154 . NASITERNINiE. 



Of my specimens of N. geelvinMana the male is much larger than the 

 female. Both appear to me to be old birds, and, as compared with a pair 

 of N. pygmcea of my own (the ones figured), are a trifle smaller. But I 

 will not say that N. geelvinMana is a smaller species than N. pygmaa, because 

 it is never safe to judge without a series of examples. I take " Nufoor " as 

 above written to be intended for Mefoor, the great island on the north- 

 eastern coast of New Guinea, opposite the Arfak mountains — between that 

 shore and the three greater islands called Schouten-Eilanden (or Misory), in 

 English maps lumped into two. Mefoor appears to be nearly all mountains ; 

 for in the beautiful map belonging to C. B. H. von Rosenberg's work, 

 ' Reistochten naar de Geelvinkbaai op Nieuw-Guinea,' 1875, there is a range 

 from one end to the other. I suspect that Nasiterna in each species is a bird 

 of the mountains ; but of N. pusio, the largest, one knows nothing. 



Dr. Finsch says (in his subsequent article), of the male N. geelvinMana, 

 the two middle feathers of the tail are deep sea-blue, with a " small patch of 

 black near the apical portion." The male bird in the Plate has no black on 

 the two middle tail-feathers ; moreover the blue is apparent on four tail- 

 feathers instead of two. The two central feathers are quite blue ; the next 

 two blue, with a patch of black along the inner side of the rhachis. In N. 

 pusio, according to the Plate, the two central tail-feathers are exactly as 

 described by Dr. Finsch. I think perhaps mine is an older specimen than 

 the one he took his description from. 



The total length of my male is 3i inches, female Ss inches. 



Nasiterna pygmcea. — The male and female are from specimens of my own. 

 The male is thus marked : — "VII. '73. Andai, New Guinea. Dr. A. B. Meyer. 

 1000." Andai stands close to the sea-shore, on the banks of, or very near a 

 small nameless river at the foot of the Arfak mountains, at the entrance of 

 Great Geelvink Bay (for there is Little Geelvink Bay also). There is a 

 beautiful plate of this river in Baron Rosenberg's work ; and the country looks 

 a perfect paradise for rare birds! Geelvink means "Yellow Finch." 



