350 ON THE GENUS PTILOPUS. 



or Jobie Islands/' Mr. Wallace, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 286), Eclectus westermanni, 

 Bp. Q' probably New Guinea or Jobie Islands/' Mr. Wallace, /. c, p. 287), 

 Astrapia nigra^ and others. In fact, some rare and scarcely known species 

 are even now without an exact habitat in science, perhaps some in 

 nature. 



How^ever, knowledge has increased, and Jobi is no longer a terra 

 incognita in the sense it used to be, viz. that all unknown things which could 

 possibly occur there are hypothetically so placed. It is not to be thought, 

 however, that in the chain of mountains of this interesting island, or even on 

 its steep shores, a considerable number of unknown treasures, delightful to 

 true ornithologists, may not exist. But the surface has been gone through ; 

 and a highly interesting one it proves. 



Returning, however, to the bird under consideration. Dr. Meyer informs 

 me that Prof. Schlegel gives (^. Mus. P.-B. Col. 1873, p. 15) the measure- 

 ments of 



Wing. Tail, 



in. lin. in. lin. in. lin. in. lin. 



Ptilopus humeralis . . 4 4 to 4 6 2 1 



Ptilopus joUensis .. 42 to 44 19tollO 



Prof. Schlegel at first did not separate P. joUensis from P. humeralis 

 specifically, but did so a short time after as P. humeralis joUensis, to which 

 mode of separation he does not appear to attach specific value in the ordinary 

 sense. Salvadori first clearly separated it specifically. 



The specimen figured is a male, killed near Ansus, on the island of Jobi, 

 in the month of April 1873, by Dr. Meyer. He got there four specimens, 

 two of which are males and two females. The sexes are not to be distin- 

 guished. P. humeralis he only got on the island of Mansinam, near Dore. 



It may be observed that another constant difference between P. humeralis 

 and P. joUensis appears to be that in the cere the soft parts of the base of 



