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Show 774 DR. O. FINSCH ON A COLLECTION OF [Nov. 20, has narrow rusty borders on the feathers of the vertex, also on those of the back ; but these are more obsolete ; the middle wing-coverts are white, tinged with pale rusty and with a black median streak. This is seen only on the right wing; on the left the white patch is nearly fully developed. The second specimen is an interesting albino variety. All the parts which in the adult male are black are in this specimen pale tawny; the middle tail-feathers are brown, the rest of them pure white; bill and feet horn-colour. 9. APLONIS TABUENSIS (Gm.). A. marginata, Gould ; Cass. Expl. Exp. pl. 30. f. 1. Lamprotornis fusca, Peale (part). A. cassini, Gray (part). Native name Megi (Hiibner). Two specimens, male and female (exactly alike), from Eua. Mr. Hiibner found this species breeding in the hole of a tree. According to him it occurs also on the Hapai group. In our 'Ornithology of Central Polynesia' (p. 103), and later (Journ. f. Ornith. 1870, p. 131), we have followed Peale in stating the Aplonis from the Tonga and Viti group to belong to one and the same species, i. e. A. tabuensis (Gm.). A close examination convinces me, however, that they are not identical, but of two distinct species. The true A. tabuensis, which seems to be confined to the Tonga group (Eua, Tongatabu), is generally darker ; and the underparts are dirty brownish-grey, with obsolete whitish stripes, which are caused by the light-coloured shafts on the breast and vent. The dimensions do not give distinctive characters, although the Viti birds generally seem to be smaller. Al. Caud. in. lin. in. Un. in. lin. in. lin. 4 0 4 2 2 1 2 3 tabuensis. 3 8 4 0 2 1 2 3 vitiensis. The Viti bird is generally lighter; the shafts of the feathers on the back and shoulders are whitish, and form very narrow strise; the under surface is light brownish, streaked longitudinally with whitish, each feather being, along the shaft, broadly whitish, so that the white shaft itself remains inconspicuous, and does not form the narrow striation as in A. tabuensis. The Viti bird, which must for the future be called Aplonis vitiensis, Layard1, seems to be widely distributed on the Viti group: Ovalau (Graffe), Vatu Lele (Kleinschmidt), Kandavu, Suva, Loma-loma, Taviuni (Layard). Whether the Aplonis collected by Dr. Graffe on the small island Ilea, Wallis group, belongs to this species or to A. tabuensis, I cannot say, not having seen specimens from that locality. 1 Layard, P. Z. S. 1876, p. 502, = A. tabuensis, F. & Hartl. Ornith. Central- Polyn. p. 103, tab. x. f. 2, et Layard, P. Z. S. 1875, p. 435. |