XOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXIII. 1916. 297 



A NEW MONARCHA FROM EOSSEL ISLAND. 



By LORD ROTHSCHILD and ERNST HARTERT. 



TT7 E have recently received from Mr. A. S. Meek a fine collection from the 

 W mountains ("Mount Rössel") of Rössel Island, in the Louisiade group. 

 The collection contains not a single species which we had not previously received, 

 but a re-examination of an additional series of Monarch«, cinerascens shows that 

 the form from Rössel Island is quite distinct. It belongs to the group with 

 darker grey throat and upperside, and is therefore closely allied to the bird 

 called M. cinerascens inomatus, but differs in having the inner and part of the 

 outer webs of the rectrices blackish slate-colour, the outer webs mostly grey ; there 

 is in some specimens a black patch on the chin and another behind the nostrils, 

 in front of the lores, while in others these black spots are only indicated or not 

 developed. The abdomen is perhaps a shade brighter chestnut. The bill is 

 distinctly heavier, larger, and none of the specimens show a light space at the 

 base of the nnder-mandible. Gnlmen from forehead 22-23, wing 80-89 mm., 

 this difference in size not due to sex, unless our series is partially wrongly sexed, 

 which we are afraid it is. We propose to call this form 



Monarcha cinerascens rosselianus. 



Type : c? ad. Rössel Island, 6. ii. 1898. No. 1385, A. S. Meek coll. In Mus. 

 Tring. 



This new form resembles a good deal the female of Monarcha melanopsis,. 

 but the darker tail and greyer lores serve to distinguish it easily, besides that 

 the males are quite different. 



The nomenclature of this group of flycatchers is not quite satisfactory. The 

 name cinerascens (Drymophila cinerascens Temminck, PI. Col. 430, Fig. 2, 

 livr. 72, 1827) was first given to a Timor bird, but a series from there is 

 wanting ; we should not be surprised if kisserensis should in the end prove to 

 be indistinguishable. 



The name inomatus (Muscicapa inomata Garnot, Voy. Coqu., Zool., Atlas, 

 pi. 16, Fig. 2) was given to birds from " New Guinea," probably from the Arfak 

 Peninsula. From there we have never received specimens, and the type is an 

 immature individual. Ornithologists have recently used this name for the birds 

 from all parts of New Guinea, but in the face of the fact that in the Geelvink 

 Bay, on Mafor, a light grey form is found, and light birds inhabit the Key group 

 and Ternate as well as Halmahera (the Ternate birds being different from the 

 Geelvink Bay ones), there is a possibility, if not probability, that the Arfak bird 

 is similar to these, and not to the dark grey birds from Eastern Papua. 



