AVIFAUNA OF LAYS AN, ETC. 



197 



42. LOXIOIDES BAILLEUI, Oust. 



PALILA. 



Loxioides bailleui, Oust. Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, ser. 7, i. p. 100 (1877) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. x. p. 49 (1885) ; 

 Scl. Ibis, 1879, pp. 90, 92, pi. ii. (erroneously spelt " bailleni ") ; Wilson & Evans, Aves Hawaiienses, 

 pt. i. text & figure (1890) ; Gadow, op. cit. pt. ii. p. 5, pi. i. figs. 11-16 (1891). 



u Ou-po-papale, Psittacirostra psittacea" (partim), Perkins (non Gm.), Ibis, 1893, p. 103. (There is, in my 

 opinion^ no doubt that Mr. Perkins had mixed up the names of Psittacirostra and Loxioides, as the 

 description of the habits of his supposed Psittacirostra — the highland distribution, its principal food 

 the mamane — leaves no doubt as to what bird he meant.) 



Adult male. Head, neck, throat, and breast gamboge-yellow ; lores and eyelids blackish. 

 Interscapular region, back, and rump ashy grey, much lighter on the rump ; upper 

 tail-coverts ashy grey, more or less tinged with greenish. Quills and tail-feathers 

 blackish, edged w r ith whitish on the inner and with olive-yellow on the outer webs. 

 Wing-coverts olive-yellow, blackish at base ; primary -coverts blackish, with olive-yellow 

 outer edges. Abdomen and under tail-coverts ashy white. Under wing-coverts white, 

 with a yellow tinge. " Iris dark brown. Bill brown. Feet blackish brown, soles flesh- 

 colour with yellow tinge." Total length in the flesh measured as about 7£ inches by 

 Palmer, but skins only 6 to 6-J inches in length. Wing 35 to 3-65, tail 2*6 to 27, 

 tarsus 9 to 95, culmen 5. 



Adult female. Similar to the male, but the yellow of the head washed with dark brown, the 

 yellow below not so bright and not reaching so far down over the breast. The wing 

 3*4 to 3*5 inches. 



Sab. Higher elevations on Hawaii. 



The " Palila," as Palmer heard this bird called, was discovered by Monsieur Bailleu in the 

 Kona district of Hawaii. I have seen the type in the Paris Museum. It is not figured 

 in this work, as fairly good figures of it are given in 'The Ibis,' 1879, and in Scott 

 Wilson's book. 



Oustalet believed this bird to be a Pinch, but Sclater in his paper (Ibis, I. c.) expressed 

 the opinion that it was related to Hemignathus, and belonged, like this latter and its allies, 

 to the Dica?ida>, or rather Drepanidcc. Sclater also pointed out the difference between the 

 bills of Loxioides and Psittirostra, although he believed these two genera closely allied. 



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