ii'rt's-.'

'J'.;-' ,■;'■■

NOVITAa^ES ZOOLOGICAE.

Vol. XXXVII, 1931-32.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE

H journal of Zooloo^

IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRING MUSEUM.

EDITED BY

LORD ROTHSCHILD, F.R.S., Ph.D,

Dr. ERNST HARTERT, and Dr. K. JORDAN, F.R.S.

Vol. XXXVII, 1931-32

(WITH FOUR PLATES.)

Issued at tiik Zoological Museum, Tki.no.

PRINTED BY HAZBLL, WATSON k. VINBY, Ltd. LONDON AND AYLESBURV

1931-1932

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXVII (1931-32).

GENERAL SUBJECTS.

PAGES

AVES.

1. Types of Birds in the Tring Museum. Ernst Hartebt .... 35 — 52

2. The Birds of the Balearic Islands. Philip W. Munn .... 53—132

3. Birds of Kenya and Uganda, being Addenda and Corrigenda to my previous

paper in Novitates Zoologicae, XXIX, 1922 (Plates III and IV).

V. G. L. Van Someren 252—380

4. Revision of the Types of Birds described by Japanese authors during the

years 1923—1931. Nagamichi Kuroda 384 — 405

LEPIDOPTERA.

1. Spolia Mentawiensia. Louis B. Prout . . . . . . 1 — 17

2. New Geometridae from the Indo-Australian region. Louis B. Prout . 18 — 34

3. Three new Cuban Larentiinae (Fam. Geometridae). Louis B. Prout . 133 — 134

4. Description of the unknown ? of Paraphrygia rectangulata Kenrick and

a new species of Phryganopteryx (Lepid. Arctiidae). Lord

Rothschild . . . . . . . . 148

5. Notes on Syntomidae {Amatidae) with descriptions of new species. Lord

Rothschild .......... 149 — 158

6. New African and Indo-Australian Lymantriidae (Plate I). C. L.

Collenettb .......... 159 — 180

7. Revisional not«s on the genera Abisara and Saribia (Lep. Riodinidae), with

descriptions of new species and subspecies (Plat« II). N.D.Riley . 181 — 188

8. An attempt to determine the true dates of publication of Hewitson (W. C),

" lUustr. New Spec. Exot. Butterflies," 5 Vols. [1852—] (1856—) 1876.

Francis J. Griffin 189—206

9. Further descriptions of new species of Japanese, Formosan and Philippine

Heterocera. R. J. West 207—228

10. New Genera and Species of Sterrhinae (Fara. Geometridae). Louis B.

Prout 229—251

11. Parnassier der Kelley-Roosevelt Expedition, 1929. Felix Bryk . . 381 — 383

vi CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXVII (1931-32).

PAGES

SIPHONAPTERA.

1. Further records and descriptions of Fleas from Ecuador. K.\rl Jordan . 135 — 143

2. Three new Old World Fleas. Karl Jordan ..... 144 — 147

OBITUARY NOTICE : Arthxtr T. Goodson 406

INDEX 407—443

PLATES IN VOLUME XXXVIL

PLATES I-II. Lepidoptera (Lymantriidae and Riodinidae).

PLATES III-IV. Birds of Kenya and Uganda.

VII

ERRATA.

P. 3, line 26 from above read aurigenaria instead of aurigeneraria.

P. 135, line 17 from below read corfidii instead of cocyti.

P. 319, line 6 from above read Gymnoris instead of Oymnornis.

P. 345. line 14 from above read flaviventris instead of fiuviventris.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE,

H journal of Zooloo^

KDITED BY

LORD ROTHSCHILD, F.R.S., Ph.D.,

Dk. ERNST HARTERT, and De. K. JORDAN.

Vol. XXXVII.

No. 1.

Paoks 1-158.

Issued December 21st, 1931, at thb Zoological Museum, Trino.

FEINTED BY HAZELI,, WATSON & VINEY, Ltd., LONDON AND AYLESBURY.

1931.

Vol. XXXVII.

N0VITATE8 ZOOLOGICAE.

EDITED BY

LORD ROTHSCHILD. ERNST HARTERT. and KARL JORDAN.

CONTENTS OF NO.

1. SPOLIA MENTAWIENSIA

2. NEW GEOMETRIDAE FROM THE INDO-

AUSTRALIAN REGION

3. TYPES OF BIRDS IN THE TRING MUSEUM .

4. THE BIRDS OF THE BALEARIC ISLANDS .

5. THREE NEW CUBAN LARENTIINAE (FAMILY

GEOMETRIDAE)

6. FURTHER RECORDS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF

FLEAS FROM ECUADOR ....

7. THREE NEW OLD WORLD FLEAS

8. DESCRIPTION OF THE UNKNOWN $ OF PARA-

PHRYGIA RECTANGULATA KENRICK AND

A NEW SPECIES OF PHRYGANOPTERYX

(LEPID., ARCTIIDAE)

9. NOTES ON SYNTOMIDAE (AMATIDAE) WITH

DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES

Lord Rothschild

Lord Rothschild

148

149—158

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE

Vol. XXXVn. DECEMBER 1931. No. 1.

SPOLIA MENTAWIENSIA.

Geometridae (Lepidopteia).

By LOUIS B. PROUT.

rpHE working out of the Geometric! part of tlie valuable collections made by

■^ Dr. C. Boden Kloss and Mr. N. Smedley in 1924 on the Mentawi Islands has

been entrusted to me, and the following article embodies the result. The general

account of the islands, and of their zoogeographical relations with the rest of the

Andaman-Engano chain, as well as with the Malay Penmsula, Sumatra, Java

and Borneo, which has been given by Chasen and Kloss (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.

1927, pp, 797-807), should be consulted, and may give clues to a further differen-

tiation of races than I have yet ventured upon. Unfortunately, it is not yet

possible to say of the Geometridae, as the authors have said of the mammalian

faunas of the islands, that " we know them fairly well " {loc. cit., p. 799) ; on the

contrary, I have been constantly handicapped by the scantiness of the material

yet accessible, even in the case of large countries like Sumatra. It has, to be

sure, accumulated more rapidly of recent years, thanks largely to the energy of a

few workers attached to the local museums, but the time is not yet ripe for any

tabulations, or even broad generalisations, such as have been made in the case

of the mammalia, etc. I have, however, given in all cases a note as to the

hitherto ascertained range of the species, and where it seemed safe have named

new races.

The collection, consisting of 69 species, represents in any case a very note-

worthy advance in our knowledge. Previously, so far as I am aware, not a

single Geometrid had been recorded from the Mentawi Islands, nor had any

come under my observation. A few in the Tring Museum from the Batu Islands

have long been known to me, but as nothmg has been published regarding them

I have noticed them in the present report. Unfortunately many of the Mentawi

specimens are in more or less damaged condition and either single or in very

small numbers. These limitations are, of course, almost inseparable from pre-

liminary surveys over a wide field of zoology (in the present instance also of

botany and ethnograjihy), but they miUtate against secure conclusions in critical

cases. It is much to be hoped that at some not very distant date much larger

collections will be made of the Lepidoptera in particular, adding numbers of other

species to the fauna and rendering possible more exact comparisons with those

of the adjacent islands.

AU the tyi^es of the new forms here described are m the Tring Museum.

1

2 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

SuBFAM. OENOCHROMINAE.

1. Heteralex rectilineata (Guen.).

Cassyma rectilineata Guen., Spec. Gen. Lip. x. 18 (1858) (Borneo).

Siberut I., September 1924, 1 ?. Padang, W. Sumatra, November 1924, 1 $.

Knomi previou.sly from Nias, Sumatra, the Malay Peuiiisula, Borneo,

Banguey and Palawan. Not variable.

2. Eumelea ludovicata Guen.

^. Ewmdea ludovicata Guen., Spec. Gin. Lip. ix. 393 (ISoS) (C'eylou ; Central India).

9. Eumelea aureliata Guen., torn. cit. 394 (1858) (Ceylon).

This Eumelea, besides being the most widely distributed, extending from

Ceylon and India to Formosa, the Phihpijines and the Solomons, shows all kinds

of variation — geographical, sexual and individual — and the details of its variation

are only very gradually being elucidated. Some fifteen years ago the Rev.

C. R. N. Burrows and myself made a preliminary investigation which established

its general structural unity throughout its range, but it is not unlikely that a few

extraneous elements may stiU be foimd amongst its supposed aberrations. A ^J

structural character to which I think attention has not yet been called, and which

is serviceable in the determination of doubtful specimens without dissection for

the gemtaUa, is in the remarkable jjroportions of the terminal spurs of the hind-

tibia ; the imier sjJur is extremely short, apparently on the way to becoming

atrophied, whereas the outer is unusually lengthened, somewhat surpassing in

length the average proximal spurs. Only rubrifusa Warr. (1896), which is clearly

an offshoot from ludovicata, at all approaches it, among the known males, in these

proportions. In Seitz {Macrolep. xii. 31) the forms mhabiting Celebes and east-

ward were roughly arranged and named, but the somewhat heterogeneous re-

mainder from India, Malaysia, etc., were left united under Guenee's name. Ob-

servations and notes on these have since been accumulating, and it is hoped may

ultimately be utilised in a more detailed analysis ; but the material from many

localities is stUl inadequate in view of the considerable element of individual

inconstancy. As, however, the form from the Batu and Mentawi Islands seems

fairly constant and demands some notice in the present memoir, this has been

found a suitable opportmiity to difierentiate it from the two Indian races, and

them from one another.

a. E. I. ludovicata Guen.

This form, of which the (^ is weU figured by Oberthlir [Et . Lep. Gomp. xii.

f. 3302) and the ? by Guenee {Spec. Gen. Lep., Atlas, Phal. pi. 22, f. 6), is duller

than most, especially in the ^J, which is almost entirely without the rosy or

vinaceous shadings and has the yellow patches small and indefinite, the 1st

extracellular and often the basal and tornal obsolete (sometimes also the apical),

the hindwing generally with very little yellow. Subterminal band narrow, cut

by dark dashes on the veins, on the hindwing posteriorly scarcely shown except

by vein-spots. $ a little more orange-yellow than most of the forms, the puri)lish

markings more grey-mixed. Ceylon and Travancore.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. l'J31. 3

b. E. 1. biclarata subsp.n.

On an average smaller (^J, 51-54 mm. ; $, 55-60 mm.), i^ much brighter,

more rosy, with all the yellow jjatches more or less developed, the 2nd extra-

cellular and 2nd siibmedian (between M- and SM- outside the 2nd line) commonly

extra large and clear, in a measure reminiscent of biflavnta Warr. ; subterminal

band less narrow than m /. liidovicata, similarly cut by dark dashes. $ rather

more variegated than that of I. ludovicala, a clearer yellow generally indicating

the position of the patches of the (^ ; spots on an average more purple than in the

name-type. India (excei:)ting the south) and Burma, the type a (J from Sikkim

in Mus. Trmg.

b. E. 1. referta subsp.n.

cJ, 53-58 mm. Similar in coloration to E.l. biclarata, all the yellow patches

more or less well developed, variably in their relative proportions but with the

apical and tornal nearly always conspicuous, the latter as a rule extended forward

to R' ; 2nd line and subterminal band of forewing generally broadened, often also

the darkened costal shaduig as far as the 2nd blackish spot. Underside also with

the purple markmgs heavj'.

Batu Is. : PuUu TeUo (I. Z. Kannegieter, C.B.K. and N.S.), 4 (J^J. Mentawi

Is. : Sipora I. (H. H. Karny, C.B.K. and N.S.), 7 (J(^, mcluding the type.

3. Eumelea rosalia cacuminis subsp.n.

(J, 49-54 mm. In its size and general coloration comparable to E. r. aurige-

naria Warr. (Nov. Zool. vi. 15, Lombok, Java, etc.), the ground-colour, even in

the distal area, havmg a good deal of the yellow admixture and allowing the

pmple lines and band to attain to a fairly definite expression ; lines broader than

in r. aurigenaria, the 2nd less curved, more proximally placed than in most

aiirigeneraria ; further distinguished by the much clearer yellow apical spot of

the forewing.

$. Larger (the allotyfje 58 mm.), probably variable, but typically of a rather

bright orange appearance, the purple markings on the yellow areas large rather

than copious ; Imes or bands about as in the ^.

Mentawi : Siberut I., September 1924, 6 ,^^, 2 $$, including holotype and

allotjqDe, the second ? a giant (about 68 mm.), much torn, but apparently quite

typical ; Sipora I., October 1924, 1 ^J.

The race from Nias, included by Warren {loc. cit.) under auriye7uiria, resembles

r. cacuminis in its yellow apex, but will, I tlimk, prove separable on other details.

4. Eumelea smedleyi sp.n.

^, 52-56 mm. Very similar to the preceding. Hindtibia smooth (in all

forms of rosalia frmged with hair), hindtarsus only about IJ tibia (in rosalia IJ

to 1^). Further recognizable by the appreciably broader and more rounded

wings, particularly noticeable in respect of the apex of forewing and termen of

hindwing ; ground-colour showmg rather more of the yellow (intermediate

towards rosalia cacuminis $), cell-sj)ots, lines and subtermmal band more distinct,

the 2nd Une rather more distal and more curved, the band rather less broad ;

apical yellow mark on both wings less differentiated.

$, 56 mm. Closely similar to ^J.

Mentawi : Sipora I., October 1924 (C. Boden Kloss and N. Smedley), 3 ,j* J',

4 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

1 $. A rather large o taken at Padang, W. Sumatra, November 1924, seems to

agree exactly, but examples from the Bovenland and as far as Korintji apparently

differ at least racially.

E. semirosm Warr. (Nov. Zool. iv. 29) differs from rosalia (Stoll) in almost

exactly the same structural respects as does smedleyi, and it is not improbable

that the last-named, as well as marginata Prout (1920) and a number of unnamed

forms which are being gradually extricated from rosalia. may belong subspeci-

fically to semirosea ; cfr. Treuhia, vn. 429. On account of the relatively some-

what shorter hindtarsus of the (^ I have given to smedleyi the provisional status

of a species, but the distinction, even if constant, is perhaps too slight to confirm

it ; in any case the name will be required as racial.

5. Derambila lumenaria (Hb.-Geyer).

Arrhostia lumenaria Hb.-Geyer, Zutr. Exol. Schmett. iv. 35, f'. 757-8 (1832) (" N. America " [? Java]).

Batu Is. : PuUu Tello (H. H. Karny, C.B.K. and N.S.), 11 ^^,4 ??.

Widely distributed and very constant — Ceylon, India, Malay Peninsula,

Hainan, W. China, Philippines, Borneo, Banka, Sumatra, Nias, Java ; not

hitherto known from the Batu Islands.

6. Noreia ajaia (Walk.).

Timandra ajaia Walk., Jourii. Proc. Linn. Soc. Land. Zool. iii. 195 (1809) (Singapore).

Noreia perdensata Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxiv. 1092 (1862) (Ceylon).

Siberut I., 3 J<J, 9 9$.

The nomenclature adopted in " Seitz " (xii. 37) is inaccurate. Walker's

type $ of perdensata is, I am now convinced, conspecific with ajaia, the only ^

form yet known to me from Ceylon. The comparatively rare N. Indian species

with simj)le structure ("perdensata Walk.," Prout, loc. cit., err. del.) is thus left

without a name. N. ajaia is widely distributed from Ceylon to Hainan, the

Malay Penmsula, Borneo, Java to Timor, etc. I have seen one specimen from

Nias but have no record for Sumatra, where it must surely occur. It has not yet

been separated mto races, although I believe this may prove possible.

7. Noreia unilineata (Walk.).

Decetia unilineata Walk., LiU Lep. Ins. sxxv. 1557 (Sumatra).

Siberut I., 1 <?.

Only definitely known from Sumatra, Singapore and Borneo.

8. Noreia achloraria (Warr.).

Panulia achloraria Warr., Nov. Zool. i. 373 (1894) (Celebes).

Siberut I., 1 (J.

Apart from a good series from S. Celebes (the type locality), I know only a

few odd specimens from Sarawak, Singapore and Sumatra. As with ajaia, it is

awaiting adequate material for an elucidation of the geographical variation.

9. Alex palparia niasica Swinh.

Alex niasica Swinh., .-Inn. Mag. Xal. llisl. (S) .\ix. 41(1 (1917) (Nias).

Siberut I., 1 c?, 2 ??.

So far as can be judged from a single Nias $ and these three specimens, there

NoviTATES Zoological XXXVII. 1931. 5

is no occasion to erect a new race. The species has a moderately extensive range

— N. India, Hainan, Malaya, Palawan, Borneo, Java, Bali.

SuBFAM. HEMITHEINAE.

10. Dysphania subrepleta iiTepleta subsp.n.

cj, 68 mm. ; $, 6.5 mm. Closely similar to D. s. nias Prout (Nov. Zool. xxiii.

195, Nias I.). Smaller, of a very slightly deeper yellow (yet not quite reverting

to that of s. subrepleta Walk., etc.) ; forewing with the white spot just outside

the cell not definitely continued behind R' ; liindwing with some of the black

spots less heavy, at least in the apical region, where a yeUow spot remains in

front of SC- between the postmedian and terminal spots.

Siberut I., 1 (^, 1 $. A still smaller $ from Sipora I. is curiously short-

and broad-wmged — almost a malformation.

11. Dysphania transducta transducta (Walk.).

Euachema transducta Walk., Joiirn. Linn. Soc. Land. Zool. vi. 94 (1861) (Sarawak).

Sipora I., 7 9$.

This is perhaps a separable race. All the seven lack the central part of the

yellow subterrainal band of the hindwing, not only on the upperside (where it

appears in the frequent $-ab. affluens Bastelb. 190.5 — cfr. Seitz Macrolep. xii. 66)

but even, except for occasional very slight traces, on the underside ; the yellow

apical spot of that wing, on the other hand, is present on all the seven. The only

Batu I. $ known to me belongs — like most Nias and a good many Sumatra $$ —

to the form affluens. But as forms analogous to the Sipora $$ occur sporadically

on Sumatra and even on Borneo, I have not thought it safe to erect a race until

the (J is to hand. D. transducta is generally common from Nias to Borneo and

is moderately variable everywhere.

12. Agathia klossi sp.n.

(J, 35 mm. Close to aequisecta Swmh. (1906, Java) and rubrilineata Warr.

