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Alfred Russel Wallace : Alfred Wallace : A. R. Wallace :
Russel Wallace : Alfred Russell Wallace (sic)

 
 
Descriptions of New Birds From the Malay Archipelago
(S112: 1865)

 
Editor Charles H. Smith's Note: A paper read at the Zoological Society of London meeting of 13 June 1865, and later printed in their Proceedings series for 1865. Original pagination indicated within double brackets. To link directly to this page, connect with: http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/S112.htm


(Plates XXVIII., XXIX.)

    [[p. 474]] I have here given the characters of twenty-one species of birds which appear to be new, and which, together with those already described by Mr. G. R. Gray and myself in the 'Proceedings' of this Society, and also a few described by Mr. Gould and Dr. Sclater, make up the number of 212 new species collected by me in the islands of the Malay archipelago. Of those now described, eight are from Celebes, and the rest from Sumatra, Borneo, the Moluccas, and the New Guinea group.

    ACCIPITER ÆQUATORIALIS.

    Supra cinereo-plumbeus, subtus cum torque humerali rufo-castaneus; capitis lateribus cinereis, gula pallide rufo-cinerea, cauda alisque immaculatis.

    Above slaty ash-colour; beneath light chocolate-brown, which extends in a broad collar between the shoulders; sides of the head ash-colour; throat light ashy, tinged with rufous; wing and tail uniform light ash-colour beneath; under wing- and tail-coverts scarcely paler than the belly; bill and claws black; cere, eyelids, and legs orange-yellow; iris golden orange-yellow.

    ♂. Total length 14 1/2 inches; wing 7 3/4; tail 6; tarsus 2; bill, to gape, 11/12.
    ♀. Total length 16 1/2 inches; wing 9; tail 7 1/2; tarsus 2 5/8; bill, to gape, 1 2/12.
    Hab. Batchian, Gilolo, Morty Islands, Waigiou, and Salwatty.
    Remarks.--This species was pointed out to me by Mr. Gurney as being near A. rufitorques, Peale, which inhabits the Feejee Islands. It differs from that species in its rather larger size, different proportions, and coloration. It is also near A. griseogularis, G. R. G., which inhabits the same district; but differs from that species by its much smaller size, and in the entire absence of bands on the body, wings, or tail in the adult birds. Both these seem to be included


[[unnumbered page]]


[[unnumbered page]]

[[p. 475]] by Prof. Schlegel, in the 'Muséum des Pays-Bas' (Astures, p. 41), as forms of A. cruentus, Gould, which is confined to Australia and the adjacent island of Timor.

    ACCIPITER MUELLERI.

    Supra fusco-plumbeus, subtus rufo-cinnamomeus, capite plumbeo, gula albo-rufescente, cauda tenuiter fasciata.

    Very like Accipiter hiogaster, Müller, but much larger, the throat less distinctly rufous, the under parts faintly white-banded, and the tail with about ten narrow bands; bill black; cere and feet bright yellow. The comparative dimensions of the two species will best show the difference between them.

Total length.

inches.
Wing.

inches.
Tail.

in.
Bill to point.

inch.
Height of upper mandible.

inch.
Tarsus.

inches.
Middle toe.

inch.
A. hiogaster, ♀ . .15 1/286 1/21 1/1012/202 1/101 3/10
A. mülleri, ♀ . .18 1/29 1/291 1/613/202 1/21 4/10

    Hab. Gilolo.

    GERYGONE NEGLECTA.

    Viridi-olivacea, subtus alba flavo tincta; remigibus rectricibusque fuscis flavo-viridi marginatis, rostro pedibusque pallidis.

    Above rich greenish olive; beneath white, tinged with yellow, deepest on the belly; under wing-coverts white; quills and wing-coverts dusky, margined with olive-yellow; tail dusky, the feathers more obscurely margined; bill dusky; lower mandible very pale; feet pale.

    Total length 4 1/3 inches; wing 2 1/8; bill, to gape, 1/2.
    Hab. Waigiou; Mysol.
    Remarks.--This species is most like G. chloronota, Gould. It is rather abundant in the island of Waigiou, frequenting thickets and bushes, catching insects on the wing, or picking them from the bark, and may often be heard snapping its bill like the larger true Flycatchers.

    GERYGONE PALPEBROSA.

    Supra olivaceo-viridis, subtus flava; gula alba, loris et tectricibus aurium albo-cinereis, palpebris nigris; remigibus rectricibusque fuscis flavo-viridi marginatis.

    Above olivaceous green; beneath bright yellow; throat white; lores and ear-coverts ashy white; eyelids black; under wing-coverts light yellow; quills and tail-feathers dusky, margined with olive-yellow; bill black; feet lead-colour; iris reddish brown.

