AVIFAUNA OF LAYSAtf, ETC. 



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GENUS OREOMYZA. 



Under mandible straight or at least not perceptibly curved. Nostrils covered with an upper 

 operculum ; nasal fossae quite hare or only very slightly concealed by a few tiny feathers 

 at base. Tarsus covered in front with four, live, or six distinct scales and laterally also 

 with scales. 



The tip of the wing is formed by the third, fourth, and fifth, or by the fourth, fifth, and 

 sixth primaries ; the second primary is more or less shorter than the sixth, but always so 

 and mostly very much ; first entirely rudimentary. 



Plumage rich and soft, red or greenish ; females and young birds mostly much duller 

 in colour. 



Their food consists of insects, and they are arboreal in their habits. 



This genus is only known from the Sandwich Islands, where nearly every island has a 

 different representative form, while two entirely different ones are known from Kauai. The 

 type of the genus is Oreomyza bairdi, Stejn. 



The genus Oreomyza is most nearly allied to IBmatione, from which its members can 

 always be distinguished by the straight bill, which is perceptibly curved in Simatione. 

 Moreover, the wing-formula is more or less perceptibly different from Simatione, and 

 they have different habits. Palmer observed them most frequently on the branches and 

 trunks of trees, while the Simationes were more often seen amongst the foliage. 



The short-billed species, O. bairdi and O. mana, may be regarded as the most typical 

 members of the genus Oreomyza, while 0. maculata tends somewhat to Viridonia with its 

 great bill, and 0. parva comes nearest to Simatione. 



The genera Simatione and Oreomyza are very easy to define, and it is most convenient 

 to separate them. 



