown, 

 without the conspicuous whitish-buf£ edges to the greater 

 wing-coverts, scapulars, and secondaries, and without the 

 white tips to the tail-feathers which characterise the adult 

 female. This latter also possesses white shoulder-tufts, but 

 less developed than in the male. 



A quite young male (No. 24) resembles No. 45 described 

 above, but has a few pale-margined wing-coverts making 

 their appearance. More mature birds in their second 

 plumage resemble the adult female. In this stage of plumage, 

 or in the eclipse, the species has been described as M. lorentzi 

 by Dr. van Oort. Birds from South-east New Guinea have 

 been separated as M. a. naimii Salvad. & d'Alb., on account 

 of their smaller size. 



M. alhoscapulatus . 

 South-west New Guinea. 

 13 males : wing 49--53 mm, 

 7 females : wino: 47-50 mm. 



31. a. naimii. 

 South-east New Guinea. 

 7 males : win"- 45-47 mm. 



There are several very puzzling points about this species 

 which require clearing up. Dr. van Oort has recorded the 

 male and female as black and quite similar to one another 

 in plumage ; but the sex of the female had no doubt been 

 wrongly determined. Males in eclipse-plumage and females 



