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MERULA MAREENSIS, Layard $ Tristr. 
NEW-HEBRIDEAN OUZEL. 
Turdus mareensis, Layard & Tristram, Ibis, 1879, p. 472; Layard, Ibis, 1880, pp. 221, 226. 
Merula mareensis, Seebohm, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. v. p. 249 (1881); Sharpe, Тыз, 1900, p. 346. 
Merula vanikorensis, pt. (nec Q. & G.), Wiglesworth, Aves Polyn. p. 38 (1891). 
M. minor, nigricans : rostro et pedibus flavis: subcaudalibus albo laté striatis.' 
Tuis species was sent to Mr. E. L. Layard from the Island of Maré in the Loyalty group, where it is 
known by the name of * Wassassé." It is like M. samoensis in colour, but has the under tail-coverts 
broadly streaked with white. Messrs. E. L. € L. C. Layard state that itis a very shy and wary bird, 
and their correspondent in Maré found it difficult to procure. More recently Capt. A. M. Farquhar 
has found the species on Mallicolo and Espiritu Santo. He writes :—“ Very wild, but not uncommon 
near Hoy Head, Espiritu Santo. I obtained three clutches of eggs, two incubated, two fresh, one 
just laid; also a nest with two young birds. Тһе nest was of fine roots, lined with dead blades of 
grass and dead leaves. Dimensions 5x33x2 in. The eggs like those of Turdus iliacus: 2:5 x 156. 
This Thrush breeds in August and September.” | 
Mr. Wiglesworth, іп his most useful memoir on the Birds of Polynesia, considers that M. mareensis 
is identical with the Turdus vanikorensis of Quoy and Gaimard, a species procured during the voyage 
of the *Astrolabe' on Vanikoro Island in the Santa Cruz group. This may probably be the case, 
but it is impossible to say for certain until the type of 7. vanikorensis, in the Paris Museum, has 
been compared. 
Adult male. General colour above black, including the tail-feathers ; the wings slightly browner; 
under surface of body entirely sooty-black, with a little white on the vent ; under tail-coverts black, 
with shaft-streaks and terminal spots of white; under wing-coverts and axillaries sooty-black: “ bill 
and feet orange; iris drab-brown " (E. L. Layard). Total length 7:8 inches, culmen 0:9, wing 4:25, 
tail 2:8, tarsus 1:35. 
Adult female. Similar to the male, but browner, especially underneath, the breast being decidedly 
browner than the back, and inclining to grey on the abdomen ; under tail-coverts black, with the 
same white shaft-streaks and tips as in the male: “bill and feet bright orange; iris drab-brown ” 
(E. L. Layard) ; “ eyelid yellow” (4. M. Farquhar). Total length 7:5 inches, culmen 0:8, wing 4:1, 
tail 3:0, tarsus 1:25. 
The pair of adult birds described are in the Seebohm Collection and were obtained on the 
Island of Maré by Mr. E. L. Layard, the male in October 1879 and the female in June 1882. 
The specimen figured in the Plate is a breeding male obtained by Mr. Layard in November 
1881, and also in the Seebohm Collection. [R. В. $.] 
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