92 



AVIFAUNA OF LAY SAN, ETC. 



more or less washed with greenish yellow. Iris brown; bill deep brown, almost black, 

 paler at base ; legs and toes slate-colour ; soles grey. 



Adult female. Above olive-green, with a faint greyish tint, more greenish on the rump and 

 upper tail-coverts. A blackish spot on the lores, above which begins an ill-defined 

 yellowish pale superciliary line. Below from the chin to the under tail-coverts pale 

 yellow, tinged with olive along the sides of the body. Iris dark hazel ; bill blackish, 

 brown at base ; legs and feet slaty blue ; soles pale greyish orange. 



Younger birds in both sexes resemble the female. Nestlings, eggs, and nest are unknown. 



Measurements of adult and sexed specimens. 



Wing. 



Tail. 



Tarsus. 



Culmen. 



Length of bill from 

 base to tip in a 

 straight line. 







A. Males. 







in. 



in. 



in. 



in. 



in. 



3 



1-65 



0-85 



1-80 



L-66 



3-15 



1-72 



0-87 



1-62 



1-33 



3 



1-6 



0-9 



1-6 



1-4 



3-2 



1-73 



0-8G 



1-83 



1-5 



3-06 



1-7 



0-9 



1-7 



1-5 



3-1 



1-9 



0-9 



1-7 



1-5 



3-1 



1-8 



0-9 



L-66 



1-5 



3 



1-9 



0-86 



1-72 



1-5 



3-05 



1 -95 



0-86 



1-6 



1-4 



3-05 



1-75 



0-83 



1-5 



1-3 



3 



1-8 



0-78 



1-62 



1-4 







B. Females. 







2-95 



1-8 



0-83 



1 - .12 



1-35 



2-85 



1-7 



0-74 



1-4 



1-2 



3 



1-8 



0-84 



1-39 



1-25 



2-9 



1-75 



0-82 



1-45 



1-3 



Wilson writes concerning this bird : — " It occupies the lower forest-zone from about 1100 to 



2500 feet, and is most plentiful among the tall Ohia trees It prefers decayed timber in 



which to search for its food, and invariably chooses a rotten or half-dead tree for its hunting- 

 ground, no doubt on account of its slender bill, which requires soft material to work upon. 

 It is also very partial to the great tree-ferns which in the forests of Hawaii reach a height 

 of more than 30 feet, and, as the sombre colour of its plumage is very nearly that of their 

 foliage, it is most difficult to observe, and is at the same time more quiet and unobtrusive in 

 its habits than any other member of the genus ; in fact, had it not been for its clear and 

 characteristic call-note, I doubt whether I should have noticed it at all. It must — at least 

 in the several localities I visited and at the time of year I saw them — be considered a scarce 

 bird ; and whilst I was at Olaa, in the district of Puna, an old native, llawelu, an excellent 

 observer and well skilled in the almost forgotten art of bird-catching, told me that it was 

 extremely rare. During a long stay in the higher forest-region in Kona I did not notice it, 

 and believe, as I remarked above, that it is confined to the lower forest-zone.' 



