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Show 620 THE MARQUIS OF TWEEDDALE ON [MAY 21, 32. MYZANTHE PYGMCEA (121). [P. Princesa, 3, January 7, 1877 : iris dark brown ; bill and legs black.] 33. NECTAROPHILA SPERATA (122). [P. Princesa, 3, January 1878. $, December 29, 1878: iris warm brown.] Two males, not adult; the violet throat and plastron bounded on both sides with a white border, the scarlet breast mixed with white, the crown dingy dull brown. 34. CYRTOSTOMUS AURORA, n.sp. Notwithstanding that Captain Shelley, in his beautiful work on the Sun-birds, includes the large group of Asiatic and Australian Nectariniidse, of which C. jugularis and C. asiaticus may be taken as types, along with a number of other species, under Cuvier's genus Cinnyris, I still adhere to the view expressed by me (Ibis, 18/0, p. 19) that these Sun-birds form a natural, distinctive, and separate section of the family. For it I adopted Dr. Cabanis's generic title Arachnechthra ; but as the type of that genus is C. lotenia, L., which may be considered generically separable (although not so in my opinion), and as Dr. Cabanis established his genus Cyrtostomus (type C. jugularis, L.) before that of Arachnechthra, according to strict rule, the generic title of Cyrtostomus should be employed ; and I observe that this is the view of Count Salvadori. There are now twelve species of this group described-namely, C. asiaticus, C. lotenia, C. osea, C. brevirostris, C. fiammaxillaris, C. andamanicus, C. rhizophoree, C. pectoralis, C. frenatus, C.juyularis, C. zenobia, and C. Solaris. To this list Mr. Everett's researches in Palawan enable me to add a thirteenth. Male. Above uniform dark olive-green. Forehead, chin, throat, cheeks, and upper breast metallic steel-blue with shades of green and violet in certain lights. Lower breast fiery orange-red. Remainder of lower surface, under tail-coverts, and wing-lining bright yellow. Quills brown, faintly edged with olive-green. Rectrices black; terminal half of outer pair white, a broad white terminal patch on the penultimate pair ; apices of third pair fringed with white, of fourth pair still less so. Female. Above and ear-coverts olive-green, slightly lighter in shade than that of male. Superciliaries, cheeks, and all the under surface and the wing-lining bright yellow. Wing-feathers brown, margined with olive-green. Rectrices as in male. Dimensions:- Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Culmen. in. in. in. in. 3 2-25 1*62 0*62 1*00 2 2*00 1*62 0*60 0*87 [P. Princesa, 3, November 30, 1877 : iris deep crimson ; bill and legs black. 2 > Jannary : iris dark brown ; bill and legs black.] |