16 THE AUSTRAL AVIAN RECORD Vol. I 



obtained, and there can be no doubt it is a genuine 

 C. lucidus. I have another specimen with only Queens- 

 land as the locality, and these two are the only true 

 C. lucidus I have seen from localities outside New Zealand. 

 At the present time the wintering of C. lucidus is on& 

 of the puzzles of Australasian ornithology. 



The bird from New Caledonia has been variously named 

 G. lucidus and C. plagosus, by writers using the British 

 Museum material. I have carefully examined this series 

 and cannot agree with either of the above identi- 

 fications. 



Five specimens, three males and two females, killed 

 in August, September, and November, all agree in their 

 coloration. They resemble C. plagosus in their upper- 

 coloration in having a purplish head, bronze-green 

 upper-coloration — but the head is duller and the bronze- 

 green is duller. The bill is long and thick, quite unlike 

 that of C. plagosus. There is no white in front or above 

 the eye and the ear-coverts are purple. As the throat 

 is almost unbarred, the bird appears to have a distinct 

 purple cap. The crossbarring of the under-surface is 

 purplish-green and distinct, quite unlike the close bronze 

 barring of C. plagosus. For this species I propose the 

 name of : 



Chrysococcyx layardi, sp. n., 



type in the British Museum. 



A specimen from the Solomon Islands ( <$ September) 

 agrees closely, but has the abdomen - barring more 

 prominent. Another specimen from New Britain 

 ( S June) resembles this species, but has the head darker 

 purple, the purple extending down on to the back, while 

 the throat is crossbarred with purplish-brown and the 

 abdomen has broad purple-bronze crossbars. 



A specimen killed in New Caledonia ( S 26.4.77) 

 resembles C. lucidus in its upper-coloration, but has a 

 narrower, shorter bill, and the under-surface is indistinctly 

 marked with narrow, bronze bars closely set together, 

 quite unlike any specimen of C. lucidus I have seen. 



