37 



PSITTIROSTRA PSITTACEA DEPPEI 



(Plate 4, Fig. 3.) ROTHSCH. 



Psittirostra olivacea Rothschild, Avifauna of Laysan p. 193 (1900 — Oahu, ex Lichtenstein 

 nomen nudum & M.S.) 



Psittirostra psittacea deppei Rothschild, Bull. B.O.C. XV. p. 45 (1905 — new name for the 

 above, the name olivacea being preoccupied by Ranzani). 



PSITTIROSTRA PSITTACEA PSITTACEA is still one of the commoner 

 birds on most of the Hawaiian Islands, except Oahu, where it was 

 formerly replaced by a closely allied form, P. p. deppei, distinguishable by 

 slightly smaller dimensions, more whitish abdomen in the male, and somewhat 

 more olivaceous upperside. Specimens have been collected on Oahu by Prof. 

 Behn and Herr Deppe, and besides a pair in my collection, I only know of 

 examples in the museums of Berlin and Vienna. There is no trace left of 

 this species in Oahu, and in spite of great efforts Mr. Palmer and all other 

 recent collectors did not come across it. This form has thus shared the fate 

 of Hemignathus ellisianus, Heterorhynchus lucidus, Moho apicalis and Phaeornis 

 oahensis, which have all disappeared from Oahu, while Loxops tufa may still 

 exist in a few pairs, or has possibly followed suit already. 



