198 TJte American Naturalist. 



[Ma 



bright rufous. The female is unmasked about the head and 

 throat. Feet plumbeous. Length 7 inches. 



One of the loveliest, certainly the most brilliant of Fly- 

 catchers is Monarcha chrysomela, the Goldenhooded. Blue- 

 black and gold are the boldly contrasted colors of this bright 

 little creature whose length is 6 inches. The ground color is 

 orangeyellow ; this is almost equally rich whenever it is 

 spread. Jet black with a blue gloss covers the entire throat 

 and upper breast, the upper back, the outer wing feathers and 

 tail. An irregular stripe of the same bends round the shoul- 

 der. The deepest black is on the throat where the thick plu- 

 mage is metallic. The crown is roughened into a kind of 

 crest. The bill and feet are black. All besides, as has been 

 said, is a lovely yellow, making the bird a most conspicuous 

 object among the dark trees. 



Todopsis cyanocephala of the Muscicapidse is adorned with a 

 blue crown, as its name indicates. This rich color appears 

 besides on the neck, back and wings though of a somewhat 

 different shade. A purpleblack runs down the lower back and 

 covers the tail, excepting the two middle feathers which are of 

 bluish tinge. The under parts are of a dark purple also, be- 

 coming black beneath the wings. The bill and feet are dull 

 black. The length of the male bird is rather more than 

 six inches, the female about an inch less. Her coloring is 

 almost as rich, but different. A warm brown takes the place 

 of black above, a light buff of the black below, though along 

 the sides as far as the under tail coverts the brown reappears. 

 Blue colors the head and stripes the neck, showing lighter on 

 the tail where it is much mingled with white. 



Malurus albiscapulatus is scarcely 4 inches in length but is 

 not only of rich velvety plumage but of conspicuous appear- 

 ance also, for its white patches on a black ground color attract 

 attention at once. These patches occur on either side of the 

 body both above and below, those above showing finely when 

 the bird is in flight, those below lining the chest from the 

 bend of the wings. Elsewhere the plumage is a deep black of 

 a bluish cast, soft and lustrous. The home of the species is in 

 Southeast as well as Northwest New Guinea. 



