AVIFAUNA OF LATSAN, ETC. 



193 



41. PSITTIROSTRA OLIVACEA, Rothsch. 



THE HONOLULU OU. 



Psittina olivacea, Licit. Nomencl. p. 48 (1854) (nomen nudum I, « Sandwich Inseln " !). (It is only because 

 the specimens in the Berlin Museum are still in existence and are marked as the types of P. olivacea, 

 and they arc from Oahu, that we know that this name refers to the Oahu-form of Ptittirostra.) 



Psittirostra prittacea, Pelz. J. f. O. 1872, p. 30, partim (mentioned the differences between a specimen 

 from Oahu and Latham's type) ; id. Ibis, 1873, p. 21 (ditto). 



Vox Pelzelk has noticed, in the 'Journal fur Ornithologie,' 1872, p. 30, that a male from 

 Oahu (collected by Deppe), differed from Latham's type in the Vienna Museum in having the 

 middle of the breast and belly, the feather, of the tibia, and the under tail-coverts whitish. 

 Now ] have compared a series of Psittvrostra from Oahu (collected by Behn), kindly lent me 

 by the director of the Museum at Kiel, Hcrr Professor Dr. K. Brandt, and Mr. Ilartert has 

 studied (he specimens in the Berlin Museum from Oahu, and it became obvious to us that 

 all the adult males had the breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts huffy whitish, the breast 

 washed with olive, the sides of the body olive-green. Such a coloration of the underpays 

 is found only in immature birds of Psilt. psittacea, while adult males of the latter with bright 

 yellow heads have the underparts olive-green, merging into whitish only in the middle of the 

 lower abdomen, and the breast mostly with a strong ashy wash. The ffgurc in Wilson's book 

 represents them very well. Besides this the- wing of the Oahu form is shorter and the 

 uppersidc has a more olive tint, but immature birds and females arc very much like those 

 of P. psittacea, except being more brownish olive above. 



Now under these circumstances it is pretty clear that the form of Oahu belongs to a 

 distinct species, or perhaps one should say subspecies, as there are specimens which in 

 certain characters make a step to approach the Oahu form. Thus one bird, a male, from 

 Molokai has more of a whitish shade on its abdomen, but the dirty yellow of the head' shows 

 it to lie somewhat immature, and its wing is longer than those of the Oahu birds. It being 

 separated on another island, and perfectly intergrading adult birds not being known to me, 

 I keep it here as a species. 



Lichtenstein's name is published without any description and without an exact locality, 

 and such "nominanuda" cannot be accepted, of course, if the forms to which they refer 

 arc not described. However, I use Lichtenstein's name, not wishing to encumber the 

 synonymy by rejecting it, reluctant as I am to do so, because my name will have to stand 

 as its author, as here it is first distinguished under that name. 