(1896, N. Borneo), the three presumably forming a collective species which, again,

may represent visenda Butl. (1880, N. India) in the Malayan subregion. Con-

siderably smaller than aequisecta. Abdomen dorsally, after the narrow basal

brown band, more extensively green. Wings with the dark markings narrower,

less consiiicuously edged with white ; forewing with oblique central band very

slender, almost threadlike, the outer band anteriorly (where it borders the large

green subapical patch) scarcely consisting of more than a pale line edged proxim-

ally by a very dark and distally by a less dark (more reddish) brown one, at

R'-R' moderately and at M--SM- rather shallowly outcurved ; hindwing also

with the outer band narrowed, a small inlet of green at its hinder end. Underside

with the markings narrower and more dusky than in aequisecta.

Mentawi Is. : Siberut, September 1924 (C. Boden KIoss and N. Smedley), 1 $.

13. Dooabia puncticostata quantula subsp.n.

(J, 35 mm. Smaller than name-typical puncticostata Prout (Ann. Mag. Nat.

Hist. (9) xi. 305, 1923, Selangor). Forewing scarcely so deeply emarginate

between the apex and R', the dark tornal spot rather smaller, at the termen not

reaching M'. Hindwing with the tail slightly shortened.

B NOVITATES ^OOLOniCAE XXXVII. 1931.

Mentawi Is. : Sibenit, September 1924 (C.B.K. and N.S.), 1 J.

D. p. puncticostata is now known, practically without variation, from N.

Borneo (Kinabalu) as well as the type locality ; thus it can hardly be doubted

that we have here to do with a new race.

14. Omithospila succincta Prout.

Ornithonpiln nufriwln Prout, Nov. Zool. xsiv. 29.5 (1917) (Penang).

Sipora I., 1 S (C.B.K. and N.S.) ; N. Pagi I., 3 ?? (Dr. H. H. Karny).

Must be widely distributed but much overlooked ; besides sjDecimens from

Malaya and Borneo, I liave seen one from Mindanao.

15. Thalassodes veraria Guen.

Thalassodes veraria Guen., flpa-. Gen. Lip. ix. .')6lJ (IM.'jS) (Australia ? [? Java]).

Siberut I., 1 $■

The species which is assumed to be Guenee's veraria (closely like the following

but with the face green, not reddish) is known from Java, Sumatra, Banka I.,

Borneo, the Moluccas, etc., and jirobably represented in N. India by aucia Prout

(1912) and in Papua hy flavifimbria Warr. (1912).

10. Thalassodes quadraria Guen.

Thalassodes qtmdraria Guen., -Spec. Gen. Lep. is. .360 (18.58) (Central India ? Australia ?).

Sipora I., 1 (5* ; ? Siberut I., 1 $ (rather large, worn).

This is another conventional determination which remains un verifiable,

Guenee's type ^ being lost. The species before us (hindtibia of ^ not dilated,

face red, abdomen without white dorsal line, hindwing more angled than in

semihyalina Walk. 1861) is fairly common in Ceylon, India, Malaya and Sumatra

and straggles into Borneo, the Philippines and even Celebes.

17. Prasinocyma floresaria (Walk.).

Oeometra flore.mria Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxxv. 10U4 (1866) (Flores).

Sipora I., 1 (J.

This species seems to be distributed throughout the greater part of the Indo-

Australian Region from Assam at least as far as the D'Entrecasteaux and Loui-

siade Archipelagos, presumably in a number of races ; but whereas oxycentra

Meyr. (1888, Queensland, assumed to include also the forms from New Guinea and

its islands) is well known, the more western ones are singularly scarce, generally

obtained singly and in bad condition, so that nothing further is possible than

to employ Walker's name for them collectively. The Tring Museum has four

from the Khasis, one from Borneo, one from Luzon and one from Celebes.

18. Hemithea (?) insularia Guen.

Hemithea insularia Guen., Spec. Gen. Lip. ix. 385 (1S58) (Borneo).

Sipora I., 1 $, in rather poor condition.

More or less typical insularia are known from Nias, Java, Borneo and the

Philippines ; races (or close allies) from Assam, New Guinea and Fergusson

Island. The Mentawi $ seems to have the terminal line and blotches very weak

and may well represent a subspecies or species.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1031. 7

19. Pamphlebia rubrolimbraria (Guen.).

Amaurinia rubrolimbraria Guen., .s'pec. (Jen. Lep. ix. .380 (18.58) (Ceylon).

Siberut I., 2 9?.

Very widely distributed and scarcely variable except in size. Assam, the

Shan States, Hainan, Formosa, the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Timor,

Queensland, Salawati, New Guinea, etc. The form from the Bismarck Archi-

pelago, interrujjfa Bastelb. (Ent . Zeitschr. Stullg. xxi. 217, 1908), with the terminal

hne slighter and interrupted, is the only one which I can yet discriminate as racial ;

zebrinala Th.-Mieg [Miscell. Ent. xxi. 39, 1915), founded on a smgle ^ from " New

Guinea " in poor condition, and said to differ m showmg about five darker green

hnes, may be a separate species, as its author assumed, or may through its condi-

tion have acquired a deceptive aspect.

SxjBFAM. STERRHINAE.

20. Anisodes (?) alienaria Walk.

Anisodes alienaria Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxvi. 1586 (1862) (sine loc. [? Malay.a]).

Siberut I., 1 ?.

I see no obstacle to this determination except the geographical and should

not have inserted a query but that undoubted alienaria is only as yet recorded

from a few localities in the Malay Peninsula, and that the $$ in this genus

are notoriously difficult to place with certainty, even those of cJcJ which have

quite notable differences in structure being sometimes almost indistinguishable.

21. Anisodes flavispila flavispila (Warr.).

Perixera flatiispila Warr., Nov. Zool. iii. 312 (1896) (Khasia HiLs).

Siberut I., 1 ?.

Only two races of this widely distributed species are yet recognized, though

others will probably have to be added. The name-typical series (or approximately

typical) with relatively large ceU-spot of the hindwing, is found from Sikkim

and Assam through Burma and Tonkin to Hainan and Hong Kong, also in the

Malay Peninsula and (a shght modification) in N. Borneo. A slightly more grey-

powdered form, with the ceU-spot of the hindwing very small, inhabits the coastal

regions of New Guinea, Fergusson Island and Queensland, and has been named

lophoscdes Turn. (1908). An odd specimen from Sambawa and another from

Sumba are nearer to f . flavispila in tone, to/, lophosceles in the reduced cell-spot.

The Mentawi $ seems to agree perfectly with /. flavispila except that it is rather

small ; but it is not very fresh.

22. Anisodes nesidica sp.n.

cJ$, 24—28 mm. Face rosy, edged laterally (except upper part) with whitish.

Palpus slightly darker, beneath and at extremities of joints whitish ; terminal

joint in ^ half or slightly over, in $ nearly one. Hindfemur of <^ with slightly

curled red tuft at end (section Perixera Meyr.), tibia with a pair of unequal sj^urs.

Foreiving not broad, termen almost smooth ; areole wanting ; light pinkish

cinnamon or light vinaceous cinnamon, witli jjink UToration ; costal margin

more tinged with oUve or greyish ; a small black-mixed ceU-dot ; lines rosy,

indistinct, the postmedian marked with distinct darker dots or minute dashes

8 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXX^aI. 1931.

on the veins ; antemedian curved, rather strongly oblique posteriorly ; median

shade fairly broad, mostly almost parallel with termen, but incurved in posterior

half ; postmedian forming a gentle curve between costa and R-, about 3-3-5 mm.

from termen, then sharply interrupted outward, so that the dot on R' is twice as

near the termen, thence rather more oblique than termen, with a faint mward

curve ; a suggestion of a paler area between median and postmedian, especially

in its broader posterior half ; a weak pale subterminal defined by pinkish shades ;

small veui-dots at termen and rather less small ones between them (slightly more

proximal) ; fringe almost unmarked. Hinchving not broad, termen waved and

curved in anterior half, less curved in posterior ; concolorous with forewmg ;

markings similar ; cell-dot larger, sometimes forming a minute ring ; postmedian

with the dash on R= considerably more jiroximal than the rest of the series.

Underside paler, especially the liindwing ; markings reproduced in pink ;

cell-dot of forewing usually a Uttle larger or longer, that of liindwing reduced.

Mentawi Is. : Siberut (C. Boden Kloss, N. Smedley and H. H. Karny), 14

S<S, 20 $9, type in coll. Tring Mus. Also 1 ^, 2 $$ from Sipora I. from the

same collectors, 1 (J from N. Pagi I. (Dr. H. H. Karny) and 2 ^ i^ from Langkawi

I., 15 April, 1928 (H. M. Pendlebury).

Nearest to ohliviaria Walk. [List Ltp. Ins., xxii. 643), but smaller, narrower-

winged, different in colour — including the face, which in that species is whitish

in an extended lower part — and in the very mvich smaller cell-mark of the

hind wing.

23. Scopula eulomata (SnelL).

Ac.idalia eulomata Snell., Tijd. Ent. xx. 42, t. :i, f. 21 (1S77) (.Java).

Cmspedia compressaria Warr., Nov. Zool. vii. 103 (1900) (Bali) (syn. nov.).

Batu Is. : Pullu Tello, November 1924 (H. H. Karny), 1 ^.

Previously known from Sumatra and Nias in addition to the tyjie localities

cited above.

24. Scopula nesciaria (Walk.).

Acidalia nesciaria Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxii. 7.50 (ISUl) (Ceylon).

Mentawi Is. : Siberut, 1 <^, 2 9?. ? Batu Is. : Pullu Tello, 1 9 (worn).

In this exceedingly difficult and Uttle-worked group the determination, even

of the good specimens, must be received with some reservation. Besides the

indubitable Indian material I have placed here provisionally specimens from the

Malay Peninsula, Luzon, Borneo, Java, Bali and even Sambawa and Sumba,

which seem to agree perfectly in structure though they will probably constitute

at least a nimiber of races. The Siberut form, to judge from the o, which is in

beautiful condition, is very closely like some from N. Borneo and Pulo Laut.

25. Scopula actuaria (Walk).

Acidalia actuaria Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxii. 7.j2 (1.SU1) (Ceylon).

Ptijchopoda nigrannlis Warr., Nov. Zool. iii. 378 (IS9()) (Timor) (subsp. ?).

Craspedia parinnnulula Warr., Nov. Zool. v. 19 (1S9S) (Java) (sub-sp. ?).

Siberut I., 13 ^o^ 12 99 ; Sipora I., 3 cJd'-

Found almost everywhere from India to Formosa, the Philippines and the

Moluccas and, in a form which I have endeavoured to keep separate, from Java

to Wetter and Timor {vide Nov. Zool. xxvii. 296). Several of the Mentawi

specimens incline somewhat to the niyranalis form.

NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. .1031. 9

26. Sterrha marginata (Swiiili.).

Hyria vmryinala Swinh.. Tr. Ent. Sor. Land. 1894, p. 182 (1804) (Cherrapunji).

Siberut I., 1 o-

Small and with the termen of the hindwing scarcely so noticeably bent as

usual. On the other hand most of the material yet known to me (Tonkin,

Penang, Selangor, Andamans, Sumatra, Java, Borneo) agrees very accurately

with the name-typical race. Possibly we have to do with a separate, though very

closely alhed species.

SuBFAM. LARENTIINAE.

27. Eois versata (Walk.).

Hyria versata Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxii. G67 (1861) (Sarawak).

Siberut I., 2 ^3, 1 $.

A scarce or much overlooked species, hitherto only known from a few Borneo

specimens.

28. Eois plunibacea (Warr.).

Psewdasthena (?) plum'iarea Warr., Xov. Zool. i. 396 (1894) (" New Guinea" [? Borneo]).

Siberut I., 1 cj, 2 $$.

Very likely a race, with the buff postmedian sjjot between the radials very

poorly developed. But as this can also become obsolescent in the Borneo forms

which I take to be topotypical (the labelling of the single specimen from which

Warren described must almost certainly have been erroneous), confirmatory

material, and in better condition, is to be desired. Occurs also in the Malay

Peninsula.

29. Pomasia vemacularia Guen.

Pomasia vernacularia Guen., Spec. Gen. Lep. i.\. 427 (1858) (Sarawak).

Sipora I., 1 ?,

Hitherto best known from Borneo and the Malay Peninsula. I have named

a mountain form from S.W. Sumatra P. v. salutaris {Bull. Hill Mus. iii. 99, 1929),

but the less bright name-typical form may be expected from the coastal districts

of Sumatra.

30. Pomasia conferta Swinh.

Pomasia conferta Swinh., Tr. Ent. .Sor. Land. 1902, p. 6.50 (1902) (Pulo Laut).

" Pomasia vernacularia Guen." Meyr,, Tr. Ent. Soc. Land. 1897, p. 70 (1897) (Pulo Laut).

Siberut I., 1 cJ.

Previously known from Borneo and Singapore.

31. Pomasia pulchrilinea pulchrilinea (Walk.).

Eupithecia pulchrilinea Walk., List Lep. Ins. x.x.w. 1675 (1866) (Borneo).

Sipora I., 1 $.

Extremely widely distributed, but apparently much overlooked (or rare) in

the western part of its range. The Ceylon form axis Hmpsn. (1893) is well known,

as also the Khasi moniliata Warr. (1898) ; then come scattered records from

Cochin China, Pahang, the Andamans and Borneo, to which are now added the

Mentawi Islands ; from New Guinea and especially its satellite islands a good

deal of material has been brought, while Meek and Eichhorn even found two

IQ ^^0■^^TATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1931.

specimens in the Bismarck Archipelago — New Hanover and Feni Island off New

Ireland.

32. Collix ghosha Walk.

Collix ghosha Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxiv. 1249 (1862) (Ceylon).

Siberut I., 1 S-

Distributed, especially on the islands, from Ceylon to the Riu-kiu Islands and

to the Solomons. As it is nowhere particularly common, it must certainly be

very frequently missed by collectors ; my ILst of recorded localities is steadily

growing and comprises, up to date, the foUowing : Ceylon, India, Penang, Lang-

kawi I., Tonkin, Riu-ldu Is., Formosa, Talaut, Borneo, Sula Is., Key Is., Timor,

Arfak Mtns., Florida I., S. Christoval. Only the extremes have yet received

names, the form from the Solomons being sticticata Warr (1902) ; it is not im-

probable that even subligata Warr. (1896, Loyalty Is.) is conspecific.

33. Chloroclystis admixtaria (Walk.).

Eupithecia adiiiixluria Walk.. List Lep. Ins. xxiv. 1243 (1802) (Ceylon).

N. Pagi Is. (Dr. H. H. Karny).

Forms which have not been separated from typical admixtaria range through

India, the Malay Penmsula, Tonkin, Borneo, Celebes, Sambawa, Buru, etc. A

smaller and paler form (or very closely related species), /m^i/w Warr. (Nov. ZooL.

vi, 38, St. Aignan) in the Philippines, Sambawa, Key Is., Danimer, New Guinea,

the Louisiades and (perhaps a different race) St. Matthias I. In Queensland the

species (or superspecies) is represented by hryodes Turn. {Proc. Linn. Soc. N. Sth.

Wales, xxxi. 694). Evidently many additional records are to be expected and

a much more thorough -going analysis will t)e required.

34. Sanris interraptata (Moore).

Remodes interntplata Moore, Lep. Coll. Atk., p. 270 (1S88) (Darjiling ; Khasia Hills).

Sipora I., 1 ^, very much worn.

Excepting from India and Ceylon, very little good material is yet accessible

to me and I can make nothing of the races, which I suspect may prove numerous.

The Andamans, Malaya, Tonkin, Riu-kiu Islands, Borneo, Sumatra, Nias, Java

and Buru are known locaUties, even if one or another of the closely alUed forms

which have been found in New Guinea be not a further subspecies. The Sipora

example, so far as it can be made out, rather recalls suhfulva (Warr. 190.5), from

the Solomons.

SuBFAM. GEOMETRINAE.

35. Ourapteryx podaliriata Guen.

Urapteryx podaliriala Guen., Spec. Gen. Lep. ix. 32 (Bengal).

Sipora I., 1 ? (Dr. H. H. Karny).

Distributed in N. India, Malay Peninsula, Natuna Is., Borneo, Sumatra,

Java, Bali and Celebes, but rarely common, except perhaps in Borneo. Varia-

tion slight.

36. Xeropteryx colnmbicola media subsp.ii.

cj. Forewing with apex on an average somewhat less produced than in

X. c. cohimbicola (Walk., List Lej}. Ins. xx. 11, N. India), the pale yellow spots

No\^TATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. -1931. 11

smaller, the central pair better separated by vein M', the anterior one, when at

all enlarged, much more extended longitudinally than transversely (in c. cohimbi-

cola with the two diameters about equal).

Batu Is. : Pullu Tello, August 1896 (I. Z. Kannegieter), type (J and another ;

November 1924 (C.B.K. and N.S.), 1 ,^ (worn). The same race — at least in the

broad sense, as here understood — also inhabits Nias and Sumatra and probably

the Malay Peninsula and even Java and Bali, and has long been awaiting a name.

In this inconstant species it is not easy to find definable characters, although

geographical variation is undoubtedly considerable ; even the extreme Borneo

race {X. c. simplicior Butl., Journ. Linn. Soc. Zool. xvii. 204) tlirows a certain

percentage of very media-like forms, while the $$ of all the races seem closely

similar.

37. Pareumelea hortensiata exstinguens subsp.n.

Forewing with the yellow ground-colour anteriorly (excepting the pale bufi

costal border) much more uniformly suffused with orange-buff than in h. horten-

siata (Guen., Spec. Gen. Lep. ix. 394, Borneo), in which there is constantly a well-

differentiated yellow area ; the yellow spot between R' and M' obsolete in the (J.

Forewing beneath with the subapical buff more suffused, between SC'' and R'

largely obscured by dark irroration.

Mentawi Is. (C.B.K. and N.S.) : Sipora, October 1924, 4 ^^, 1 ?, including

the type ; Siberut, September 1924, 1 (J, 1 $.

