ORTHONYX NO ViE G U I N E M, Meyer. 
Papuan Orth onyx. 
Orthonyx spinicauda, Schlegel, Nederl. Tijdschr. voor de. Dierk. iv. p. 47 (187.4). 
Orthonyx nova guinea ?, Meyer, Sitz. Akad. Wien, lxix. p. 83 (1874). — Beccari, Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov, vii. p. 7 
(1875). — Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov, vii. p. 935 (1875).— Sclater, Ibis, 1876, p. 247. 
The genus Orthonyx now contains three species, all of which have been figured by me, viz. : — 0. spinicauda 
(or, as Count Salvador - ! has proved to us that it should be called, 0. temmincM ) ; 0. spaldingi , of Ramsay ; 
and, lastly, the Nevv-Guinea representative 0. norce guinea, of Meyer. The first notice of the occurrence of 
this truly Australasian genus was given by Professor Schlegel, who recorded in 1873 the fact that the Dutch 
traveller Baron von Rosenberg had met with an adult male specimen of an Orthonyx in North-western New 
Guinea. Prof. Schlegel adds : — “ 1 do not find any sensible differences between it and Australian individuals. 
It is true that its tail is six lines less than usual in the latter bird ; but I refuse to attribute this difference to 
any other cause than an imperfect moult.” In the mean time Dr. Meyer also visited the same part of New 
Guinea, and procured the female ; and on comparing it with 0. spinicauda he found that it differed suffi- 
ciently to show that it belonged to a distinct species. In this conclusion he has been followed by Count 
Salvadori, who has had six'specimens, three males and three females, to examine from the collections formed 
by Dr. Beccari and Mr. Bruijn in the Arfak Mountains. I must also admit that the species seems to me to 
be. perfectly recognizable. Dr. Meyer writes: — “The reddish brown on the chin and throat is much more 
restricted than in 0. spinicauda ; and the remarkable black colour on the sides of this reddish brown is 
altogether wanting ; the sides of the body, breast, and belly entirely grey, with only a few white feathers on 
the latter. Further, the brown of the upper parts is as rich as in 0. spinicauda, and the black colour more 
strongly developed. The white spots on the wing are remarkable by their absence.” 
Count Salvadori also gives a full account of the difference of the sexes, and of the specific difference 
between the present species and the Australian bird. Any one comparing the Plate now given with the 
one in my e Birds of Australia ’ will see the distinctive characters of the two birds at a glance. 
To Dr. Meyer and Count Salvadori I am indebted for the loan of the birds figured in the Plate, which 
are represented of the natural size. 
When this paper had so far gone through the press, I received the following few lines from my friend Dr. 
Meyer, which I have great pleasure in inserting : — “ I only got one female of this new species from the 
Arfak Mountains, acquired in July 1873, at a height of about 3500 feet. In its general habitus it equals 
0. spinicauda from Australia, but differs in coloration and size. 
“Total length 17*2 millims. ; wing 84; tail 07; bill 13.” 