    Total length 4 inches; wing 2; bill, to gape, 1/2.
    Hab. Aru Islands.

    [[p. 476]] MUSCICAPA HELIANTHEA.

    Olivaceo-flava, corpore subtus, cum fascia uropygiali, loris et palpebris, flavo; tectricibus alarum, remigibus rectricibusque fuscis olivaceo-flavo marginatis.

    Above olive-yellow; beneath bright yellow; band across the rump, eyelids, and space before the eye yellow; wing and tail dusky, with the feathers yellow-margined; bill black above, beneath and feet dusky orange; claws pale; iris dark.

    Total length 4 3/4 inches; wing 2 3/10; tail 2; bill, to gape, 1/2.
    Hab. Menado (Celebes).

    CYORNIS RUFIGULA.

    Cinereo-plumbea, gula et pectore rufis, abdomine et tectricibus caudæ inferioribus albis, genis plumbeo-nigris, lateribus cinereis, remigibus rectricibusque fuscis cinereo-marginatis.

    Dark ashy blue; throat and breast bright rufous, becoming pale on the belly and pure white on the under tail-coverts; front of the eye and ear-coverts blackish; under wing-coverts rufescent white; quills and tail-feathers dusky, ashy-margined; iris dark; bill black; feet nearly white.

    Total length 5 inches; wing 2 1/2; tail 2; bill, to gape, 6/10.
    Hab. Menado (Celebes).

    CYORNIS RUFIFRONS.

    Obscure cyanea; uropygio tectricibusque caudæ superioribus cæruleis; fronte, loris, linea superciliari et corpore subtus, rufis; mento genisque cyaneo-nigris; tectricibus caudæ inferioribus albis rufo tinctis; alis caudaque fusco-nigris, remigibus rectricibusque cæruleo marginatis.

    Above dusky blue; bright blue on the rump and edges of the tail-feathers; forehead, a line above and below the eye, and the under surface bright rufous; under tail-coverts whitish; chin and cheeks blue-black; wings dusky, the quills narrowly blue-edged; the lesser wing-coverts tipped with rufous spots; tail black, the feathers blue-margined; bill large and broad, black above, pale beneath; feet pale purplish.

    Total length 6 inches; wing 2 7/8; tail 2 3/8; tarsus 7/12.
    Hab. Borneo.

     RHIPIDURA LONGICAUDA.

    Fusca; capite, mento, fascia gulari, lateribus pectoris caudaque fusco-nigris; gula, pectore et superciliis albis; ventre ochraceo-albo; alis fusco-nigris, tectricibus alarum rufo terminatis; cauda longa, rectricum extimarum utrinque trium apicibus albis.

    Very near Rhipidura javanica, from which it differs in the longer tail, narrower white tips to only three outer tail-feathers, and the black chin; iris dark; bill and feet black.

    Total length 7 1/4 inches; wings 3 1/8; tail 4 (R. javanica, 3 1/2 inches).
    Hab. Sumatra.

    [[p. 477]] RHIPIDURA TORRIDA. (Pl. XXVIII.)

    Rufo-fusca, subtus alba; pectore nigro, parte inferiore albo squamata; fronte, superciliis, uropygio et caudæ dimidio basali intense rufis; rectricibus omnibus albo terminatis.

    Olive-brown; beneath white; vent and under tail-coverts rufous-tinged; in front of and beneath the eye, ear-coverts, lower part of the neck, and breast black; on the lower parts each feather is white-edged; forehead and a short stripe above the eye, lower part of the back, upper tail-coverts, and half the tail (less on the outer feathers) rust-red; lower eyelid white; all the tail-feathers, decreasing to the middle ones, white-tipped; bill dusky, very short, bristles from gape very long; feet dusky olive; iris dark.

    Total length 6 1/2 inches; wing 3; tail 3 1/3.
    Hab. Ternate, on the summit of the volcano, 4000 feet above the sea.
    Remarks.--Near R. semicollaris, Müll., from Banda, from which it differs in the shorter bill, as well as in the arrangement of the colours.

    RHIPIDURA CINEREA.

    Fusco-cinerea; alis caudaque fuscis; subtus alba, pectore cinereo albo maculato.

    Dusky ash-colour; head rather darker; wings dusky brown; tail rather darker; over the eye a nearly concealed white stripe; neck and throat white; breast and sides ash-colour, feathers on upper part of the breast with each a white oval spot; middle of the lower breast, belly, under tail- and wing-coverts white; bill black, large and strong; feet dusky.

    Total length 6 3/4 inches; wing 3 1/3; tail 3 1/3.
    Hab. Ceram.
    Remark.--Nearest to R. assimilis, G. R. Gray, from which it may be at once distinguished by its want of any terminal white spots on the tail-feathers.

    PRIONOCHILUS AUREOLIMBATUS. (Pl. XXIX. fig. 1.)