The sole example from Nias in the Tring Museum (a ^ from Hill Madjedja,

N. Nias) agrees with the Mentawi race, except for the presence of a clear spot in

cellule 6 of the forewing (yellow above, more buff beneath). The form from the

Batu Is. (Tanah Massa), to judge from 2 SS and 3 $$ (September 1896, I. Z.

Kamiegieter) is virtually identical with typical exstinguens in the $, but the ^

retains the yellow spot of cellule 3 above and beneath, though much reduced

in size. I would include both these races (?) provisionally with exstinguens.

P. hortensiata is further known from the Malay Peninsula, BaU, Pulo Laut,

Palawan and Mindoro.

38. Pareumelea flagrata (Fekl.).

Eumdea flagrata Feld., Reise Novara, Lep. Het., t. cxxvii. 39 (1875) (Singapore).

Sipora I., 1 cJ, 1 9 ; Siberut I., 1 ?.

Found in most localities with the preceding (except Mindoro). but also,

though sparingly, in Assam, Tonkin and the Andamans. An allied species

(eugeniaia Guen., 1858) rejiresents it in Celebes, the Sula Islands and the Moluccas.

39. Synegia botydaria Guen.

Synegia botydaria Guen., Spec. Qen. Lep. ix. 423 (1858) (Borneo).

Sipora I., 2 ^^ ; Siberut I., 2 $$. Batu Is. : Tanah Massa, September

1896, 1 $ (Kannegieter).

Commonest on Borneo, but known also from the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra

and Nias.

40. Synegia (Eugnesia) thamiosticta sp.n.

(^9, 36-38 mm. Close to intensa Warr. (Nov. Zool. iv. 396, S. Celebes),

perhaps a race. Rather smaller and with the forewing perhaps relatively some-

what less elongate costally. Abdomen of ^J rather less slender and elongate,

with the anal tuft less long and less white. Wings more normally coloured than

12 No«TATES ZOOLOGKAE XXXVII. 1031.

in Warren's unique type, which, however, is probably a remarkably suffused

aberration ; further differentiations in consequence difficult to make with cer-

tainty. The coarse, in part confluent irroration rather less fiery, more ochraceous-

orange, a little dulled by slight greyish suffusion ; moderate or rather narrow

greyish shades bordering the two lines in the median area and (more macularly)

the subterminal proximally ; terminal shadings in the (J (J (which are more

clouded than the 5?) somewhat stronger than in intensa type, more as on the

underside, which much approaches that of intensa except for having a much

heavier postmedian shade. A further distinction may be that the outward tooth

of the postmedian is stronger, both above and beneath.

Mentawi Is. : Siberut, September 1924, 2 ^^, 3 ?? (C.B.K. and N.S.), in-

cluding the type, 1 ^ (H. H. Karny) ; Sipora, October 1924 (C.B.K. and N.S.),

2 (J (J, 1 $. Batu Is. : Tanah Massa, September 1896, 1 ^J (I. Z. Kannegieter).

Nias, 1 cJ (Raap).

From prospera Prout (Bull. Hill Mus. iii. 29, Burn), which also belongs to

the same group by wing-shape, antenna, etc., thamiosficta differs in having pale

marks on tegula and base of abdomen, hindwing more regularly convex, with its

postmedian more parallel with termen.

41. Plutodes cyclaria Guen.

Plulodes cydaria Guen.. Spec. Gen. Lep. x. IIS, t. xx. f. 3 (1858) (Sarawak).

Sipora I., 1 cJ (H. H. Karny).

Perhaps a race, the two brown patches on the hindwing well separated. A

variable species.

Best known from the Malay Peninsula and Borneo, but reaching Hainan.

42. Plutodes hilaropa MejT.

PhUodes hilaropa Meyr., Tr. Eni. Soc. Land. 1897, p. 75 (1897) Pulo Laut).

Siporal., 2 (^<^, 3??.

The specimens are fairly large and strongly marked, perhaps more like the

North Borneo specimen in the Tring Museum than the Nias one. Further known

from Selangor and represented on Talaut by the smaller, weaker-marked tristis

(Swinh., Tr. Ent. Soc. Land. 1902, p. 604).

43. Hypochrosis binexata (Walk.).

Geometra (?) binexata Walk., Lisl Lep. Ins. xxvi. 1752 (1862) (Sarawak).

" Patruissa slernaria Guen." Warr., Nov. Zool. i. 448 (1894) (err. det.).

Palruissa slermria ab. oceUata Warr., ibid. (1894) (Padang [Rengas, Malay Peninsula]) (ab.).

Siberut I., 1 $.

A fairly common species in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Natuna Is. and

Borneo and not particularly variable. I doubt the authenticity of the two

" Assam " examples cited by Warren (loc. cit.).

44. Sabaria spurca (Swinh.).

PHonia spurca Swinh., Tr. Enl. Sue. Lond. 1902, p. 608 (1902) (N.E. Borneo).

Sipora I., 1 ^J.

Still very little-known. The Tring Museum possesses a $ from Java of a

probable race, or very close relative, with brighter coloration.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVIl. .1931. |3

45. Sabaria multidentata (AVarr.).

Prionia mnllidenlata Warr., Nor. Zool. i. 449 (1894) (Nias).

Prionia excavata Warr.. Nov. Zoo!, iii. 419 (1896) (Nias) (ab.).

North Pagi I., 1 ?.

Greyer than either of Warren's types, which also differ widely in coloration

inter se and are both $? ; border of hmdwing rather ampler. Evidently very

variable.

46. Heterolocha pyreniata (Walk.).

Nahla pyreniata Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxxv. 1668 (1866) (Singapore).

Siberut I., 1 (J ; Sipora I., 1 $.

Apparently common on Nias, occasional on Sumatra and Java.

47. Curbia martiata (Guen.).

Crocopteryx martiata Guen., Spec. Gen. Lep. ix. 74. t. v, f. 8 (1858) (" India").

Sipora I., 2 S^, 1 $.

A rather common species in the Malay Peninsula, Nias, Sumatra, Banka

Island, Borneo and West Java. Very constant.

48. Corymica vesicularia (W'alk.).

Caprilia t^esicularia Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxxv. 1569 (1866) (Sumatra).

Sipora I., 3 cJd", 1 ?•

To the hst of localities given in Bull. Hill Mus. iv. 138, should be added

Banka I., and — on the strength of the present specimens — Mentawi Is.

49. Coryniica latimarginata Swinh.

Corymica latimarginata Swinh., Ann. Mag. Sat. Hist. (7) x. 47 (1902) (N. Borneo ; Pulo Laut).

Sipora I., 1 (J, 1 ?.

For several years after it was first described, no further examples of this

species came under my notice. Recently, however, a good many have been

received, but almost exclusively from Borneo (once from Selangor). Its occur-

rence in the Mentawi Islands, in an almost indistinguishable form, is very

interesting.

50. Callerinnys clathraria Warr.

Callerinnys clalhraria Warr., Nov. Zool. ii. 139 (1895) (Padang [Rengas]).

Sipora I., 1 (?.

A small and very worn example, possibly representing a separable race.

Specimens from Java, however, do not differ appreciably from those from the

Malay Peninsula, its headquarters.

51. Nadagara scitilineata Walk.

Nadagara scitilineata Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxiv. 1094 (1862) (Sarawak).

Siberut I., 1 ?.

The specimen is much wasted, but the determination seems quite safe. A

scarce species, with rather scattered distribution, previously known to me only

from Perak, Borneo and Hainan, the latter in a browner colour-form which

may probably be racial.

14 XOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

52. Bulonga schistacearia Walk.

Bulongti schistacearia Walk.. Juiirn. Linn. Soc. Zool. iii. 193 (IS.jO) (.Singapore).

Siberut I., 1 ? ; Sipora I., 1 ?.

Known from the Malay Peninsula, Nicobars, Nias, Sumatra, Natuna Is. and

Borneo, particularly abundant on Nias. Variation slight.

53. Luxiaria iotaria (Fekl.).

Semiolhisa (?) iotaria Feld., Reise Novara, Lep. Hel. t. cxxix, f. 26 (1875) (Java).

Siberut I., 1 ^ ; Sipora I., 1 $.

The Q is worn, but seems to have belonged to the form — not uncommon in

that sex — in which the characteristic blackish mark of DC of the forewing is

almost entirely obsolete ; even the dark costal spots can never have been strong.

The $ is not much irrorated, the cinnamon-buff shade outside the postmedian

clear, the costal spots brown, not much mixed with black.

Not common, best knovvii from Java, Selangor and several locaUties in

Borneo ; the Tring Museum has one each from Nias and Banka Is.

54. Luxiaria exclusa (Walk.).

Ucimrophila (?) txdusa Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxi. 320 (1860) (Hindostan).

Siberut I., 1 S-

The specimen is torn and with the forewing much rubbed anteriorly, but

seems to have the costal maculation very weak and in other respects certainly

belongs to the brown-banded form, with rather blimt tail to the hindwing, which

is generally associated with the $. The species is very variable and may jjrove

to contain, as at present constituted, some extraneous elements. Very widely

distributed (cf. Bull. Hill Mus. iv. 139) ; only the forms (or closely alhed species)

L. e. perichila Prout (Treubia vii. 452, t. ix. f. 8, Biu'u), covering the Moluccan,

Papuan and Queensland series and even provisionally those from the Bismarcks

and Solomons, and L. sesquilinea Prout {Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (10) vi. 695, Fiji)

have yet been definitely cUfferentiated.

55. Luxiaria (Eutoea) heteroneurata (Guen.).

Cassyma heteroneurata Guen., Spec. Gen. Lep. x. 19 (1858) (Borneo).

Sipora I. (H. H. Karny), 1 J.

Distributed, with but little variation, in N. India, Burma, Malaya, Haman,

Nias, Sumatra, Java, Bah, Lombok, Sambawa, Borneo, Mindanao, Celebes, Biu-u,

Amboina, New Guinea and the D'Entrecasteaux. Only in the Bismarcks is it

materially modified (E. h. bismarckenais Prout, 1926).

56. Luxiaria schistacea (Swinh.).

Callctacra schislucca Swinh., Ann. ilaij. Sal. Hist. (7) vi. 309 (1900) (Sarawak).

Siberut I., 1 ?.

The two or three specimens hitherto known of this rarity were all from

Borneo or Selangor. Its occurrence in the Mentawi Islands therefore rivals in

interest that of Corymica latimarginata Swinh. (supra). The specimen is not

fresh enough to show whether there is any racial difference.

No\nTATES ZOOLOCICAE XXXVII. 1931. 15

57. Calletaera subexpressa (Walk.).

Acidalia subexpressa Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxiii. 773 (1861) (Sarawak).

Mentawi Is. : Sipora, 2^6 (C.B.K. and N.S. ; H. H. Karny). Batu Ls. :

Tanah Massa, September 1896 (I. Z. Kannegieter), 1 ^.

Very variable, no doubt in jsart geographically, but very little material is yet

available — Borneo, Malay Peninsula, Nias, Engano. The only specimen yet

known from Engano was named C. sabulosa Warr. (Nov. ZooL. ii. 132) and seems

separable by the broader median line and diffuse cell-mark (not black cell-dot)

of the forewing. In the Khasis the representative is sufficiently different m shape

to justify Warren's having erected it as a species {€'. angulata Warr., Nov. ZooL.

iii. 139). The larger, duskier Formosan basipuncia Wileman {Eni. xUx. 36), with

straighter postmedian line, may also well be a distinct sjjecies.

Swinhoe {Cat. Lep. Het. 0.vf. Mus. ii. 265) is egregiously wTong in citing as

a synonym of the present species Scotopterix paganata Feld., which is really a

synonym of Luxiaria submonstrata (Walk., 1861).

58. Semiothisa emersaria (WaUi.).

Macaria emersaria Walk., List Lep. Ins, xxiii. 925 (1861) (Hindostan).

Siberut I., 1 9.

Like most of the widely distributed and variable Geomeirinae, this Semiothisa

merits much closer attention than it has yet received. A few aberrations or sub-

siiecies have casually received names, under the impression that they were new

species : iranslineata Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxxv. 1658, for the Celebes race ;

albidulata Warr., Nov. Zool. v. 252, for a heavily marked form from Sumba,

probably albibrunnea Warr., Nov. Zool., ix. 371 founded on a dwarf $ from

Tenimber, and possibly isospila Meyr., Tr. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1889, p. 501, from

New Guinea and the Bismarcks (in any case " isospila Meyr. Sambawa " of Mey-

rick, Tr. Ent. Soc. Lotul. 1897, p. 74 = albidulata Warr. 1898) ; but nothing

systematic has been attempted, unless Warren's brief note in Nov. Zool. iv. 399

can be so regarded. The Tring Museum has material from Ceylon, India, Burma,

Andamans, Malay Peninsula, Hainan, S.E. China, Formosa, Luzon, Mindanao,

Nias, Sambawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor, Celebes, Amboina and Tenimber, to which

can certainly be added Borneo (F.M.S. Mus.), Sumatra and Java (Snellen) and

W. China (Mus. Brit.).

The Siberut $ is a good deal like the one described by Warren {loc. cit.) but

with the white subterminal better developed on both wings.

59. Semiothisa atmala smedleyi subsp.n.

(J, 26 mm. A good deal smaller than S. a. atmala (Swiiih., Tr. Ent. Soc.

Lond. 1894, p. 210, as Tephrina), darker, the termen of the hindwing less crenu-

late, of the forewing not waved. As, however, the structure appears to agree

accurately with name-typical Khasi attnala and that varies a little in shape, I

regard it provisionaOy as merely a subspecies. A small (J from Manipur is

somewhat transitional.

Mentawi Is. : Siberut, September 1924 (C. Boden Kloss and N. Smedley), 1 <^.

Hampson's reference of this species to " Macaria " [Semiothisa Hb.] (Faun.

Ind., Moths, iii. 205) is not more accurate than Swinhoe 's to Tephrina ; it not only

contradicts Hampson's own generic diagnosis, having SC' and SC" of the forewing

16 NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1931.

both present and free, but the 8th sternite shows no trace of the octavals of the

Semiothisa group. By MejTick's system it falls into Ectropis (o with fovea

developed, antenna dentate, with two pairs of fascicles), but until that too com-

prehensive group has been revised it seems superfluous to make a transference

which will have no stability. I suspect it is rather nearly related to " Aids (?) "

paucisignata Warr. (Nov. Zool. vi. 348, Perak) = " CymcUophora " paraphiata

Warr. (Nov. Zool. vii. 196, " British Guiana" [err. loc. !]), each founded on a

single $, but of which the q has the " Ectropis " antenna.

60. Petelia medardaria H.-Sch.

Pelelia medardaria H.-Sch., Samml, Aiissereiir. Schmelt. i, f. 534 (1856) ; p. 64 (18.58) (East India).

Siberut I., 1 3 (H. H. Karny).

Found throughout the greater part of the Indo-Australian Region — Ceylon,

India, Malaya, Engano, Sumatra, Borneo, Philippines, Celebes, Java, Sambawa,

Sumba, Timor, Dammer, Tenimber, Key, Biiru, Amboina, Batjan, New Guinea

and its islands, Bismarcks, Solomons, Queensland, etc. Everywhere variable.

61. Hyposidra talaca (\\'alk.).

Lagyra talaca Walk., List Lcp. Ins. xx. 59 (1860) (Celebes ; Philippines).

Siberut I., 1 ?.

Found almost everywhere from India and Ceylon to N. Queensland and the

Solomons. Except for some colour variation a rather constant species. The

Mentawi $ is of the typical dark form, as are also the series from Nias and

Sumatra in the Tring Museiun.

62. Fascellina sp.n.(?)

Siberut I., 1 $ (damaged).

Unfortunately not in a fit condition for describmg. Evidently in the

vicinity of chromataria Walk. (1860), but with the shape slightly less accentuated

— apparently more as in albidiscata Warr. (1894) $ — with only the anterior part

of the forewmg coloured similarly to that of chromataria $, the posterior part,

with the whole hindwing, clouded with a dark shade which more recalls the (J

of chromataria. Perhaps the $ of a race of a rare species from Penang and

Borneo which has not yet been worked out {'i (33 in Mus. Tring).

63. Ophthalmodes exemptaria Walk. (?).

Ophtluilmodes exemptaria Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxi. 447 (1860) (Sarawak).

Ophtlmbnode.s siippressaria Walk., List Lep. Ins. xxxv. 1695 (1866) (Singapore).

Siberut I., 1 3.

Rather large and apparently with rather heavy band-like shadings accom-

panying the postmedian, but worn and torn. The variation of this species, which

I believe occurs also on Penang and Sumatra, has not yet been satisfactorily

worked out, the material received hitherto having been always very scanty. I

cannot think that clararia Walk. (1866), from Java, cited by Swinhoe (Cat. Lep.

Het. O.i-f. J/««. ii. 284) as a further .synonym, is really consiiecific.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. ' 1931. 17

64. Cleora repetita (Bntl.).

Boarmia repetita Butl., Ann. Mag. Nat. Hisl. (5) x. 232 (1882) (Diikc of York I.).

Sipora I., 1 ^.

On the synonymy, variation and geographical range of this extremely widely

distributed species see BiilJ. Hill Mus. iii. 186-7. Mindanao should be added to

the localities, a fine series having been obtained by the late Mr. A. E. Wileman

from Kolambugan, Lanao plains.

65. Cleora injectaria hiliginosa (Warr.).

Choyada fiiUginom Warr., Nov. Zool. i. 436 (1894) (Engano).

Siberut I., 1 (J, 1 ? (C.B.K. and N.S.) ; Sipora I., 1 d', 1 ? (H. H. Karny).

I have provisionally (Bull. Hill Mus. iii. 212) referred these to the very dark

Engano race of injectaria, but pointed out that the hindtarsus of the ^ appeared

relatively somewhat longer. It is not improbable that further material and closer

investigation may show them to be a separate race or even — judging from the

richness of this group in species — a separate species. C. injectaria is, however,

the most widely distributed of all the alienaria " group " (Ceylon and India to

Fiji, with an endemic development on the Samoan and Friendly Islands), and on

the whole one of the best differentiated ; see my revision already cited.

66. Serraca spissata Warr.(?).

Serraca spissata Warr., Xoi: Zool. vi. 5() (18!»9) (Xias).

Siberut I., 1 $ (very worn).

May equally well represent costaria (Guen., Spec. Gen. Lep. ix. 242, Sarawak),

which is distinguishable chiefly by cJ characters, or even some other Serraca.

