several fine wreaths, " leis," composed of its plumes in the possession of the Hon. 

 C. R. Bishop, while since my return I have carefully examined the feather-robes in the 

 Ethnological Collection in the British Museum, and find that in the three large war- 

 cloaks it contains, chiefly made of the yellow feathers of Acrulocercus tioUUs, are 

 interspersed here and there, usually in diamond-shaped patterns, the deeper yellow 

 feathers of the present species. 



One cape only in this collection is made entirely of the plumage of the Mamo, 

 and in that the upper margin, about one inch in width, is formed of its black 

 feathers ; the dimensions are as follows : — 



feet in. 



3 6 following lower margin. 



1 ^ at middle. 



9 following top margin. 



Another cape, in which the plumes of this bird occur, may also be worth describ- 

 ing : — It has the ground-colour red ( Vestiaria coccinea), the upper edge made of the 

 black and gold feathers of Drepanis pacifica and red feathers of V. coccinea inter- 

 mingled ; at the bottom is a broad band of the yellow feathers of Acrulocercus nobilis, 

 while on the red ground of the cape are three angular patches of the same. Among 

 the wreaths, " leis," in the collection, there is but one in which the golden plumage 

 of Drepanis occurs. This " lei " is 15 inches in length, and the yellow feathers, of 

 which there are six bunches, each one inch in length, are arranged alternately with 

 bunches of red feathers of V. coccinea. The length and beauty of the former are very 

 striking in this wreath, and I have only seen one other which perhaps surpasses it in 

 beauty ; this is made entirely of Mamo feathers, and has been quite recently brought 

 to this country by Mr. Herbert Purvis — the value it is impossible to estimate, nor can 

 its beauty, at least in the eyes of an Hawaiian, be outshone. 



Sir Walter Buller, in his ' History of the Birds of New Zealand,' 2nd ed. p. 104, 

 tells us of a gorgeous feather-robe which was largely ornamented with the canary- 

 yellow feathers of the wing of the Hihi (Pogonornis cincta), and goes on to say : " one 

 can only compare it in imagination with that gorgeous coronation-robe of costly yellow 

 plumes worn by the kings and queens of Hawaii, of which mention is made by the 

 early writers on Polynesia." As Sir Walter Buller speaks of the New Zealand feather- 

 robe as "largely ornamented," we may conclude that the feathers of other species were 

 intermingled with those of the Hihi, and on this account I think it could not have 

 equalled the unbroken sheet of gold presented by the war-cloak of Kamehameha I. 

 described in my article on Acrulocercus nobilis. The yellow feathers of Pogonornis 

 are, however, of a richer tint than those of Acrulocercus, and more nearly approach 

 those of Drepanis. 



One of the specimens which I brought home has been beautifully remounted by 

 Mr. Cullingford, of Durham, and is now in the Museum of the University of Cambridge, 



l2 



