OCR Text |
Show 1873.] DR. O. FINSCH ON LAMPROLIA VICTORLE. 733 2. On Lamprolia victories, a most remarkable new Passerine Bird from the Feejee Islands. By OTTO FINSCH, Ph.D., C.M.Z.S., Curator to the Bremen Museum. [Received September 25, 1873.] (Plate LXII.) For the pleasure of introducing this curious and interesting little bird to science I am indebted to Mr. T. Klinesmith, of Levuka, Ovalou, Feejee Islauds, who forwarded to m e a pair, along with the beautiful and most extraordinary Chryscena victor*, Gould, through the kindness of Mr. Michelsen, of Hamburg. At first sight the bird immediately proves to be new-not only as a species but also as a type of new genus, which I propose to call LAMPROLIAt, nov. gen. Diagn. gen. Bill and feet as in Saxicola, but the nostrils covered partly by the frontal feathers; wings long and rounded, with very short projecting point of primaries, as in Thamnobia; tail short, rounded ; mode of coloration Paradiseine. Bill (fig. 1) moderate, straight, slender, at base broader than high ; culmen subcarinated, slightly curved, and the sides gradually compressed to the tip, which is slightly emarginated ; the gape furnished with a few short bristles. Nostrils basal, lateral; the opening oblong, without membrane, and partly covered by the brush-like erectile frontal feathers. Wings (fig. 3) long, rounded, reaching beyond the middle of the tail; first primary moderately short, a little longer than half of the * I beg leave to remark that Dr. Graffe (as already stated, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 643) was the first w ho mentioned the existence of this conspicuously coloured Dove, saying (Journ. fur Ornith. 1870, p. 418): "In Lanthalu, einer Insel nahe bei Taviuni, kommt eine hochst eigenthumliche Chryscena-Art mit gang mennige-rothem Gefieder vor, von welcher ich ein Exemplar, in einem Kafig gehalten, in Levuka sah, aber leider nicht erhalten konnte, da es der Liebhng einer englischen D a m e war." Dr. Graffe's "Lanthalu" seems to be synonymous with the small island east of Oamea named "Laucala" on Stieler's 'Hand- Atlas' (No. 51), and very close to the isle of Vuna, or Taviuni, from which m y specimens were obtained. These were labelled, in the collector's handwriting, " W a u p Doves; top of mountains, Taviuni: feed on berries." As regards the generic position of this singular Dove I m a y add that it is undoubtedly a member of the genus Chrysxna, which, as we (Finsch & Hartl. Ornith. Central-Polyn. p. 134, note) have already shown, is distinguishable from Ptilinopus, not merely by the peculiar and unique structure of the feathers in Chr. luteovirens, but chiefly in having no shortened and narrowly pointed first quill, which is so characteristic of the genus Ptilinopus. Chr. victor, as well as the Chr. luteovirens, has the first primary long, without emargination, and equal to the seventh, a short tail which is covered by the elongated tail-coverts ; and the tarsi are not feathered to the toes as in Ptilinopus, but only at its base. Although Chr. victor does show the extraordinary structure of feathers seen in Chr. luteovirens, its plumage exhibits also a singular structure in respect of the length and laxity of the radii, which resemble mostly those in the genus Coryllis (Loriculus). t From XajU7rp6?, splendidus, and \e7os, Icevis. |