Both the species cited are best known from the Malay Peninsula and Borneo,

costaria also from Mindanao, Sumatra and Java ; but the occurrence of spissata

on Nias renders it a probable determination.

67. Arycanda simulans (Butl.).

Panaethia simulans Butl., .inn. 3ta<j. Nat. Hist. (.5) xiv. 3.5 (1884) (Xia.s).

Siberut I., 1 $.

Common on Nias, rarer on Sumatra, the only other hitherto-known locality.

68. Arycanda maculosa Walk.

Arycanda maculosa Walk., List Lep. Ins. vii. 177.5 (1856) (.Sumatra).

Batu Is. : Tanah Massa (I. Z. Kannegieter), 2 $$. Mentawi Is. ; Siberut,

1 (?, 2 9? ; Sipora, 3 ??.

Previously known from Nias, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and Borneo.

69. Genusa bigutta Walk.

Genusa hitjulta Walk., List Lep. Ins. iv. 818 (1855) (" North India " [? Burma]).

Sipora I., 1 ^ (C.B.K. and N.S.) ; Siberut I., 2 cJ^J, 1 ? (C.B.K., N.S. and

H.H.K.).

All the specimens are heavily spotted, but they are too variable in detail to

present any concrete characters for the erection of a race. Burma, Malay

Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo ; with races (?) on Hainan and the I'liiliiJ pines

(with Sulu Archipelago).

2

18 No\7TATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. I'JSl.

NEW GEOMETRIDAE FROM THE INDO-AUSTRALIAN REGION.

By LOUIS B. PROUT.

SuBFAM. OENOCHROMINAE.

1. Derambila livens sp.ii.

(J, 30 mm. Belongs to sect, ii of the genus (Prout in \Vyt.sman, Gen. Ins.

104, p. 74). Head and body concolorous with wings, the face edged with white,

the body beneath with some wliitish admixture. Antennal ciliation scarcely as

strong as in zincaria (Guen., 1858). Hindtibia not so broad and flattened as in

zincaria ; hair-pencil well develojied ; spurs wanting ; tarsus a little shorter

than tibia.

Forewing with cell i, thus slightly less long than in zincaria ; between light

raoiise-grey and ciuaker-drab, in some light with strong plumbeous reflections ;

cell-dot rather small ; lines extremely faint, suggested in brov^nish, antemedian

not extremely outbent subcostally, moderately oblique ; postmedian from about

R= onward very oblique inwards, slightly inciu'ved ; subterminal scarcely dis-

cernible. Hindioing with SC- well separate from R', slightly sinuous, reaching

termcn rather near apex ; concolorous with forewing ; cell-dot rather larger

but weaker, brown rather than blackish ; a sinuous postmedian discernible in

some lights.

Underside similar or still more feebly marked.

Borneo : S. Matang, 31 January, 1921 (Dr, H. Wmkler), type in Zool. Mus.

Hamburg.

The first known grey Derambila.

SuBFAM. STERRHINAE.

2. Calothysanis responsaria aganopis subsp.n.

(J$. Less warmly coloured than tj'pical responsaria (Moore, Lep. Coll.

Atk. 255 = strigulata Warr., Nov. Zool., iii. 116), from the Khasis, pinkish buff

rather than cinnamon ; the oblicjue line pink, thickened but little darkened ;

the outer dark line on the forewing tending to break into vein -dots, at least

anteriorly ; forewing beneath in the type heavily suffused, but this is rather

inconstant.

Malabar (Frau Peitzner), type in Zool. Mus. Hamburg. Also from Wynad

(S. -India), Indore, etc.

3. Scopula seductilis sp.n.

(J$, 21-22 mm. Close to consimilata Warr. (1896), probably hardly more

than a race. Antennal ciliation of (J a httle longer. Forewing, at least in tj,

a little broader. Colour paler ; median shade on forewing less thick, less brown,

rather less strongly curved, on hindwing closer to cell-dot ; curved proximad in

cell so as to avoid it ; cell-dot of hindwing on an average less large.

W. Sumatra : Sungei Kumbang, Korintji, 4,500 feet, April 1914 (Robinson

& Kloss), 1 cj (type), 3 ?? ; Loeboe Rajah, June-July 1897 (Ericsson), 1 $ very

worn. All in coll. Tring Mus.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. " 1931. 19

i. Scopula corrupta sp.n.

(J, 24 mm. Narrower-winged than the preceding and than consimilata, the

forewing shaped more as in nigristeUata Warr. { 1 S9G) and ])erfilata Prout ( 1 920) but

with the tornus slightly less prominent ; angle at R' of hindwing extremely

slight. Face and palpus lilack, narrowly pale below. Antenna subserrate,

ciliation fairly long. Hindtibia somewhat dilated, fringed above and with

moderate pencil ; tarsus fully f.

Wings much more suffused than in consimilata and seduclilis, inclming to

drab, though \\ith jialer parts (about in the jjositions noted imder No. 7 infra)

well noticeable ; markings about as in consimilata but — excepting the sharp

black cell-dots and terminal dots — much less distinct ; median shade and on

the hindwing the postmedian tinged with avellaneous or wood-brown, the latter

a little thicker than that of conMmilata. Forewing beneath suffused almost

throughout, hindwuig more nearly as in consimilata but a little less whitish.

W. Sumatra : Sungei Kumbang, Korintji, 4, .500 ft., April 1914 (Robinson &

Kloss), type .^ in coll. Tring Mus.

5. Scopula benguetensis ^\n.

(J?, 22-27 mm. Face and upperside of palpus black. Vertex whitish.

Antennal shaft pale at base, then si^otted with fuscous ; joints in (J slightly

projecting, ciliation a little over 1. Forefemur and tibia darkened on upper and

innerside ; hindtibia in ^J rather strongly dilated, with the pencils white ; tarsus

somewhat over | tibia.

Wings shaped, coloured and marked much as in 8. aspilataria (Walk., 1861,

Ceylon), the lines running nearly parallel with termen ; the black cell-dots

always distinct, though minute ; median line of forewing rarely thickened,

generally appreciably more oblique than postmedian, at least posteriorly, where

it is often very noticeably nearer to the ante- than to the postmedian ; post-

median of forewing not or scarcely incurved at costa.

Luzon : Benguet, the type series from Baguio, .'>,000 ft., April 1912, others

from Sapiangao, 5,600 ft., and Haight's Place, Pauai, 7,000 ft. All collected by

A. E. Wileman, the type in Mus. Tring.

Generally larger than S. paUidilinea (Warr., 1896), which is perhaps the

Malayan representative of aspilataria and is represented on Luzon ; hindtarsus

of 3* apparently longer, antennal ciliation rather less long, cell-dot sharper, post-

median of forewing not curved at costa, etc.

6. Scopula inficita philippina subsp.ji.

Differs from iS. i. inficita (Walk., 1866), from the Lesser Sunda Islands, in its

brighter (brownish or more fleshy) ground-colour and more sharply expressed lines.

Luzon : Montalban, Rizal (loc. typ.), Klondyke, Benguet, 800 ft., and

Palali, Benguet, 2,000 ft., a good series collected by A. E. Wileman. Type in

coll. Tring Mus. Virtually the same form occurs on Cagayan Sulu and in N.

Borneo and will doubtless be found general in the Philippine Islands.

7. Scopula clarivialis sp.u.

(^9, 28-30 mm. Face black. Palpus above and on outerside black.

Antennal joints of ^ slightly projecting, fascicles well over 1. Vertex cartridge-

20 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

buflf. Collar more cinnamon. Thorax and abdomen concolorous with wings,

the abdomen generally somewhat grey-clouded dorsally but with no definite

spots. Hindtibia of <J with pencils strong ; tarsus very sUghtly over i, second

joint I first joint.

Foreimig creamy cartridge-buff, inoximally and anteriorly suffused with

brownish, so that a short posterior patch between antemedian and median and

a long one between median and postmedian remain rather conspicuously paler ;

moderatelv strong dark irroration, weaker on the pale parts ; cell-dot sharp,

black ; lines dull cinnamon mixed with grey ; antemedian indistinct, strongly

excurved in cell, then strongly oblique mward ; median rather thick, oblique

outward to a rather acute angle at R' about ^ of the distance beyond cell-dot

(reckoned to apex), then strongly oblique inward, slightly incurved between

M' and SM- ; postmedian lunulate-dentate, outbent to R', slightly incurved

between this and R', approximately parallel with termen ; subterminal sinuous,

between rather broad but not intense shades ; terminal line fine and faint,

greyish, with small but sharply black interneural dots ; fringe faintly or scarcely

dotted. Hindu'ing with termen very feebly bent at R' ; cell-dot at least as

large as on forewing ; proximal area (to postmedian) clear, traversed by a straight-

ish continuation of the median shade, proximal to cell-dot ; distal markings as

on forewing.

Forewing beneath rather strongly suffused as far as the median shade, more

feebly (and chiefly or only anteriorly) beyond ; cell-dot or dash present ; post-

median strong ; terminal dots less sharp than above, connected by a stronger

line. Hindwing pale, with small cell-dot and seldom strong postmedian ; ter-

minal line weaker and slenderer than on forewing, dots developed.

W. Sumatra : Simgei Kumbang, Korintji, 4,500 ft., AjDril 1914 (Robinson &

Kloss), 7 So, 1? in Mus. Tring.

Larger than nesciaria (Walk., 1861), j' hindtibia without a definite process,

tarsus relatively a trifle longer, median shade of forewing more sharply angled

and more oblique, hindwing termen slightly less angled, yet not quite so round

as in subpartita Prout (1919), which it recalls in markings, especially on imderside,

but which has a considerably shorter hindtarsus.

8. Sterrha phaeocrossa sp.n.

(J$, 14—16 mm. Face and palpus fuscous, the latter pale beneath. Antenna

in (^ subserrate, the ciliation long (over 2). Vertex, thorax and abdomen cart-

ridge-buff. Hindleg of (^ quite short ; tibia rather shorter than femiir, long-

scaled ; tarsus abbreviated.

Forewing with costa sUghtly arched in jjosterior part, termen slightly curved,

rather strongly oblique ; areole moderate or rather small, SC' typically stalked

well beyond it ; cartridge-buff, more or less suffused with a darker shade (ap-

proaching pinkish buff) ; markings dark grey (slightly darker and bromier or

more purplish than " deep quaker-drab " of Ridgway) ; a terminal border always

strong, about 1 mm. broad, tapering a little at costa and swelling very slightly and

gradually about the radials, proximally sometimes with a fine and interrupted

line from R' to a subterminal costal dot ; a slightly broader, but more irregular

median band more or less well developed, with a distal projection about the base

of R'-M- and a shght proximal one about the fold ; antemedian line weak,

postmedian variable, strong at costa, then tapering, slightly excurved just behind

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. -1931. 21

middle, sometimes becoming obsolescent ; fringe narrowly pale at base, then dark

or dark-mixed. Hindwing with termen strongly rounded, but not quite

regularly ; SC--R' stalked for about half their length ; similarly marked to

fore wing.

Underside similar.

Penang, January 1897 and May 1896 (Curtis), tyi^e and paratype in Mus.

Tring. Also known to me from Kuala Lumpur, Smgapore and Binding I. (3 ?$

in Mus. Brit.) and from Doerian, Riouw Archipelago (2 ^^ in Mus. Leiden).

Variable, but easily recognizable. Smaller and paler than ocnera Prout ( 1 926),

the dark borders standing out more sharply, a defined median band developed,

underside almost as sharply marked as ujiper. Some well-banded aberrations

of ;S'. fuilmaea (Meyr., 1888, Australia) are perhaps nearest to it.

9. Sterrha diphyes sp.n.

cJ9> 14-15 mm. Antenna of q dentate-fasciculate, the ciliation well over 1.

Hindtibia of ^ rather short, broad and flattened, partly hollowed, with pro-

jecting scale-tuft, tarsus abbreviated. Head and body concolorous with wings ;

face vinaceous-russet, sometimes dark-suffused.

Forewing rather broad in ^, narrower in $ ; in both sexes with apex acute,

minutely produced, termen oblique, nearly straight ; areole small or moderate ;

glossy buff, more or less strongly suffused with vinaceous (much as in marcidaria

Walk., 1861, etc.) ; costal margui redder, at extreme edge darker ; markings

very indistinct, reddish, the cell-mark and a few lines (or at least the postmedian

23roximally) discernible, also traces of jiale subterminal ; termen, or an indistinct

terminal Hne, darkened. Hindiving in 9 concolorous, in ^ posteriorly concolor-

ous, anteriorly whitish buff ; markmgs in $ continued ; ^ with a fringe of long

buff hair from proximal part of costal margin extending obliquely across the

broadened pale hind area of underside of forewing (on the middle of which stands

a rough patch of bright buff specialized scahng), abdominal area folded and

fringed.

LTnderside mostly coloured nearly as upper.

Luzon : Klondyke, Benguet, 800 ft., March-May 1912 (A. E. Wileman),

2 (J J, 4 $$, type in Mus. Tring ; Manila (Banks), 1 J and Mt. Makiling (Baker),

1 cJ both in Mus. Brit.

Evidently a specialized development of ritfula Swinh. (1903).

SuBFAM. LARENTHNAE.

10. Xanthorhoe curcumata (Moore).

Ciclfiria curcumata Moore, Lep. Coll. Alh., p. 27S (1888) (Darjiling).

My previous attempts to straighten out the interesting but troublesome

group to which this species belongs were rendered abortive by Moore's having

mixed three species as curcumata and treated the one in his own collection as a

" type." Up to 1925, the date of the erection of my X. hampsoni (Nov. Zool.

xxxii. 39) and-jjlacida {torn, cit . 40), I had found no adequate grounds for doubting

the bona fides of Moore's determination of his $, now in the British Museum. On

a visit to BerUn in 1927, however, I took the opportunity to make a careful

examination of the material in the Atkinson collection, to which must be con-

22 JJOVITATES ^OOLOalCAE XXXVII. 1931.

ceded the claim to the veritable type.' Even here I found two dissonant " types,"

the o belonging to griseiviridis Hnipsn. {Tr. Ent. Hoc. Loud. 1895, p. 312), the $

to placida Prout ; as the latter fits the description better and, moreover, conserves

the older of the two last-mentioned names, I declare it the holotvpe ("lectotype")

and sink my j)Iacida.

The three Sikkim species therefore stand as :

1. curcumata Moore, 1888 (Prout restr.) = placida Prout, 1925. o antenna

pectinate, forewing reddish-mixed in the dark parts, double lobe of postmedian

sUght, hindwing mixed with white.

2. griseiviridis Hmpsn., 1895 ( ^ curcumata Moore in coll. Atk., err. del.).

Smaller, ^J antemia pectinate though more shortly, forewuig not reddish-mixed,

double lobe of postmedian strong, hindwing dark.

3. Jormosicola Bastelb., 1909 (= viridilineata Bastelb., 1909 = viridilincta

Wileman, 1915 = curcumata Moore in coll., err. det., Prout ]ja.ssim, 1914-1925,

err. dci .). As large as curcumata, q antenna lamellate, with sessile ciliation.

When or if the Indian form is definitely differentiated from the Formosan,

it will require a subspecific name, as all the three legitimate ones here cited

belong to the latter. I have now examined all the ty])es mvolved.

11. Xanthorhoe cybele sp.n.

cJ$, 27-29 mm. Nearly related to X. griseiviridis (Hmpsn.), with which it

was imited l)y Mr. Wileman in his collection. Antennal pectinations shorter

(less than diameter of shaft), with the fascicles which surmount them longer

than themselves ; the fascicles from the secondary processes as long as those

from the (primary) jjectinations.

Forewing greenish, with the markings bone-brown, about as in some dark-

(but not black-) banded forms of griseiviridis, without the admixture of reddish

scales which is noticeable in formosicola Bastelb. and some others of the group ;

median band solid, its proximal edge twice indented, as in formosicola, its distal

almost as strongly produced behind R' as in griseiviridis. Hindwing rather

more imiformly dusky than in formosicola.

Underside similar to that of formosicola, but with the postmedian of both

wings projecting rather more strongly behind middle.

Formosa : Arizan, ti-24 August 1908 (A. E. Wileman), type £ and allotype

$ in coll. Brit. Mus., paratype (^ and $ in coll. Tring Mus.

Not difficidt to distinguish from the other very similar (but larger) Arizan

species, formosicola Butl., not only by its size but also by its more protuberant

postmedian, the other points noted above and especially l)y the subpectinate-

fasciculate o antenna.

12. Apithecia vii'idata wilemani subsjj.n.

cj$. Apart from other and less paljsable distinctions, differs regularly from

A. V. tiridata (Moore, 1867, India) m its darkened hindwing and underside.

Formosa, especially Arizan, where it seems excessively common in September.

Type (J in Mus. Tring, selected from among a splendid series obtauied by the late

A. E. Wileman.

1 The title and aim of the work — " Descriptions of New Lepidopterous Insects from the

Collection of the late Mr. W. S. Atkinson" — malie this manifest and can only be overridden in

indi.sputablc cases of internal evidence.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. . 1931. 23

13. Gonanticlea occlusata laetifica sub,sp.n.

Foreioing with brighter tints outside the median area than in G. o. occliisata

(Feld., 1875, Ceylon), in the $ with the median area itself bright or light and

with the postmedian lines generally very weak except costally. Hindwing,

excepting the abdominal region and (narrowly) a part of termen, ochraceoua

orange.

Both wings beneath (especially the forewing) similarly more orange than in

o. occliisata.

N. India : Sikkim and Assam, common in the KLhasis, type as (^ from Cherra-

punji, October 1892, in coll. Tring Mus.

14. Ecliptopera muscicolor allobathra subsp.n.

Forewing with the boundary-line of basal patch oblique outward from costal

margin to SC, thence more sinuous than in E. m. muscicolor (Moore, 1888,

N. India), with its inward curve centred on M ; median area broad. Hindiving

rather ample, with, less sharp contrast between the pale costal patch and the rest

than in m. muscicolor, median line beneath more strongly and regularly curved,

postmedian less oblique outward to hindmargin, subterminal faint.

Formosa (A. E. Wileman) : Rantaizan, 2 ^^, 1$; Arizan, 1$; the type

a 9 from Rantaizan in coll. Tring Mus.

