Ill 



Mr. Seebohm exhibited specimens of Merula thomassom 

 from the mountains of Northern Luzon [cf. Bull B.O. C. 

 iii. p. li), and pointed out the close affinity of the species 

 to M. papuensis, De Vis, from the mountains of S.E. New 

 Guinea. 



Dr. Bo^vDLER Sharpe made some remarks on the species 

 of Birds of Paradise of the genus Diphyllodes, of vrhich he 

 recognized the following : — 



1. D. magnifica (Penn.). N.W. Nevr Guinea (Sorong; 



Salawati). 



2. D. seleucides, Less. N.W. New Guinea (Arfak Mts.). 



3. D. chrysoptera, Gould {D. joMejisis, Meyer). 



4. D. septentrionalis , Meyer. Finisterre Mts. 



5. D. hu7is'teini, Meyer. Astrolabe Mts. 



The Arfak bird, of which he had recently seen upwards of 

 one hundred examples^ was an intermediate form between 

 the pale ochre-winged D. magnifica and the golden-winged 

 D. chrysoptera. D. sepietitrionalis was barely separable 

 from D. hu?isteim, but had the deep crimson mantle-patch 

 of D. chrysoptera, while the birds from S.E. New Guinea 

 had the mantle-patch of a lighter crimson. D. hunsteim. 

 JMeyer, with a richer golden-orange tint on the wings, was 

 believed by Dr. Sharpe to be merely a very old and brightly 

 coloured plumage of the ordinary Golden-winged Bird of 

 Paradise from the mountain-ranges of S.E. New Guinea. 

 The large series of skins of D. seleucides from the Arfak 

 Mountains showed the increasing richness in coloration of 

 these golden-winged species of Diphyllodes, in proportion to 

 their age. 



Dr. Sharpe also pointed out that the species of Plover of 

 the genus Defilippia from Nyasa Land and the Zambesi 

 region was distinct from Defilippia crassirostris of Equatorial 

 Africa. He separated it as 



