ARSES INSULARIS. 
Orange-collared Flycatcher. 
Monarcha insularis, Meyer, Sitzangsb. k, Akad. Wien, lxix. p. 395. 
Arses insularis, Sclater, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 579. — Sharpe, Notes from Leyden Mus. i. no. 5, p. 20. 
This beautiful species of Arses was discovered by Dr. Meyer in the island of Jobi, in the Bay of Geelvink, 
North-west New Guinea, and would appear to be by no means uncommon in that locality, as he col- 
lected a considerable number of specimens. It was also met with by the Italian traveller Beccari in the 
same island. More recently it has been obtained during the voyage of H.M.S. ‘ Challenger,’ at Humboldt 
Bay in New Guinea, where the ship touched for half an hour on the 23rd of February, 1875. Mr. 
Bowdler Sharpe, in the first volume of ‘ Notes from the Leyden Museum,’ has described two new 
species of Arses, and has given a list of the species now known to belong to this genus. They are : — 
A. telescophthalmus (Garnot), from New Guinea and Mysol; A. batantee (Sharpe), from the islands of 
Waigiou and Batanta ; A. aruensis (Sharpe), from the Aru Islands and South-eastern New Guinea : A. 
kaupi (Gould), from North-eastern Australia ; and A. insularis (Meyer), from North-eastern Australia. 
All these species, which are known to me personally, seem to be well founded ; but perhaps the handsomest 
of all is the subject of the present article, the male of which may be distinguished from all the other 
species of the genus Arses by the orange collar round the hind neck and the light orange or Naples- 
yellow colour of the lower throat and breast. The female is more closely allied to those of the other 
kinds of Arses, but has the back of an olive-brown, which contrasts strongly with the orange collar round 
the hind neck. It has a grey head like the females of A. telescophthalmus and A. batantee, and also a white 
loral spot. These last characters distinguish it from the hen of A. aruensis , which has a black head and an 
orange loral spot. 
The following descriptions of A. insularis are taken from Mr. Sharpe’s ‘ Catalogue of Birds — 
“ Adult male. General colour above glossy blue-black, the feathers of the crown of a velvety and some- 
what scaly nature ; feathers of lower mantle tipped with white where they adjoin the scapulars, which, as 
well as the lower back, are also white with black bases; rump ashy grey, some of the feathers white at the 
ends ; upper tail-coverts and tail jet-black ; wings entirely black ; lores, feathers, round the eye, ear-coverts, 
and chin black; cheeks, throat, breast, and sides of neck pale orange, extending in a collar round the hind 
neck ; rest of under surface, as well as the under wing-coverts and axillaries, pure white ; small coverts along 
the edge of the wing black ; thighs black. Total length 64 inches, culmen 065, wing 3’25, tail 2'75, 
tarsus 07.” 
The following note of the soft parts is from the ‘ Proceedings ’ as above cited : — “ Eyes large ; ring 
surrounding the eye large, and of a sky-blue ; bill and legs of a darker blue or violet.” 
The figures in the accompanying Plate represent the two sexes, kindly lent to me by Dr. Meyer, of the 
size of life. 