15. Ecliptopera albogilva sp.n.

(J, 35-39 mm. Face sloping, with loose cone below ; palpus fully 2, second

joint with rather long, oblique projectmg hair-scalmg above. Antenna minutely

ciliated. Abdomen not very robust. Head and body pale yellow with tavray

cloudings, the abdomen above predominantly tawny, a pale central line rather

strong on the anterior segments, fading out posteriorly.

Forewing very pale yellow, almost ivory-yellow, but looking more cream-bu£E

on account of some faint buff suffusions, the warm tone of the veins and some

vague rippled lines in the distal area ; markings strong, tawny, slightly dulled

with grey, the subbasal, antemedian, and postmedian the strongest and darkest ;

basal area with two or three fine lines ; subbasal angled outward at M and very

slightly at SM-, on SC connected by a dark streak with antemedian ; antemedian

near subbasal, oblique outward from costa, curved to become almost vertical,

slightly inangled at SM- ; postmedian from nearly three-fourths costa, very

weakly exangled at R\ faintly incurved before and behind ; the broad median

area with groups of lines proximally and distally, the centre remaining of the

ground-colour, cut into segments by the veins ; cell-mark elongate, in centre

of pale area ; an irregularly crenulate tawny subterminal line, oblique from apex

to R-, somewhat excurved between tliis and M', then more nearly parallel with

termen and weakening ; terminal line not interrupted, not intense. Hindtoiruj

with costa only weakly curved, apex and termen rounded ; creamy white, with

a weak grey cell-dot and faint traces of postmedian line.

Underside Lygris-\i\ie, both wings pale yellow, the forewing witli the princijial

markings of upperside reproduced, the hindwing with strong cell-dot and curved

(m the middle Isluntly bent) postmedian line and traces of several weaker lines

isroximally and distally thereto.

Szechuan : Kmikala-Shan, 3 (JcJ-

24 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXX\7I. 1031.

A very distinct species, perhaps arising from a couimon base of Cidaria and

Ecliptopera ; best referred to the latter on account of the venation of the liind-

wing — non-extreme anastomosis of C and origin of R- before middle of the curved

DC ; the abdominal streak and the form of the subterminal of the forewing also

show affinity with Ecliptopera and a few Lygris.

lu. Collix dichobathra sp.n.

(J$, 30-36 mm. Scarcely distinguishable from the largest, broadest-winged,

brownest and most strongly marked examples of rufidorsata Prout (1929) except

in having the (J antenna much less strongly lamellate ; in the brownish tone

generally nearer to r. rujklorsaia than to r. proinidgafa Prout (1929). Forewing

with the costal spots in general more darkened, the postmedian band (group of

lines) broadening markedly in front of the slight constriction about SC^; sub-

basal line rather conspicuously darkened between cell and hindmargin. almost as

in e.ramplata Warr. (1906), as a dwarf form of which Warren seems to have re-

garded it. Underside with the longitudinal streaks on the whole less strongly

developed than in rufidorsata ; postmedian band of forewing much less indented

subcostally than in that species.

British New Guinea : Upper Aroa River, end of January and February 1903.

5 cJo. 3$? (including the type) ; Biagi, Mambare River, 5,000 ft., February-

March 1906, 4 (Jo"- All in Mus. Tring, collected by A. S. Meek.

Possibly a smaller, rather darker race of praetenta Prout (1929), but the ^

antenna seems appreciably more compressed laterally ; forewing with cell-spot

rather less broad ; subterminal line beneath runnuig out more obliquely at costa.

This latter character, in addition to its much smaller size, different colour, etc.,

distinguish it sharply from examplata, which inhabits the same area (and Mt.

Goliath) but has the subterminal of the forewing much weakened anteriorly.

17. Eupithecia spilocyma sp.n.

cJ$, 25-30 mm. Face-cone sharp. Paljjus nearly 2. Antennal cihation

of (J even, about 1. Abdomen moderately robust.

Wings as elongate as in costipicta Warr. (1903), with areole simple ; brown

with dark irroration, much as in rajata Guen. (1858) or on an average rather

brighter (variable in tone) ; markings as far as the postmedian much as in that

species, its inward and outward angulation subcostally and at R' acute, its dots

and dashes at the veins well developed ; subterminal characteristic, rather

deeply waved, filled-in proximally with dark spots which, except in the darkest

specimens, are decidedly conspicuous, the first two (costal and subcostal) rather

long, the other five (between R' and SM-) more macular ; terminal line interrupted

at the veins ; fringe dark-spotted opposite tlie veins. Hindwing more wliitish

costally and in ceU, then almost concolorous with forewing and with the markings

continued ; cell-dot moderate.

Underside approximately as in rajata, but with less white on hindwing, the

pale band outside the postmedian less broad.

Luzon; Haight's Place, Pauai Benguet (A. E. Wileman), 15 SS, 21??.

Type in Mus. Tring.

IS. Eupithecia wilemani sp.n.

9, 23 mm. Very similar to infujicata Warr. (1899, as Chlorocli/sli.f) =

foedatipennis Warr. (1901). Foreiving (as m the type of infuscata) with areole

NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1031. 25

and SC' close to (' but not touching it ; rather less broad, the costa slightly less

arched, the termen more oblique isosteriorly ; postmedian with the subcostal

indentation and the tooth in front of R' perhaps rather stronger, posterior part

rather more incurved ; terminal line (also on hind wing) slightly broader but more

strongly interrupted. Underside not quite so strongly ChloroclyiitisAike as

in inj'uscata, the colour contrasts being a little less sharp, the postmedian a little

less thick.

Luzon : Baguio, Benguet, 5,000 ft., March 22, 1912 (A. E. Wileman), 1 ? in

Mus. Tring.

The cJ(J of both these species remain unknown and it will not be surprising

if they prove to have some sexual specialisation.

10. Eupithecia (Mnesiloba) cauditomata sp.n.

cj$, 22-2C mm. Scarcely distinguishable except in the o hindwing from the

whitest forms of eupitheciata Walk. (1862). Foretving perhaps slightly broader

still ; the band between the white subbasal and the broad whitish (rarely grey)

median area always mixed (often strongly) with terra-cotta or vinaceous russet ;

the anterior half-band outside the postmedian also rather brightly tinted with the

same, giving place to whitish posteriorly. Hindwing of ^J triangular, the

apical angle rounded, the termen thence straight to tornus, which is somewhat

produced and bears a tuft of specialised cinnamon-buff or clay-coloured hair-

scaling ; the (^ wing otherwise whitish, almost unmarked, tinged with clay-

colour at termen and on fringe, the darker terminal line fine and interrupted.

British New Guinea : Hydrographer Mountains, 2,500 ft., February-April

1918 (Eichhorn Bros.), 5 (J (J, 4 $$, including the tyjje ; Biagi, Mambare River,

5,000 ft. (A. S. Meek), 2 ^^, 4 $? ; all in coll. Tring Mus.

20. Eupithecia (Mnesiloba) partitecta sp.n.

cJ$, 19-22 mm. Generally smaller than eupitheciata and cauditornata

(supra), but agam only as yet positively distinguishable by the ^J characters.

Foreiving generally with termen more strongly oblique, at least posteriorly ;

postmedian line more oblique inward from costa and with a more noticeable bend

inward at R', the prong at M' sharp ; median band generally with some dark

shading in anterior jjart, at least in the tJ> pale (excepting the proximal part)

posteriorly. Hindiving in ^ reduced, the jjroximal part dirty whitish, the

distal occupied by an extended patch of drab (towards cinnamon-drab) specialised

scaling which reaches from cell to termen and from costa to M- ; a rather pro-

nounced furrow between this and the folded abdominal margin, ending in a

terminal excision ; tornal lobe tufted with brownish drab. Underside suffused,

the specialised area of the hindwing vaguely darker grey.

N.E. New Guinea : Astrolabe Bay (C. Wahnes), type ^ and 2 $$. Good-

enough Island (A. S. Meek), \^, i 12 $$. Penang (Curtis) 1 ^. Luzon (A. E.

Wileman), 2 <^J, 5 ??. Type in Mus. Tring.

If the whole series from Goodenough Island belongs here, that sex is as

variable and often as large as in eupitheciata, but I suspect that both species occur

together there.

A more detailed working-out of the races must await better material.

26 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

21. Micromia (Prosthetopteryx) scotochlaena sp.n.

(J, 21-22 mm. Head light cinnamon ; face-cone strong ; palpus just over

2, second joint rough-scaled above, third shortish-moderate. Antennal .shaft

proximally with suberect dark scales ; ciliation even, nearly 1. Thorax and

abdomen above with Verona-brown and blackish admixture ; crests strong, dark.

Forewing glossy ; a large dark basal patch, proximally somewhat olive (at

costa reddened), distally black-brown or olivaceous black, its boundary-line

finely pale, from J costa to i hindmargin, somewhat o])lique inward to behind

M, then very briefly and slightly outbent, then direct to hindmargin ; median

area tinged, especially in the proximal part, with testaceous, shading into the

indefinite (buffy brown or more fawn) colouiing of the distal area ; cell-mark

weak ; postmedian line marked by a blackish costal spot, otherwise very fine

and incomplete, chiefly indicated about the radials, where it is minutely lunulate-

dentate and has curved far outward from the costal spot ; a large dark (but not

black) costal patch jiroximal to the subterminal, broad anteriorly but ending in

a point behind SC' ; subterminal pale, not very sharp, slightly sinuous, dentate

outward about M-', slightly thickened behind M.-, running to tornus ; some very

weak dark shading at radials bordering the subterminal ; terminal line weak,

interrupted ; the pale line at base of fringe, as also the ajiex, tinged with testa-

ceous. Hmdicing cleft only between the medians (Warren's sect. I of Pros-

thetopteryx), not quite so deeply as in caesiata Warr. (1906), the anterior part

slightly sinuate between the radials ; dirty whitish, tinged in part with bu£E,

distally shading off to pale neutral grey ; terminal line weak, interrupted.

Forewmg beneath with basal jsatch neutral grey, the rest anteriorly (in front

of cell and R', with no sharp definition) somewhat drab-tlnged, with darker lines,

posteriorly light neutral grey ; ceU-mark faint. Hindwing beneath more nearly

as above, but with indications of cell-dot, a costal dot beyond and a faint line

bounding the grey-tinged terminal area proximally.

Central Dutch New Guinea : Mt. Gohath, 5,000-7,000 ft., February 1911

(A. S. Meek), 2 (J (J in coll. Trmg Mus.

Perhajjs nearest to vinosa Warr. (1907, conjecturally, but quite correctly,

referred here) but very distinct. On account of the palpus, the broad, glossy

forewing, etc., I regard Prosthetopteryx as a subgenus of Micromia rather than of

Eupithecia.

22. Calluga lophoceras sp.n.

(J9, 17-19 mm. Considerably darker than costalis Moore (1887), the pale

green ground-colour clouded with a deeper and less reddish brown. Antenna

of (^ less swollen at base, on the other hand proximally to the middle with a slight

swelling, from which springs a conspicuous tuft of projecting scales. Hindtibia

with the inner proximal spur well removed from the terminals, the outer wantmg

or absolutely vestigial ; terminals extremely unequal ; neither of the long sjiurs

club-shaped in the J.

Forewing with the antemedian indefinite, obscured by dark cloudmgs,

apparently much more angled outward in cell than in costalis ; median area much

more darkened in anterior than in posterior half ; postmedian and outer markings

much as in costalis. Hindwinij with the terminal excision (between the radials)

deeper than in costalis ; markings much as in that species, the terminal line rela-

tively strong.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXX\ai. ' Ifl.Tl. 27

S. India : Madiu-a district (H. Campbell), March-June 1896, 2 ^J,^, 2 ??

ill coll. Tring Mus., including the type, others in coll. Prout. Also from Oota-

camund, Nilgiris.

23. Carige bicuspis sp.n.

cj$, 32 mm. Pectinations long, even in the $. Head and body cream-buff.

Forewiny broad, excavation behind apex rather strong, projection at R^

strong, its tip almost as far from base as is the apex, termen jiosteriorly not so

extremely oblique as in lunuUneata Moore (1888) ; DC in both sexes biangulate ;

areole moderate (^) or small ($), SC^ ' = ' * stalked beyond it ; cream-buff, with

fine and not very dense grey irroration ; cell-dot small, blackish, shortly linear ;

lines chamois, farther apart than in crudplaga Walk. (1861), the postmedian a

little straighter stiU, the black marks on the antemedian almost obsolete, those

on the postmedian small, especially the proximal ones ; subterminal dots also

slighter than in cruciplaga ; fringe much as in that species. Hindwimj with

both projections of termen strong, specially that at R^ ; DC in both sexes biangu-

late ; concolorous with forewrng ; cell-dot similar ; postmedian. line continued,

curved posteriorly, its black posterior maculation probably variable (strong in

type (J, obsolescent in allotype) ; outer area as on forewing.

Underside with some orange-cinnamon suffusion, esjiecially at the veins and

along the postmedian line ; cell-marks and postmedian line strong, blackish ;

outer area as above.

W. Sumatra : Sungei Kumbang, Korintji district, 4,500 ft., April 1914

(Robinson & Kloss), a pair in coU. Tring Mus.

Superficially similar to the typical {cmciplaga) group, except in its more

extreme shape ; luiique, so far as is yet known, is its structural characters,

though combinata Warr. (189(1, Flores) shares \\'ith it the subcostal venation of the

forewing and may possibly prove, when the $ is discovered, to be near it in struc-

ture, though smaller and very different is shape and maculation.

24. Gonioptei'oloba carigodes sp.n.

cJ, 30 mm. Palpus fully 2 ; warm buff, with a few blackish scales on outerside.

Head and body concolorous with wings. Hindleg slender, without hair-pencil.

Foreicimj with termen very slightly waved (almost straight) from apex to the

very famt bend at R', but without concavity, posteriorly more obUque ; SC'

stalked to much Ijeyond SC°, R= slightly before middle of DC, M' from very near

R' ; almost uniformly u-rorated cream-buff and olive-brown, with some blackish

fuscous admixture ; costal edge best showing the buff ground-colour, with dark

spots and strigulae ; cell-mark rather long, blackish ; hues ochraceous buff,

edged on both sides (somewhat irregularly and macularly) with blackish fuscous ;

antemedian obsolete anteriorly, oblique inward in cell, slightly sinuous from base

of M- to hindmargin ; postmedian 4 oi' 5 mm. from termen, slightly sinuous, from

SC to M' shghtly less oblique than termen, between M' and SM* a little incurved ;

subterminal indistinct, irregular, with blackish fuscous spots proximally, those

at costa, between the radials and at hindmargin the strongest. Hindwing

rather less narrow than in the genotype (zed ska Swinh.. 1894), more as in Carige

rachiaria Swinh. (1891), noticeably dentate, but with the tooth at R' hardly

stronger than the others ; venation as in the ^ of zalska, M- runnuig to abdominal

margin, not — as in Carige — to tornus ; concolorous with forewing or scarcely

28 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

paler ; cell-mark much smaller and weaker ; postmeclian and subterminal well

developed in their j)osterior part, accompanied as on forewing.

Underside rather more clouded, with markings more blurred, no ochraceous

colour on the hnes ; postmedian of hindwing (or rather, its dark distal edging)

stronger anteriorly than posteriorly.

W. Sumatra : Sungei Kumbang, 4,500 ft., April 1914 (Robinson & Kloss),

type (J m Mus. Tring.

More suggests in pattern a Carige (notably rachiaria) than a Goniopteroloba,

while in coloration and shape it reverts more towards Cryptoloba (aerata Moore,

1867).

25. Steirophora altitudinum sp.u.

cj$, 37-39 mm. Close to acrolophites Prout (1926, Java). Abdomen of cJ

a little longer still. Forewing with the areas rather less sharply defined, the

bands which bound the median area being scarcely paler than the median and

basal areas, the whole wing rather uniformly suffused and with the dots on the

veins strong ; median band more distally placed, posteriorly somewhat less

narrowed, in some specimens remaining rather exceptionally broad for a Steiro-

pliora. Hindwing with the postmedian line rather more dLstally placed than in

acrolophites.

W. Sumatra : Korintji, May 1914 (Robinson & Kloss), the ^J type collected

at 7,300 feet altitude, 4 $?. AU in coll. Tring Mus.

Distinguishable from fasciata Moore (1888) and (subsp. ?) auratisquama

Warr. (1897) by its larger size, more uniform and less greenish coloration, shape

of the median band, etc.

26. Sauris coalita sp.u.

o, 31 mm. Face dark oUve-buff (no doubt greener when bred). Palpus

fully 3 ; greenish mixed with black, hair beneath 3rd joint very pale green, be-

coming white at base. Antenna simple, laterally compressed. Thorax and

abdomen concolorous with wings. Hindtibia with the fringe not quite so long

and tuft-like as in the allies.

Forewing with termen entire (sect. Holorista Warr., 1894), the comb of

curved hair-scales at tornus about as in proboscidaria Walk. (1862), accompanying

a fovea-like patch which is perhaps somewhat more concentrated than in that

species ; pale green (slightly more olive-tinged than primrose yellow), with deep

brownish drab or fuscous markings ; these are much heavier and more extended

than in proboscidaria, intermediate towards those of nigrifusalis (Warr. 1896, sect.

Pseudoschista indescr.) ; the two subbasal lines blacker than in proboscidaria,

but not broader ; median area broader (at cost a about 6 mm.) its lines in distal

half almost completely coalescing into a band, which throws out a stronger

distal projection between SC and the middle of cellule 4 than in proboscidaria,

and from which there runs out to teinien a narrower projection between the

radials ; the lines outside the postmedian strong anteriorly and moderately so

near tornus ; rather conspicuously light subterminal spaces — green shading off

to whitLsh distally — between SC^ and R' and between R= and M', the latter

much the longer ; subtornal fovea-spot white.

Hindwing above much as in proboscidaria, rather duskier ; the black pencil

from its base slight ; beneath with the specialised hair of distal part much less

developed, not light-brown.

NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1931. 29

Perak, 2000-3500 ft. (W. Doherty), type in coll, Joicey. A pair from Kedah

Peak, Malay Peninsula, 3,300 ft., March 1928, at light (H. M. Pcndlebury), with

the markings less heavy (excepting the outer subbasal) but otherwi.se similar ;

$ with 3rd joint of palpus a little longer, median markings of forewing interrupted

between R' and M'.