    Fulvo-olivaceus, alis caudaque nigris; fascia a fronte ad aures fusco-nigra; subtus albus, pectore grisescente, lateribus corporis tectricibusque caudæ inferioribus luteis.

    Fulvous olive; wings and tail black; a band over the eyes and ears dusky black; chin and throat white; breast greyish white; sides of the breast and body rich yellow, leaving a median stripe white; under tail-coverts yellow; iris light reddish brown; feet black; bill black in the male, with the base of the lower mandible plumbeous in the female.

    Total length 3 1/3 inches; wing 2; tail 1.
    Hab. North Celebes, in the mountains of Minahassa.
    Remarks.--About low bushes and shrubs, feeding on fruit.

    [[p. 478]] PACHYCEPHALA BRUNNEA.

    Supra rufo-brunnea, subtus brunneo-alba; gula alba, capite fusco-cinerea, remigibus fuscis brunneo marginatis, tectricibus alarum inferioribus albis.

    Above earthy brown; crown slaty ash-colour; space before the eye darker; throat white; rest of body beneath dirty brownish white; under wing-coverts and inner margins of secondaries and tertiaries pure white; quills dusky, brown-margined; bill black; feet pale brown.

    Total length 6 1/4 inches; wing 3 4/10; bill, from gape, 17/20.
    Hab. Banda Islands and Salwatty.
    Remark.--The Banda specimen is rather lighter-coloured on the sides of the head, and the brown of the back is a little brighter, but in other respects it exactly agrees with that from Salwatty.

    DICRURUS LEUCOPS.

    Irides albæ; D. pectorali paulo major.

    Exactly like D. pectoralis, Wall., in coloration, except the irides, which are milk-white. As every other species of the genus I have met with has eyes of a crimson-red colour, and as I found this species abundantly both at Macassar in the south and at Menado in the north of Celebes, and in every individual having the eyes milky white, I think it right to separate it under a distinct name. It is, however, rather larger in all its dimensions than the allied form.

    Total length 12 1/4 inches; wing 6 1/4; tail 5 1/2; bill, from gape, 1/43.
    Hab. Celebes.

    PTILOTIS ROSTRATA.

    Ptilotis megarhynchus, G. R. Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1859, p. 155.

    Fusco-rufa, subtus cinereo-olivacea; gula pallidiore, ventre rufescente, tectricibus alarum inferioribus marginibusque rectricum pallide rufis; mandibulæ superioris apice forte serrato.

    Dark brown; crown dusky; beneath ashy olive; belly rufescent; under wing-coverts and inner margins of the quills light rufous; bill black, long, and strongly serrated at the end of the upper mandible; iris salmon-red; feet pale lead-colour.

    Total length 9 1/4 inches; wing 3 3/4; bill, from gape, 1 2/3.
    Hab. New Guinea, Waigiou, and Mysol.
    Remark.--This differs from P. megarhynchus, G. R. Gray, from Aru, in the want of the yellow ring round the eye and the markings of the under surface, as well as in the remarkably serrated bill.

    NECTARINIA FLAVO-STRIATA. (Pl. XXIX. fig. 2.)

    Fronte et vertice cæruleo-metallicis; occipite, collo et dorso rubris, uropygio flavo, tectricibus superioribus et rectricibus mediis cæruleo-metallicis, rectricibus lateralibus nigris cæruleo marginatis; alis fuscis, remigum et tectricum marginibus luride rubris, gula (utrinque cæruleo vittata) et pectore coccineis flavo [[p. 479]] striatis; partibus inferioribus fusco-olivaceis, tectricibus alarum inferioribus albis.

    Very near N. siparaja, Raffl., from which it differs by the yellow-striped throat, the red-margined quills, the blue instead of violet tail-coverts, the darker under parts, and the shorter tail. The whole bird is also larger. Bill olive, reddish below; feet dusky.

    Total length 4 3/4 inches; wing 2 1/10; tail 1 3/4; bill, to front, 7/10.
    Hab. Menado (Celebes).

    NECTARINIA PORPHYROLÆMA.

    Purpureo-nigra; pileo aureo-viridi; dorso infimo, uropygio et humeris æneo-cæruleis; jugulo violaceo, linea æneo-cærulea utrinque marginato.

    Purple-black; crown golden green; bend of the wing, lesser wing-coverts, lower part of the back, upper tail-coverts, and outer edges of the tail-feathers steel-blue; throat changeable violet-purple, with a line from the gape on each side steel-blue.

    Total length 4 1/2 inches; wing 2 3/10; tail l 1/2; bill, from gape, 8/10.
    Hab. Macassar.

    NECTARINIA GRAYI.

