

LOXOPS AUREA. 



Hypoloxias aurea, Finsch, Ibis, 1880, p. 80 (nee Drepanis aurea, Dole, 1879). 



Loxops aurea, Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. x. p. 50 (1885) ; Perkins, Ibis, 1895, p. 121. 



Loxops ochracea, Rothschild, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, 21 Dec., 1892, p. xvi (clescr. null.) ; id. Ibis, 



1893, pp. 112, 281. 

 Himatione aurea, Wilson, B. Sandw. Isl. part iv. (1893) (cancelled). 



I have very much to regret that in a former part of the present work I erroneously 

 referred this species to the genus Himatione, and in extenuation of my mistake can 

 only urge that the type specimens obtained by Dr. Finsch, and obligingly forwarded by 

 the authorities of the Berlin Museum for the use of this work, were unavoidably in my 

 hands but for a very short time. I was of course unwilling to detain them any longer 

 than was necessary, and the greater part of their brief sojourn in England was passed 

 with Mr. Frohawk, who has carefully depicted them. One advantage has, however, 

 followed from this mischance : I am now able to avail myself of the extremely 

 interesting observations of Mr. Perkins, which show that this species, of which so 

 little had been known before, is dimorphic — an uncertain number of the cock birds 

 assuming a red plumage ; and by favour of the Joint Committee of the Royal Society 

 and the British Association I am allowed to figure one of the beautiful examples 

 obtained by that gentleman, in addition to the types of Dr. Finsch's Hypoloxias 

 aurea. 



Mr. Perkins's remarks are : — 



" In the genus Loxops, which contains the smallest of the native birds, the different 

 species have much the same habits, and the song, which is short and simple, though 

 sweet, is nearly the same in all. Their call is a plain ' keewit,' uttered once or 

 repeated, and is constantly to be heard. They seek their food amongst the leaves, 

 especially at the ends of the branches, more rarely on the limbs themselves. It 

 consists largely of caterpillars and the smaller spiders. They also suck the nectar of 

 the ohia flowers (Metrosideros) ; this I saw them do but rarely, and only two of the 

 species, L. aurea and L. [Chrysomitridops] c&ruleirostris. Most often, when seen 

 amongst the blossoms, they were merely seeking insects, thereby attracted ; but several 

 times I shot specimens with the beak dripping, and on tasting the fluid found it to 

 be, beyond doubt, the nectar of these flowers. 



" From the other green birds, their green young and females are readily distin- 



2g2 