SuBFAM. GEOMETRINAE.

27. Arctoscelia celator sp.n.

0$, 48-52 mm. Very similar to onusta Warr. (Nov. Zool. iv. 103), except

as noted.

Larger. Hindtibia of ^ without the remarkable hair-tufts, yet heavily

dilated and ensheathmg an extremely strong pencil.

Forewing with termen posteriorly a little more oblique ; SC- in the (^ and

sometimes in the 9 from the cell (in the $ sometimes short-stalked with SC',

as in the genotype) ; in some lights with decided piii'plish reflections ; cell-

spot strongly ocellated (as in the otherwise quite dissimilar mufata Warr., loc.

cit.) ; postmedian line rather better developed, the pale line which distally bounds

it less white, less punctiform, less deeply incurved at fold. Hindwing of ^

beneath without the specialised clothing.

Luzon : Haight's Place, Pauai, Benguet, 7,000 ft., June, July, November,

and December 1912 (A. E. Wileman), 5 ^JcJ, 3 $? ; type in coll. Tring Mus.

All the three known Arctoscelia were collected by Mr. Wileman at the same

locality, the eight mutata before me all in very poor condition ; the last-named

is clearly a species, with nearly the leg-structure of onuMa but with little or no

special clothing on the ^ hindwing beneath ; it is generally smaller and with the

termen of the forewing slightly less oblique.

28. Sabaria anagoga sp.n.

(J, 30 mm. Head and body predominantly cinnamon-drab to fawn, the

face, collar and part of palpus rather more reddish, the vertex somewhat in-

fuscated, the abdomen beneath paler than above. Antenna almost | as long as

forewing, pectinate to very near apex.

Forewing shghtly less narrow than in most Sabaria, costa gently curved,

ajjex not j)roduced, termen only very feebly bent in middle, posteriorly moderately

strongly oblique, straightish ; cinnamon-drab with a tinge of fawn, closely and

uniformly irrorated or strigulated ; markings indistmct ; cell-mark greyer,

slightly elongate ; Unes more definitely fawn ; antemedian from beyond | costa,

weakly exangled subcostally, then rather oblique inward and wavy, proximally

pale-edged at costa ; postmedian at both ends about 3 mm. from termen, shghtly

interrupted, sinuous, incurved between R' and hindmargin. Hindwing

moderate, with apex moderately squared, termen feebly bent at R' ; almost con-

colorous with forewing but looking very slightly yellower, chiefly through the less

extreme density of the more fawn irroration ; a weak greyish cell-dot and slender,

somewhat sinuous postmedian, the latter almost twice as near to cell-dot as to

termen.

Forewing beneath more fawn than above, the irroration olive-grey, densest

costally ; cell-mark larger and stronger than above ; no markings. Hindwing

antimony yellow, fading ofi towards warm buff, with a narrow, ill-defined distal

border of grey irroration ; cell-dot weak.

30 NOVITATKS ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. I!t31.

Borneo : Sintang, February 18, 1925 (Dr. H. Winkler), type in Zool. Mu.s.,

Hamburg.

In some measure intermediate between the groups of rondelaria (Fab., 1775)

and incitatu (Walk., lS(i2). In colour the upperside strongly recalls some forms

of Anagoga pidveraria (Linn.).

29. Fascellina arcipotens sp.n.

cJ, 39 mm. Face dark reildish brown above, paler beneath. Palpus pre-

dominantly ochraceous orange. Body above dark viiiaceous grey, beneath

cartridge-buff to cream-buff, breast and an anteiior ])atch or stripe on abdomen

laterally suffused with orange.

Forewing broad, costa rather strongly arched distally, apex blunt, termen

smooth, not more oblique than in reftimarginata Warr. (1894) and still more

regular, hmdmargin extremely faintly subconcave near tornus ; apparently

somewhat faded ; rather light purple-drab, beconung paler in distal area ; a

broad, ill-defined buff, olive-tinged subcostal streak (probably more olive when

fresh), traceable from near base into the angle of the postmedian, but with a

blurred reddish suffusion beyond the cell ; antemedian distinct, almost as sharply

angled close to costa as in aurijera Warr. (1897) ; median almost obsolete ; post-

median produced to near termen anteriorly, but with its angle blunter (more

rounded) than in aurifera, subsequently forming a very gentle inward curve,

almost straight ; a thicker subterminal from R' to hindmargin, slightly bowed

outward, except for an extremely faint anterior concavity. Hindicing shaped

much as in aurifera (i.e. with a very shallow concavity between apex and R'),

but rather ampler ; proximal half wdth more of the buff (or oUve-buff) colour, a

purple-drab suffusion belimd cell not quite reaching abdominal margin ; post-

median even more highly sinuous than in aurifera and cydra Prout (1925), the

warm shade on its proximal side narrower than in them ; subterminal indistinct,

fairly direct from costa to near middle, then bent and becoming still weaker and

ajsparently more dentate ; no dark terminal shade.

Underside with the lines nearly as above. Forewmg with the buff proximal

part much brighter, more orange-buff, and reachuig costa ; a reddish ferruginous

band occupying a good half of the median area, iU-defined proximally, sharply

defined by the postmedian distally ; some ferruginous terminal shading poster-

iorly. Hmdwing less bright orange than in aurifera and cydra, in distal half

somewhat suffused with violaceous and ferruginous.

Mindanao : Kolambugan, Lanao plains, June 12, 1914 (A. E. Wileman),

ty|je in coll. Tring Mus.

30. Fascellina hypocausta sp.n.

1^, 39-42 mm. In most respects comparable to hypochryseis Swinh. (1S94),

yet very distinct. — Foreiving with the same excavations, but that in hindmargm

longer and shallower ; colouring paler : lines rather darker, the antemedian less

inbent at M ; the white cell-spot larger (more as in albidiscafa Warr., 1894),

iiiegular in form but rather variable ; a more distinct daik zigzag subterminal

from R' hindward. Hindwing with abdominal margin less long in proportion

than in hypochryseis, more as in albidiscata female ; the punctiform white post-

median marked with a conspicuous black spot in front of R'. Forewing

beneath as in hypochryseis or scarcely duller ; hindwing very different, the yellow

NnVITATES ZOOLOCICAE XXXVIl. '1931. 31

proximal part being much more dulled with copious dark strigulation, the distal

part predominantly clouded with Hay's russet or liver-brown (varying according

to the individual), only showing some orange at apex and generally near tornus.

Mindanao : Kolamljugan. Lanao plains, June 12-20, 1014 (A. E. Wileman),

3 tJ(J ; type in Mus. Tring, a paratype in Mus. Brit.

31. Hyposidra lactiflua sp.n.

cJ, 45 mm. Head and body dark grey, the abdomen mouse-grey, the head,

and thorax mostly darker shaded.

Forewing with costa straight to nearly j, then rather strongly cm-ved, apex

blunt, termen nearly straight, even less sinuous than in J leucomela Walk. (1866) ;

grey, a Uttle darker than mouse-grey (presumably somewhere in the enormous gap

between li and loi on pi. LI of Ridgway) ; a very large creamy white distal area

(6-7 nun. wide), its proximal edge somewhat sinuous (faintly incurved jjroxunally

and distally of a blunt projection at R'-M' near their base), containing a large

costal and a small hindmarginal patch of the ground-colour ; the costal patch

subquadrate, 4-0 mm. in diameter, on costa touching basal dark area but

not reaching apex, posteriorly reaching R- proximally but with its boundary

ruiming shghtly more costad than that vein, distally almost connected with termen

by some irroration about R' ; the hindmarginal patch narrow posteriorly (touching

tornus), projecting distad behind M-, somewliat rounded anteriorly, where it ends

midway between M= and M' ; fringe white, feebly spotted. Hindwing with

termen only faintly waved, extremely bluntly bent at R' ; predominantly white,

the basal area being much mixed with white in cell, the subtornal spot wanting.

the subapical narrowed posteriorly, not crossing R', on the other hand reaching

apex and connected with termen by much heavy irroration in front of R' ; fainter

terminal irroration behind, and indications of an interrupted grey terminal line ;

fringe white, grey-spotted.

British North Borneo ; Kinabalu (J. Waterstradt), type in coll. Tring Mus.

Probably variable, but by shape, as well as position of white area, certainly

not a form of wpioleuca Prout (1916), which also occurs on Kinabalu ; less far

from leucomela Walk., especially in its form albifurcata Warr. (1897, Bongao,

Sulu Is.), of which it might possibly be regarded as a race.

32. Seleniopsis francki sp.n.

$, 34 mm. Head buff, with some dark admixture, the palpus dark-spotted

on outerside. Body greyish, suffused (especially the thorax) with vinaceous drab.

Forewing vinaceous drab, dulled (especially m outer part of terminal area)

by deep greyish ohve strigulation ; an extended tornal patch (reaching post-

median and touching M') blue-whitisli, in places (especially proximally) with

greyish olive irroration, whicli at hindmargin rather nearer to postmedian than

to tornus condenses into a darker mark ; cell-mark black, narrow, slightly

elongate ; lines deep greyish olive (or intermediate towards Andover green),

arising from obUque white costal marks, of which the antemedian is the longer

and narrower ; the lines themselves diffused and not very conspicuous, the ante-

median forming a sharp angle with its costal mark, somewhat incurved, then

about vertical to hindmargin, the postmedian running almost straight outward

from its costal spot on SC^ forming a strong outward curve, then oblique inward.

32 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

about parallel with termen ; minute white vein-dots at ]jroximal edge of post-

median. Hindwing greyer, though with some suffusion of vinaceous drab,

especially at abdominal margin ; no definite markings except at hind part of

abdominal margin, where a slightly incurved blackish line runs from close to

tornus, fading away towards M', an indefinite pale band bounds it proximally

and the beginning of a slender greyish line separates this latter band from the

more vinaceous-tinged part.

Underside with forewing duller, hindwing brighter ; both with faint traces

of a median line and less faint traces of a greyish olive j)ostmedian. the latter on

the forewmg with some dark spots anteriorly, on the hindwing terminating in a

design similar to that of upperside ; forewing with the outer white costal spot ;

hindwing with a slender angular black cell-mark.

Szechuan : Kwanhsien. August 13, 1930 (G. M. Franck), type in coll.

L. B. Prout.

33. Ectropis simplaria tranostigma subsp.n.

,^$, 32-36 mm. Larger than .s. simplaria (Swinh., 1894), more strongly

marked, in particular with the cell-dot of hindwing much enlarged, not infre-

quently throwing a sharp streak outward across the double postmedian.

Luzon : Haight's Place, Benguet, 7,000 ft. (A. E. Wileman), a long series ;

type in Mus. Tring.

If the figure (Schmett. Philipp. ii, t. Lxiv, f. 3) is very bad — too broad-winged,

antemedian Une shown single, median of forewmg straight, subtermmal of hind-

wing without the characteristic angulation at R' — it is jjossible that this race

will have to be called E. s. phimosa (Swinh. MS.) Semper ; E. plumosa was

founded on a single S from Mt. Apo (2,0(5() m.), S.E. Mindanao and the descrip-

tion, unhke most of Semper's, is worthless ; the name and the figure would

suggest strongly pectinate antemia, but the reference to Ectropis renders this

an improbable structure and I suspect Swinhoe based his proposed name on the

extremely long and dense fascicles of cilia {Myrioblephara Warr.).

34. Milionia conducta uom.n.

Milionia derjans rediicla Rothsch., Ann. Mag. Xat. Hist. (9) xvii. 115 (1926) (nom. praeocc.) (New

Britain).

In employing the name reducta for this insect. Lord Rothschild overlooked

its prior use by Gaede {Int. Ent. Zeit. Ouben vii. 353, 1914) ; although this author

erroneously accorded to his reducta the status of "ab.," it is the first and only

available name for the Kinabalu form of the Javanfulgida Vollenh. (1863) and —

as the locality was given — takes rank as a subspecies.

The less narrow wings and different o abdomen lead me to regard covducta

as specifically distinct from elegans {Jord. d- Rothsch., 1895, D'Entrecasteaux) ;

the abdomen above has only four (not five) well-developed orange belts, the 3rd

and 4th, however, confluent into a band beneath, whereas in elegans the sternum

is wholly black.

35. Milionia pericallis keysseri subsp.n.

rj, 62 mm. Considerably larger than p. pericallis Roth.sch. & Jord. (1905),

all the blue parts much duller, in most lights appearing hardly brighter than

Ridgwav's " green-blue grey " series (pi. xlviii) ; forewing with median band

broader, at least anteriorly, more cinnamon-drab, its green edguigs slight and

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. -1931. 33

not vivid, outer blue area broad, almost reaching terinen ; hindwing with the

red spot wanting, even on the underside (as in only one aberrant specimen from

Angabunga), the subterminal blue area fairly well developed.

N. E. New Gmnea : Rawlinson Mountains, inland from Huon (JuU (Keysser),

1 c? in coll. Trmg Mus.

30. Visitara charitopis sp.n.

(^9, 41-42 mm. Smaller and paler than brunneiplaya Swinli. (Iit02), the

wmgs relatively a little shorter, altogether more approaching in coloration, and

even in shape, the pale forms of Hypephyra terrosa Butl. (1889), but with the

characteristic tail of hindwing well developed, though not quite so long as in

brunneiplaga. Forewing marked much as in brunneiplaga ; angles of ante-

median less extreme ; sinuous median fairly well developed ; postmedian more

smuous than m brunneiplaga, considerably less oblique, very little nearer termen

at hindmargin than at costa, its inward curve at fold deep. Hindwing with the

subterminal shade less broad than m brunneiplaga, a pale subterminal line trace-

able at its distal edge. Underside less ochreous than in brunneiplaga, the sub-

terminal bands less broad, less intense, slightly diiferent in pose.

Luzon : Klondyke, Benguet, 800 ft., ^ SS (inclucUng the type) in Mus. Brit. ;

1 cJ, 1? in Mus. Tring.

37. Coryniica pardalota sp.n.

(J, 21-22 mm. In structure, shape and coloration nearest to latimarginata

Swinh. (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7) ix. 47, 1902). Much smaller. Forewing with

the vesicle at base on upperside relatively somewhat larger, its distal end less

rounded (more flattened) ; distal border narrower and reduced to a half-band,

only reaching to R' except for mere remnants at termen posteriorly ; other

markings slight, macular. Hiyidwing at base merely produced forward (as

in the armaria group, only rather more proximally), whereas in latimarginata

there is a large rounded swelling, hollowed above ; border reduced to dark spots

at the vein-ends ; numerous irregular dots and spots, the largest ones representing

a central and a subterminal series, those of the former largest at costa and hind-

margin, those of the latter between the radials and hindmargin.

North Borneo : Bettotan, near Sandakan, 28 July-17 August, 1927 (0. Boden

Kloss and H. M. Pendlebury), "i ^S. Type in coll. Brit. Mus.

Unfortunately the abdomma of all three have been partly destroyed by

Psocids.

38. Lomographa (Heterostegane) minax sp.n.

cj$, 21-24 mm. Best comparable with cararia Hb. ; colours the same.

Antemia of ^ with the joints not projecting, the ciliation shorter (1). Abdomen

above uifuscated.

Foreiving heavily, but rather irregularly and variably, dark-clouded, a more

or less extended apical part (at termen reaching about to the medians) remaining

free or nearly so, very much as in rather extreme examples oifrimaculata Vill. ab.

cognataria Led. ; outer band broader than in cararia, the Une between it and

termen along R- obsolete or nearly so, an angle formed between the medians,

behind which the band is curved inward, more as in the suhle.ssellata (Walk.)

group than in cararia. Hindwing also heavily clouded, the line more proxim-

ally placed than in cararia and less sharply angled.

3

34 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

Underside with the outer band somewhat broader than in cararia.

W. China : Kwanhsien, Szechuan, 29 July, 1926 ((j" type), 10 August, 1926

($ allotype), 8 August, 1926 and 1 July, 1920 ($ paratypes). All in coll. Joicey,

collected by G. M. Franck.

SuBFAM. HEMITHEINAE.

39. Terpna loncheres sp.n.

(J, 44 mm. Very near to erionotna (Swinh.). especially — in its pale coloiu"-

ing — to e. albicomitata Prout (1927). Terminal joint of palpus a little less short.

Forewing with subbasal line less oblique ; antemedian at first sUghtly oblique

inward, ciu-ving in middle to become oblique outward ; postmedian thick at

costa, forming between the medians and between M- and tornus rather con-

spicuous large spots, the posterior one transversely elongate ; presubterminal

shade from costa to R- rather strong and straight ; between the radials scarcely

connected with termen by dark shading. Hindvnng with cell-mark strong,

recalling T. pratii Prout (1927), postmedian between R' and R' as straight and

oblique as cell-mark ; long blackish wedges outside the postmedian between

R' and M.-, the posterior one the longer. Underside with the borders broader

than in erionoma, the white ground-colour of the forewing with some slight

pinkish suffusion posteriorly.

N. Borneo : Bettotan, near Sandakan, July 30, 1927 (H. M. Pendlebury),

1 (J in coU. Brit. Mus., presented by the Federated Malay States Museums.

The unique type is unfortunately somewhat worn, but unmistakable.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 35

TYPES OF BIRDS IN THE TRING MUSEUM.

By ERNST HARTERT, Ph.D.

D. Gregory M. Mathews's Types of Australian Birds.

III.

{For No. I see Nov. Zool. xxxv, ju^- 42-58.')

ANSERES.

t 87. Chenopis atrata roberti Math. = Chenopis atrata.

Chenopis atrata roberti Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 446 (1912 — "West Australia" ! In the B.

Aiislralia, iv, p. 13, the author says the type was from Augusta, S.W. Australia, and this locality

is also quoted in the Syst. A v. Australas., i, p. 207 !)

Type : " $ " Augusta, 1897. J. T. Tunney coll.

The author said this subspecies was " made darker and smaller, wing

466 mm." It is, however, not darker, nor smaller, as it is a female ! In the

B. A list r. iv, he says that " I have not upheld this subspecies, though I still

think that the examination of longer series of specimens would compel its rein-

statement." In the Syst. Av. Australas., p. 207 the subspecies is upheld. This

tyjje is figured on pi. 200 of the B. Australia.

t 88. Anseranas semipalmata hamiltoni Math. = Anseranas semipabnata.