    Purpureo-nigra; pileo aureo-viridi; nucha, dorso supremo et pectore purpureo-ferrugineis; dorso infimo, tectricibus alarum et caudæ superioribus cæruleo-æneis; jugulo violaceo-amethystino linea æneo-cærulea utrinque marginato.

    Purple-black; crown golden green; nape, back, and breast rich purplish rust-colour; rump, upper tail- and wing-coverts, and margins of the tail-feathers steel-blue; throat violet-red, margined on each side by a line from the gape of steel-blue.

    Total length 4 1/3 inches; wing 2 1/8; tail 1 9/20; bill, from gape, 8/10.
    Hab. Menado.
    Remark.--Mr. G. R. Gray had proposed to name this richly coloured species after myself; but as he has left it hitherto undescribed, I have called it after him.

    MUNIA TRISTISSIMA.

    Fusco-brunnea; alis caudaque fusco-nigris; plumis medio singulis pallide striatis, tectricibus alarum superioribus tenuiter pallide marginatis, inferioribus remigumque marginibus ochraceo-albis.

    Dusky brown; wings and tail blackish; the feathers of the head and body with a fine median pale line; upper wing-coverts very narrowly tipped with whitish; under wing-coverts and margins of the quills buffy white; bill black; feet dusky.

    Total length 4 inches; wing 1 11/12; tail 1 1/2; bill, from front, 1/3.
    Hab. New Guinea (north-western extremity).
    Remark.--This is the first Finch that has been recorded from New Guinea, and its sombre plumage contrasts strongly with the many [[p. 480]] brilliant birds which inhabit the same great island, whose surface, clothed with perpetual forests, seems ill-adapted to this grass-loving group of birds.

    TURNIX RUFILATUS.

    Supra olivaceo-rufescens, tenuiter nigro undulato-fasciatus; plumis capitis et in medio dorsi nigro maculatis; fronte nigra, linea superciliari, facie et gula nigro et albo punctulatis; pectore et
lateribus nigro et albo fasciatis; abdominis medio albescente ejusque lateribus et tectricibus caudæ inferioribus rufis, tectricibus alarum albo et nigro fasciatis et maculatis.

    Above olive-brown, the feathers very finely undulated with black; forehead black; feathers of the head towards the sides black-spotted, and towards the middle of the back a few largish round black spots; a line over each eye to the nape of black-and-white-spotted feathers; the throat and breast ashy, banded regularly with black and white; the middle of the belly whitish; the flanks and under tail-coverts light rufous; the outer margin of the first primary is white, and the wing-coverts and tertiaries have a roundish black spot and one or two white and black bands towards the end of each feather; bill and feet are pale greenish yellow; claws pale.

    Total length 6 inches; wing 3 1/2; bill, from gape, 8/10; tarsus 1; middle toe and claw 1.
    Remark.--The bill varies much in thickness, in old birds being 3/10 inch high. It resembles most T. fasciatus, Temm., which has a black head and darker belly.
    Hab. Macassar (Celebes).

    PORZANA MOLUCCANA.

    Supra olivacea; uropygio, alis caudaque olivaceo-brunneis; subtus cinerea, gula pallidiore; femoribus, crisso et tectricibus caudæ inferioribus pallide cinnamomeis.

    Dusky olive, shading into olive-brown on the wings, rump, and tail; beneath ashy; throat whitish; thighs, vent, and under tail-coverts light cinnamon-brown; bill greenish, tinged with reddish at the base of the culmen; feet olive, tinged with yellow or purplish; iris brown.

    Total length 11 1/2 inches; wing 5 5/8; bill, to front, 1 4/10; tarsus 2 1/10; middle toe and claw 2 1/2.
    Hab. Amboyna; Ternate.

    PORZANA RUFIGENIS.

    Supra olivaceo-fusca, subtus rufescens; fronte genisque rufis, gula alba, abdomine medio albescente, crisso lateribusque fuscis albo-fasciatis, tectricibus alarum exterioribus tenuiter, inferioribus late albo-fasciatis, remigibus fuscis, prima externe albo marginata, cauda fusca immaculata.

    Above dark olive-brown, with a bronzy tinge; beneath palish [[p. 481]] rufescent; forehead, cheeks to above the eye, and sides of the neck rufous; middle of the belly whitish; vent, flanks, and under tail-coverts dusky, with rather broad white bands; wings dusky olive, the first quill white-edged, the upper coverts narrowly banded with whitish, the under coverts with more white; tail entirely dusky; bill greenish, pale beneath; legs reddish; iris yellowish brown.

    Total length 9 inches; wing 5; bill, to front, 1; tarsus 1 1/2; middle toe and claw 1 5/6.
    Hab. Sarawak (Borneo).
    Remark.--This species seems near P. fasciata, Raffles, and P. rubiginosa, Temm., but differs considerably from both in coloration.


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