CINNYEIS COKNELIvE. 



(TARAWAI SUN-BIRD.) 



Hermotimia Cornelia, Salvad. Atti R. Ace. Torino, xiii, p. SI 9 (1878). 



c? ad. similis C. aspasia sed paullo major : gutture omnino metadice lilacino, ad latera guise summae et versus 

 regionem praepectoralem minime chalybeo tincto distinguendus. 



2 ad. similis 2 C. aspasice, sed paullo major. 



Hab. in insula papuana "Tarawai" vel "D'Urville" dicta. 



Adult Male. Similar in plumage to C. aspasia from Dorey, excepting that the throat is entirely metallic, 

 lilac, only very slightly tinted with steel-blue on the sides of the upper throat and towards the crop. 

 It is also slightly larger. Total length 4"6 inches, culmen 0"7, wing 2'7, tail T8, tarsus 0'7. 



Adult Female. Similar in plumage to typical C. aspasim, only larger. 



Hab. Island of Tarawai or D'Urville Island. 



The island of D'Urville, known to the natives as Tarawai, is situated off the northern coast of 

 New Guinea, in long. 143° 7'JE. 



On this island Mr. Bruijn has recently collected twelve specimens of a Sun-bird which, in 

 deference to Count Salvadori, I treat as distinct from C. aspasice, though in my opinion the 

 characters are not of sufficient value to be considered specific, but indicate rather a constant local 

 race or subspecies. 



Count Salvadori informs us that Mr. Bruijn's hunters collected eight adult .males, three 

 adult females, and one male in moult, in all of which the characters are perfectly constant. 

 These he compared with a large series of the other allied species, especially with C. aspusim, 

 and entertains no doubt of their belonging to a distinct species, differing, as he observes, from 

 C. aspasice by their notably larger size, and by the throat being constantly lilac, without any 

 mixture of steel-blue. 



The only characters which appear to me to distinguish this form from C. aspasice are the 

 measurements ; and these, in my opinion, are too slight to constitute specific distinction. The 

 colouring of the throat, which appears to be constant in Tarawai specimens, agrees perfectly 

 with the colouring of the throat in some individuals from the Aru Islands and from Koffiao, 

 where, however, the colouring of this part is not a constant character. 



The adult male and female are described from two of the typical specimens in my own 

 collection. 