Anseranas semipalnuiln htmilloni Mathews, AuMral Avian Record, i, p. 85 (1912 — "North West

Australia (type). Northern Territory "').

Type: (J ad. Parry's Creek, East Kimberley, N.W. Austraha, l.ii.l909,

J. P. Rogers coll. Ex coll. Mathews. Figured pi. 201, £. J i(^/r.

In the Birds of Australia, iv, p. 31 Mathews '' withdrew " this subspecies

but in his Syst. Av. Australas. he recognized it without explanation.

t 89. Cheniscus coramandelianus mackayi Math. = Nettapus coromandelianus

albipeimis Gould.

Cheniscus coramandelianus (sic) mackayi Muthev/s, Austral Avian Record, iii, p. o6 (April 1916 —

Mackay, Queensland).

Type : Mackay, Queensland.

There has been no description of the supposed differences, only it was said

" Figured and described in my Birds of Australia, i, pi. 202, p. 36," and in the

Syst. Av. Australas. p. 210 the name is added as a sjmonyni.

t 90. Cheniscus pulchellus rogersi Math. = Nettapus pulchcllus Gould.

Cheniscus pulchellus rogersi Mathews. Austral Aldan Record, iii, p. 56 (April 1916 — Parry's Creek,

North- West Australia).

Type : <S Parry's Creek, East Kimberley, 4.ii.l909. J. P. Rogers coll.

No description of supposed differences, same statement as in the former.

Thus at once a synonym, and admitted as such in Syst. Av. Australas. i, p. 210.

' For former lists of types see Novitates Zoological, vols. 1918, 1919, 192U, 1922, 1924, 1925,

1926, 1927, 1930, 1931.

36 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1031.

t 91. Cereopsis novaehollandiae georgi Math. = Cereopsis novaehollandia Lath.

Cereopsis novaehollandiae (jeorgi Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 446 (1912 — " West Australia. Range

Islands south-east of West Australia ").

Type: ^ North Twin Peak Island, S.E. of West Australia, 6. v. 1906.

J. T. Tunney coU.

The specimen is figured on jjI. 204, B. Australia, iv. It appears to be gettmg

rather rare in AustraUa.

t 92. Dendrocygna javanica peroni Math. = D. arcuata ausiraUs Rchb.

Vendrocygna javanica peroni Mathews. Austral Avian Record, i, p. 86 (.September 1912 — North

West Australia, Fitzroy River).

Type : S Fitzroy River, 28. i. 1896. No. 12199, Mathews collection.

Mathews said tliis subspecies differed from Z). arcuata goiildi (= au-stralis !)

m its much darker under-surface. This is perfectly true, and another male

from the same locaUty and date has also a very richly coloured iniderside, but

this is probably due to both being very fine, freshly moulted specimens. In the

type the edges to the feathers of the upperside are also very dark and narrow,

but in the other example they are wider and as light as in many others. It could

hardly be that in a so widely spread species a local form developed on the Fitzroy

River, and I therefore quite agree with Mr. Mathews that the name jieroni should

be looked ujjon as a synonym of the Australian form. (The differences of D. a.

ausiraUs from D. arcuata require a good explanation and are probably of no

subspecific value.)

t 93. Dendrocygna eytoni munna Math. = Dendrocygna eytoni (Eyton).

Dendrocygna eytoni munna Mathews, Austral Avian Record, i, p. 86 (September 1912 — Queensland

and New South Wales).

Type : $ Daw.son River, Queensland, 4.U.1909. Rogers coU. (Admitted

as synonym by the author 1927). (Ex coll. Mathews.)

t 94. Tadoma radjah flindersi Math. = Tadornu radjah rufitergum Hart.

Tadoma radjah flindersi Mathews, Austral Avian Record, i, p. 86 (September 1912 — Cooktown,

Queensland).

Type: Ad. Cooktown, 28. xi. 1899. (Ex coll. Mathews.)

Already quoted as synonym of rufitergum by Mathews in 1927.

t 95. Tadoma tadomoides westralis Math. = Tadoma tadomoides.

Tadorna tadomoides westralis Mathews, Austral Avian Record, i, p. 118 (December 1912 — " South-

west AustraUa ").

Type : ^ Augusta, S.W. AustraUa. J. T. Tunney coll.

In his Syst. Av. Australas. i, p. 213 Mathews upheld this supposed sub-

species. There is no difference in the markings and colour, only it is smaller,

and one specimen is not sufficient to admit such a subspecies It is true that

the wing measures only 349 mm., but there is much variation in size. The

wings of other males in the Tring Museum measure 356, 361, 364, 365, 372, 383,

and 388 mm. There is therefore no reason to separate one male with a wing

349 mm. long !

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. ' 1931. 37

t 96. Spatula clypeata Indiana Math. = Spatula clypeata (L.).

Spatula clypeata indiana Mathews, Austral Avian Record, i. Part viii, p. 194 (March 1913 — " India ").

Type: cJ ad. Runyagora, Upper Assam, 2.iv.l905. Dr. H. W. Coltart

coU.

(Cf. Hartert, Vog. paL Fauna, ii, p. 1329.)

t 97. Malacorhynchus membranaceus assimilis Math. = Malucorhynchus

)iiembrunaceus.

Malacorhynchus tnerribranaceus assimilis Mathews, Austral Avian Record, i. 4, p. 86 (September 1912

— Fitzroy River, North-West Australia).

Type : $ Fitzroy River, 8.xi. 1902. J. R. Rogers coll.

Said to differ in its smaller wing-measurement and lighter coloration

generally. This is not the case, it is not lighter in coloration, nor are Fitzroy

River examples smaller. The wing of the type, which is a, fenuile, is 187 mm.,

but Mathews quotes only 181 as the length of the wing for the male, and our

largest males, with wings 203 mm. are from the Fitzroy River ! It is evidently

the type of "assimilis " which is figiued on plate 214 of the B. of Australia,

but its date is IS.i, not 10. i. In the B. of Australia Mathews evidently did not

recognize his subspecies, but in the Syst. Av. Australas. p. 220, he admitted it

agam.

t 98. Nyroca nyroca dampieri Math. = Nyrocu australis Eyton.

Nyroca nyroca dampieri Mathews, Austral Avian Retard, i, 4, p. 87 (" Fitzroy River, North West

Australia " ).

Type : " cJ " Fitzroy River, N.W. AustraUa, 20. i. 1896.

Supposed to be smaller and lighter in coloration. There is no difference

in the coloration. The wing measures 207 mm., which would be small for a

male, but the specimen may be a female, in which case it is by no means small.

Unfortunately admitted as a separate subspecies in Syst. Av. Australas. p. 221.

t 99. Oxyura australis victoriae Math. = Oxyura australis.

Ojcyura australis victoriae Mathews, Austral .Aciaii Record, i, p. 87 (1912 — " Victoria ").

Type : " Victoria."

Said to be larger and " the markings on the back not so pronounced."

Absolutely typical australis, but not fully plumaged. No bigger than others in

similar plumage.

t 100. Biziura lobata westralis Math. = Biziura lohata !

Biziura lobata westralis Mathews, Au.itral Avian Record, i, p. 87 (September 1912 — "West Aus-

tralia").

Type : c? Herdsman's Lake (Ostle), 7.ix. 1901.

Said to be darker in coloration " and in general having the lobe on the

under mandible larger." The specimen, however, is not darker and the lobe on

the under mandible is spread out by the collector !

38 NOVTTATES ZooLoaioAE XXXVII. 1931.

t 101. Biziura lobata menziesi Math. = Biziura lobata !

Biziura lobata menziesi Mathews. Austral Afian Rerord. ii, 5. p. 90 (September 1914 — " New South

Wales").

Type : No original label, but in the author's handwriting " N.S. Wales ^

December, 1888." B. Australia, iv, p. 147.

Is said to be " lighter," and the " bands on the back being white, instead of

buff. Lobe smaller." It is difficult to imagine why this specimen was said to

be Kghter, as in fact it is one of the darkest of all, nor are the pale bars on the

back white, since they are just as bufif as in any other examples. It is a pity

that this supposed " subspecies " was separated in the Birds of Australia and

in the Syst. Av. Australasian, p. 222.

? t 102. Anas superciliosa rogersi Math. = Aims sicperciliosa rogersi ?

Anas superciliosa rogersi Mathews, Austral Avian Record, i, 2, p. 33, (April 1912 — " West Australi.a

Northern Territory ").

Type : Augusta, S.W. Australia, 1897. J. T. Tunney coll.

Though Mr. Mathews is anxious to uphold this subspecies, it is doubtful

if it can be maintained. He now lets A. sujierciliosa superciliosa inhabit New

Zealand and East Australia, but A. s. rogersi " Western and Northern Australia,

and New Guinea." This seems to me erroneous, as specimens from West Aus-

tralia are not larger nor smaller than Eastern Australian. If another Australian

race can be separated from the New Zealand one, then it would be one inhabiting

East and West Austraha, not only West Australia. In the original diagnosis

Mathews said that the West Australian form was larger, but in his B. Australia

iv, J). 92 he says they were smaller. He also declares the Austrahan birds were

lighter in coloration, but if there is any difference in colour, the New Zealand

birds would be lighter, on the underside, not the Australian ones ! There is by

no means a good series from West Australia in the Mathews collection. The

remarks in the B. Australia, iv, pp. 91 to 94, are by no means nicely -wTitten and

were better not printed in a work on the Austrahan Birds.

? t 103. Nettion castaneum rogersi Math. = Anas gibberifrons gracilis Bull.1

Neliion castanenm rogersi Mathews, A iistral A vian Record, i, 4, p. 86 (September 1912 — " North-West

Australia, Northern Territory ").

Type : ^ ad.. Parry's Creek, East Kimberley, North West Austraha 13.ii.

1909. J. P. Rogers coll. (This specimen is figured in B. Australia, iv, pi. 103.)

" Rogersi " is not a subspecies of castaneum, but of gibberifrons. The

females of these two forms are, however, as is well known now, practically indis-

tinguishable. There is no doubt that specimens of gibberifrons from Timor,

Saleyer, Celebes, and Sumba (and doubtless from other islands) are smaller,

bUl smaller, wing shorter, than the birds from Australia ! But the Australian

form occurs also on New Zealand — at least I do not know any differences — and

therefore they should be called by Buller's name " gracilis," which is forty-three

years older than Mathews' " rogersi."

The original locahty of the name gibberifrons is not Celebes, as quoted by

Salvador! and Mathews, but Timor, though Miiller added that he had also re-

ceived a specimen from Celebes.

NOVTTATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. '1931. 39

ACCIPITRES.

t 104. Circus approximans inexpectatus Math. = Circus assimilis !

Circus approximans inexpectatus Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 245 (1912 — Parry's Creek, N.W.

Australia).

Type : c? jiiv., Parry's Creek, East Kimberley, N.W. AiLstralia, 22. i. 1909.

Stomach two yoimg Mirafra.

In this case Mr. Mathews got wrong in the species ! It must be admitted

that young C. assimilis and old C. approximans resemble each other, but the

yoimg assimilis are all obviously juvenile m appearance ; the crown is rufous

with blackish browai shaft-stripes, the feathers of the back, etc., brown with light

rufous borders, the underside is brownish bufi with narrow dark brown shaft-

stripes, the middle rectrices blackish brown with not very sharply pronounced

paler cross-bars. Also m old and yoimg assimilis the 5th primary is longer,

bemg longer than the second, while m assimilis it is considerably shorter than the

4th and usually much shorter than the second, though exceptionally as long.

The note on C. a. inexpectatus in B. Austr., v. j). 25 must be deleted.

t 105. Circus approximans drummondi Math. & Ired. = Circus approximans}

Circus approximans drummondi Mathe\v.s and Iredale, Ibis 1913, p. 419 (New Zealand, breeding).

Type : Adult, without original label, but on label in Mathews' handwriting :

" Circus gouldi, North Island, New Zealand." Wings so badly worn, that the

measure is doubtful.

Great sin has been committed with the suggested subspecies of Circus

approximans, in fact I believe there are no subspecies of it, at least not those

recently admitted by Mi-. Mathews and by Ktrke Swann, who copied his classi-

fication of these birds from Mathews. We have in the Tring Museum now

eighteen skins from New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, sixteen from Australia

and Tasmania. The wings of the females from New Zealand measure from

405 to 435, but the latter only once, otherwise the largest being 420 to 430 mm.

The Austrahan females have wmgs of 411 to 439 mm. Most curiously we have

only one male from each island, which seems to be reliable, and they measure

in Austraha 390, New Zealand 391 mm. To me it is not sensible, to say that

either are larger, and there is no difference in colour, all statements to this effect

being erroneous. Mathews and Iredale (Ibis 1913, p. 419) say that the wing in

New Zealand is less than 398 mm. ! Kirke Swann copied this (vol. i, p. 122).

Swann also says of the subspecies from N.W. Austraha (which he calls inex-

pectatus !) that its wing is m the male only 376 mm., absolutely disregarding the

larger examples !

We have in Tring no Fiji Islands specimens, but specimens m the British

Museum, kindly measured for me by Mr. N. B. Eannear, have wings of 376 to

416 mm. A series from Australia (12) khidly measured by Mr. Kinnear, in the

1 There is some difficulty about the specific name of this species, Mathews, Syst. Av. Austra-

lasian, i, p. 237 (1027), calls it Circus juxta. In the U.S. Explor. Exped. viii, the name approximans

(nomen nudum) appears first in the list of plat-cs, page ix, but later on on page 64 the species is

described under that name, approximans ! Tlie name juxta appears in the " Contents " ; it is there

said to stand on p. 64, but on that page the sj^ecies is described under the name approximans, and in

my opinion that name s}iould be adopted for the species. The appearing of the naine juxta on p. xv

is evidently due to some oversight. Vrohahly juxta was the first suggested name, but before, on p. ix,

and afterwards on p. 64, it was corrected in the more sensible a^proxiwa/w, but on p. xv tiiat was for-

gotten to be altered.

40 t^OVlTATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. lOSl.

British Blnsciim, have -wings of 382 to 428, fourteen from New Zealand measure

383 to 440 mm. !

We have, unfortunately, no specimens from the Fiji Islands, but it is appar-

ently doubtful if it nests there, or is only a visitor. Both the names approximmis

and juxt a were given to the same specimen from Fiji.

We also have seven examples from Norfolk Island, collected 1913 by

Mr. Roy Bell. But on Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands it is said to be a visitor only

(Hull, Proc. Linn. Soc. X.S. Wales, xxxiv, p. 674, 1910). If it only visits Norfolk

and Lord Howe Islands, it may do the same on Fiji. We have in Tring also four

from the Kermadec Islands, one from New Caledonia {Circus wolfi Gmn. !), and

one Boboli, China Straits, easternmost New Guinea, shot by Eichhorn, 1.5. v. 1921.

The distribution on p. 237 in Syst. Av. Ausimlasian should therefore be : Aus-

tralia and New Zealand, Tasmania, Noifolk and Lord Howe Islands, New-

Caledonia, Kermadec Islands, Fiji, also S.E. New Guinea. Half of these localities

are left out in Kuke Swann's book, who relied on Mathews.

t 106. Circus assimilis rogersi Math. = Circus assimilis.

Circus assimilis rogersi Matlieivs, Xoi: Zool. xviii. p. 244 (1912 — Fitzroy River, N.W. Australia).

Type : (J ad., Fitzroy River, 50 miles up, August, 1898. (Wings moulting.)

[Circus assimilis quiriadus Math. = Circus assimilis quirindus.

Circus assimilis quirindus Mathews, B. Australia, v, p. 23 (191.5 — Celebes).

Circus assimilis celehensis Stresemann, Oni. Monalsler. 1924, p. 48 (Celebes).

(Type of C. a. quirindus not in Tring Museum, but apparently in the British

Museum.)

I feel uneasy about this subspecies. The colour differences suggested in

Mathews" description do not exist, but there seem to be small differences in size

as described by Stresemann. The latter gives the length of the wing in the cJ

368 in Celebes, 380 in Australia, $ 425 and 455 mm. In the Tring Museum

fully feathered adults in Celebes are S 3"'?> 388, 393, $ 411, 442, 433, in Australia

^ 388, 392, 396. 394, $ 455, 456, 457. Dr. Meise kindly gives me from the

Dresden Museum from Celebes o" 377, 388, $ 422, 433, AustraUa S 388, ? 435 mm.

There are in such large birds somewhat small differences, but there is in Australia

generally a longer wing than in Celebes ; only a few millimetres in these hawks

is not much of a difference, while in Humming-BLrds or small tits and warblers

it would be a lot ! As it is the subspecies must be recognized, unless larger

series show the differences in size to be uncertain. Mathews's name must be

adopted, being nine years older, though his diagnosis is worthless and his name

seems to be not classical, it being apparently a mistake for quaerendus.]

107. Astur clams COOktowni Math. = Accipiter novaehollundiae cooktowni.

Aslur durus cooklowni Mathews, Noc. Zool. xviii, p. 24.5 (1912 — C'ooktown, Queensland, not at all

" Melville Island " as quoted in Sysl. Av. Australas. p. 239).

Tyjje (^ (erroneously marked $ by collector) Cooktown, 13. v. 1900. Olive

coll.

This form is said to be smaller than A . raii from New South Wales, Victoria,

and South Queensland, but the wing of the type on which 1 or 2 mm. are worn

off, measures 263, and in a male from N.S. Wales (Schrader coll.) the fresh wing

tsOVITATES ZoOLOCilCAE XXXVII. 1931. 41

is 265 or 266 mm. Nevertheless I find that generally specimens from Northern

Queensland and northern Northern Territory are slightly smaller, therefore it is

advisable to accept this subspecies, although Mathews thought the type was a

female, but it was quite obviously wrongly sexed, all females being of course

much larger. The name cinerea has indeed, as pointed out by Mathews, been

used twice by Vieillot, on 338 for this Australian form, and on p. 327 for a South

American hawk, but raii Vigors and Horsfield 1S27 is a perfect name ; as how-

ever, we consider the wliite birds only white forms of the grej' ones, the species

niust now be called novaehollandiae !

t 108. Astur novaehollandiae alboides Math. =Accipiter novaehollandiae cooktou-ni.

Astiir novaehollondiae al';oides Matlicws, Nov. Zool. xviii. p. 246 (.January 1912 — Parry's Creek,

N.W. Australia).

Type: ^ ad.. Parry's Creek, East Kimberley, N.W. Australia, 8.x. 1908.

J. P. Rogers' coll. '• Iris orange red. Feet and tarsus yellow. Bill black, base,

cere, and corner of mouth yellow. Stomach remains of a small freshwater-crab."

The white specimens of the north are of course also smaller than those of

the south, but in our series quite a number of individuals are quite indistin-

guishable.

[A most interesting form is the Papuan "Astur leucosomus." Its snow-

white form agrees absolutely with the white Australian novaelwllandiae, except

that it is very much smaller — in fact the females are about as large as the Aus-

tralian males ! This Papuan white Hawk, however, has no coloured form like

novaeholla-ndrae (grey above, white below), but according to Stresemann, Orn.

Monatsber. 1913, pp. 127-131, its common coloured form is the well-known

Accipiler etorqnes ! Stresemann has explained this remarkable fact carefully,

and it is apparently quite correct, and of the greatest interest. Therefore the

so far called A. etorqnes becomes a synonym, and must be called Accipiter

7iovaehollandiae leucosomus (Sharpe 1874) ']

t 109. Astur eirrocephalus broomei Math. = Accipiter cirrocephahis dnocephahis.

Astur cirroceplml (1.1 bniomei Mathewa. Xov. Zool. xviii, p. 247 (1912— Broome Hill. S.W. Australia.

Tom Carter coll.).

Type : <J ad., Broome Hill, 8.vi. 1906. Tom Carter coll.

This name has already been put among the synonyms by Mathews, Sysl.

Av. Australasian, p. 248. Why Kirke Swann allowed it to stand as a separate

subspecies in his Monograph B. of Prey, I p. 308, is difficult to understand, since

he says that after careful examination of the material at Tring he cannot detect

any characters by which to distinguish ^ . c. quaesitandus, which Mathews allowed

to stand. It is true that some of these birds are much darker on the upperside

and have paler rufous bars underneath, but these two colorations occur in the

same countries and are not geographically separated !

t 110. Accipiter cirrhocephalus quaesitandus Math. = Accipiter eirrocephalus

cinoct pJialus.

Acripikr drrlwceplialiis qvae.silandiis Mathews, B. Aii.Hlrat. v, p. 81 (1915— Cape York. X. Queens-

land).

Type: (J ad., Utinga, Cape York, 4.vii.l912. Robin Kemp coll., No.

1196. (" Iris and feet yellow, bill blue-black ").

42 NOVTTATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

t 111. Astur fasciatus niackayi Math. = Accipiier fasciaius fasciaius.

Asinr Jasr.ialus iwu-hii/i Mathews. A'oc. Zoul. xviii. p. 246 (1912 — Maokay, Queensland).

Type : $ Mackay, Southern Queensland, no date or collector.

Already recognized by Mathews as synonym. The development of a rufous

nuchal colour is an individual character in this species.

112. Astur fasciatus didimus Math. = Accipiier fasciatvs didimns.

Astur fascial us didimus Mathews, .4i(.s(raZ .4™?! Record, i, 2, p. 33 (1912 — Melville Island).

Type : S ad-. Apsley Straits, MelviOe Island. 12. x. 1911. J. P. Rogers coll.

This is a smaller recognizable subspecies, inhabiting Melville Island and

Arnhem Land, but the exact distribution is not known. It is near to ^. /. poly-

crypius from New Guinea, but the latter is still a little smaller and the upper

chest of the mnles is more uniformly rufous.

t 113. Aq[uila audax carteri Math. = Aquila{Uroaetus) audax.

Aquila audax carteri Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii. p. 247 (1912 — West Australia, Gracefield).

Type : (J ad., Gracefield, 4. v. 1908. Tunney coU.

This supposed subspecies is described as darker, and it is said that " in the

young the darker coloration is stUl more apparent in all stages." It is, however,

an error to think all Western birds are darker than Eastern ones. There are

among the 17 skins in Tring two from East Australia (N.S. Wales) which are

equally dark as some Western ones, and among the West Austrahan birds are

two as light as any before me. The note about the dark Western young

was probably based on a young female shot by W. Stalker in the Northern

Territory, in which the rufous feathers are not yellowish brown, but a sort of

ferruginous, but juveniles often vary and we have not seen aU stages from Aus-

traha of this eagle. It is a perfect Aquila, but the very long and wedge-shaped

tail will induce many ornithologists to separate thisspecies generically as Uroaetus.

t 114. Erythrothi'iorchis radiatus katherinae Math. = Erylhrolriorchis radiatus.

Eri/lhrothriorchi radiaivs katherinae Mathews, Austral Avian Record, iii, 3, p. 57 (1916—" Katherine

River, Northern Territory," " figured and described in my Birds of Australia, vol. v, pi. 240,

p. 88." No reason given, why this name was given, no differences stated !).

Type : cj Katherme River, 25.vii. 1895. Dahl coll.

t 115. Erythrotriorchis radiatus queenslandicus Math. = Erylhrolriorchis

radialus.

Erylhrolriorchis radiatus queenslandicus Mathews, Austral Avian Record, iii, 5, p. 128 (1927 — Cedar

Bay, Queensland).

Type : (J Cedar Bay, received from Meek.

Described because it " lacked the white abdomen," which, however, is no

difference, as males mostly have no white on the abdomen ! In the B. Aiistralia,

V, it seemed that Mathews acknowledged his two Erythrotriorchis to be sj-nonyms,

in the SyM. Av. Austral., p. 249, he admitted the two subspecies, though using

for l-atherinae Campbell's older name " rufolibia," but that is just as synonymous

as queenslandicus.

NoviTATES Zoological XXXVII. 1931. 43

t 110. AquUa morphnoides cooiigani Math. = Nisaetns morphnokles mofph-

noides.

Aquila inorphnoide-t coongani Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 248 (1912 — Coongan River, Mid-West

Australia).

Type : " 9 " errore, is a male (!) Coongan River, W. Australia, 7.vii.l908.

(Collector's name not clear).

The coloration is not different from most sj)ecimens, size not less, because

a male ! The only known subspecies of N. morphnoides is at present N. morph-

noides weiskei Rchw. which is a rare bird in New Guinea and is smaller and

apparently m^ore heavily marked on the imderside.

fin. Haliastur sphenuras territori Math. = Haliastur sphenurus sphemirus.

llaliasliirapkenunis terrilori M:ithcws, A itsiml Avian Record, i, p. 88 (1912 — " Northern Territory ").

Type : Daly River (not Mary River), 24. ix. 1894. Dahl coll.

t 118. Milvus korschun napieri Math. = Milvus migrans affinis.

Milom horschun napieri Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 249 (1912 — Napier Broome Bay, N.W.

Australia).

Type : " ? " Napier Broome Bay, N.W.A., G. Hill coll. No. 503.

Though this supposed subspecies is absolutely non-existing, there are a

number more than the five which were only known to Mathews in 1916 !

t 119. Haliastur Indus subleucostemus Math. = Haliastur indus girrenera.

Hakisiur indus subleiicoslernns Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 249 (1912 — Derby, N.W. Australia).

Type: ? Augustus Island, N.W. Australia, 4.viii.l910. G. Hill coll.

No. 643.

Though Mathews considers that the correct name of the Australian form

should be leticosternus Gould, he should have quoted the name girrenera under

which this form has so frequently been mentioned in literature !

t 12(1. Milvus isurus westraliensis Math. = Milvus isurus.

Milmis isurus westraliensis Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 250 (1912 — Perth, West Austrahn).

Type : ^ near Perth, 7.xi.l910 (Dr. Kelsall).

Said to be smaller and darker, but neither is correct.

t 121. Gypoictiaia melanostema decepta Math. = Hamirostra melanosterna.

Gypoictinia melanosterna decepta Mathews. Nov. Zool. xviii. p. 2.50 (1912 — Parry's Creelv, N.W.

Australia).

Type: " $ " Parry's Creek, East Kimberley, N.W. AustraUa, 4.ii.l909,

J. P. Rogers coll. Stomach grasshoppers.

Specimens without black head and breast occur not only in the interior of

West Australia. In 1916 Mathews stated that he could not consider any sub-

species of this species valid. Ten years later he reverted from his former view,

but, as far as I can make out. \\ ithout reason.

t 122. Elauus axillaris parryi Math. = Elanus notatus.

Elanus a.xillaris parriji Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 251 (1912 — Parry'.s Creek, N.W. Australia).

Type : ^ ad., Parry's Creek, N.W. Australia, 27.1.1909. J. P. Rogers coll.

44 NOVTTATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1931.

t 1 23. Elanus scriptus victorianus Math. = Elanus scriptus.

Elanus scripliis virlnrianus Mathews, Austral Avian Record, iii. p. 70 (1917 — Xame given to figure

and de.scription in B. Austr.. v. pi. 2.50. p. 208. Why ? ! About the name srrijjiiis see Sysf.

Av. Au--^lralas., p. 259 !)

Type : Victoria, no origuial label, in Mathews handwriting " December

1902."

t 124. Baza subcristata queenslandica Math. = Baza subcristata subcristata.

Baza mtbcristata queenslandica Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 251 (1912 — Mackay, Queensland).

Type : $ ad., with no original label, but one WTitten by Mathews gives

Mackay, N. Queensland.

t 12.5. Lophastur subcristatus kempi Math. = Baza subcristata subcristata.

Lophasliir suhcrislaliis kempi Mathews, B. Avstralia, v. p. 220 (1916— Skull Creek, Cape York).

Type: $ Skull Creek, Cape York, 22.xii.10I2. Robin Kemp coll. No.

2164.

The individual variation of these birds is much greater, than Mathews was

aware of. L. s. kempi was already quoted as a synonym in 1927.

t 126. Falco lunulatus murchisonianus Math. = Falco longipennis longipennis.

Falco lunulalus miircliisonianu.'! .Mathews. Xoi: Zool. xviii. p. 252 (1912 — Ea.st Murchison, West

Australia).

Type : " ? ? " E. Murdison, 22. ix. 1909.

t 127. Falco lunulatus apsleyi Math. = Falco longipennis longipennis.

Falco limulatus apsleyi Mathews, Auslral Avian Record, i, 2, p. 33 (1912— Melville Island. Northern

Territory).

Type: $ 22.x. 1911. J. P. Rogers coll.

In his book B. ^(M/m/io. Mathews said that he did not consider his subspecies

valid, as the differences he had seen were individualistic. In his Syst. Av.

Australas., p. 262 he unfortunately separated both his once supposed forms

again without any explanation. How little importance he attached to a name is

shown in B. A-ustr., v, p. 232, where he proposed a new name (F. I. samueli) to

a not recognized form which had already a name. The only vahd subspecies

I know of is Hellmayr's F. loiigipennis hanieli from Timor and Lesser Sunda

Islands.

t 128. Falco hypoleucus ashbyi Math. = Falco hypoleucos.

Falco hypdeucus ashhyi Mithews, A>i«lrul Anan Record, ii, 4, p. 73 (1913—" South Australia").

Type : Adult, South Australia 1902.

A dirty specimen with almost entirely bare crown. Admitted to be synonym

in Sijst . Av. Austral., p. 263.

t 129. Falco peregrinus submelanogenys Math. = Falco peregrinus macropus.

Falco peregrinus suhmelanoijenys Mathews. .Austral Avian Record, i. 2. p. 33 (1912 — "South-west

Australia").

Type : ? ad. (?) Bokerup, Plantagenet, S.W. Australia, 14. iv. 1900.

This is the specimen figured on plate 254 of the B. Australia, v. In that

book the author wrote a long story about my criticizing his " submeUmogenys "

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 11)31. 45

with some quite unneces.sary remarks (for example that I failed to recognize that

AustraUa is more extensive than Great Britain !), and said that he still admitted

his " melanogenys," but in 1927, Syst. Av. Australas., p. 263, he took a more

acceptable view and placed it as a synonym, which it undoubtedly is !

t 130. leracidea berigora centralia Math. = leracidea herigom berigom ?

leracidea berigora centralia Mathews, B. Australia, v, p. 277 (1916 — Central Australia, type Finke

River, 22.viii.1913. S. A. White coll.). (The date 28. ii. 1913 quoted in error.)

Type : ^ Finke River, 22.viii. 1913. S. A. White coll.

The genus leracidea is a very difficult one and various authors have as a

rule various ideas about them. Mathews wrote twenty pages on it in his great

book and proposed four new names for four new subspecies, but on p. 279, vol. v,

he seems to consider the i^ossibility of having two forms only. This seems to me

a not only possible but most probable thing. Sharpe has already, in 1874,

shown that Gould'.s occidentalis is the same as the true berigora of Vigors & Hors-

field 1827, and the other would then be orienialis. At first glance the series in

the Tring Museum (mostly from the Mathews collection) seems to show that the

reddish form (i.e. berigora berigora). occma only in Tasmania, southern and western

Australia, north as far as Point C'loates, but there is also a male, collected by

W. Stalker at " Alexandra, Northern Territory," though on the original label

the locality is not given, and I cannot find it on the maps. Moreover, there are

in the British Museum specimens of the other dark form, from Tasmania, and we

have the red form from Swan Hill in Victoria, and from the Fitzroy River in

N.W. Australia. There are also specimens uitermediate in coloration between

typical berigora and the dark orientalis, but from Cape York we have a series only

of very dark examples. There is no difierence m size, we have of the reddish

form one quite as big as the biggest black one !

What does all this mean ? I think that there are either two species, or

only one very variable form — and it seems to me that the latter is what we may

accept. The other subspecies suggested by Mathews are then synonyms, and

I wOl treat them as such and hope that this view will be generally accepted.

/. berigora centralia is a rufous typical berigora = occidentalis.

t 131. leracidea berigora kempi Math. = leracidea berigora berigora.

leracidea berigora kempi Mathews, B. Austral., v, p. 277 (1916 — Utingu, Cape York).

Type :$ ad., Utingu, Cape York, 11. ix. 1912. Robin Kemp coll. No. lUOG.

This specimen is above and below blackish brown, the middle rectrices with

pale rufous irregular incomplete cross-bars, feathers of the body whitish at base.

t 132. leracidea berigora melvillensis Math. = leracidea berigora berigora.

leracidea berigora melvillensis Mathews. Auxlral .-irian Record, i, 2, p. 34 (1912 — Melville Island).

Type: $ Melville Island, 12.x. 1911. J. R. Rogers coU. No. 2180.

Dark brown, throat and breast more rufous.

t 133. leracidea berigora tasmanica Math. = leracidea berigora berigora.

leracidea berigora tasmanica Matiiews, B. Austral., v, p. 276 (1916 — Tasmania).

Type : No collector's label, Tasmania stated on label by the author.

46 NOTTTATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVTI. 1931.

t 134. Notofalco subniger minnie Math. = Falco suhniger.

Nolofalco snhniijer minnie Mathews, Austral Arian Record, ii. 7. p. 127 (1915 — Minnie Downs,

Queensland).

Type : " ? " Minnie Downs, 6. i. 1882.

"... I now consider to be identical with the type of subniger " (Mathews).

t 135. Cerchneis cenchroides milligani Math. = Falco cenchroides.

Cerchneis cenchroides miUi'jani Mathews, Xov. Zool. xviii. p. 253 (1912 — " South-West Australia "').

Type: cj Point Torment, West Kiuiberley, 7. i. 1911. J. P. Rogers coll.

No. 1101.

New name for Brehm's imrnaculata, Isis 1845, p. 357, nomen nudum (!),

and Bonaparte, Consp. Av., p. 27, where it is placed as S3aionyTn of cenchroides.

" With a good and fairly representative series now available I cannot recog-

nize any subspecies " (Mathews 1916). And m spite of this in Syst. Av. Austr.,

pp. 263, 264 he recognized two subspecies !

t 136. Pandion haliaetus inelvillensis Math. = PamUon haliaetns cristatus.

Pandioti haliaetus inelvillensis Mathews, Austral Arian Becord. i, p. 34 (1912 — Melville Island).

Type : ? Melville Island, 4.x. 1911. J. P. Rogers coll. No. 1219.

Admitted as synonym in the Syst. Av. Australas. p. 267.

PITTroAE.

t 137. Pitta macklotii yorki JIath. = Pitta macklotii macklotii.

PitUi tii'icHotii yorki Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 299 (1912 — Cape York, N. Queensland).

Type : " ? ad.," Cape York, December, 1868.

(Synonym in 8y.si. Av. Australas. p. 428.)

(Mr. Mathews gave a new name Melano-jntta sanghirana bonapartetia

Math, for the bu'd called forsteni, because this name was only published with

descrijition on p. 256 of the Consp. Gen. Av., but on p. 255 Bonaparte had added

in brackets to the name celebensis "forsteni Temm.," which obviously means

that the latter was a manuscript name of Temminck. So, I am afraid, the name

" bonapartena " must be accepted for it, although "forsteni Temm." was not a

pubUshed name, until, most unnecessarily, it was mentioned by Bonaparte.)

138. Pitta versicolor intermedia Math. = Pitta versicolor intermedia.

Pitta versicolor intermedia Mathews, Nor. Zool. xviii, p. 298 (1912 — Bellenden Ker, Queensland).

Type : ^ Bellenden Ker Range, 20. xi. 1899.

This is an interesting form much smaller than Pitta versicolor versicolor from

New South Wales and South Queensland, and nearly as small as P. v. simillima

from Cape York. Unfortimately the ranges of these forms are not worked out

in the B. Austral., viii, not even the differences of the very small simillima

are indicated ! The specimens from Cooktown and Cairns seem to belong to

intermedia, but there is nothing in the colour of the under tail^-coverts or of

the cap to distinguish these forms by, and sometimes the size is equal to — m a

series, however, the size is less (wing shorter than in P. v. versicolor, longer than

in simillima), and often the imderside is paler.

NOYITATES ZOOLOOICAI; XXXVII. 1931. 47

t 139. Pulchripitta iris keatsi Math. = Pitta iris !

Pulchrijiitta iris keatsi Mathews, Austral Ainan Record, ii, 7, p. 129 (1915 — " Port Keats, Northern

Territory").

Type : Adxilt, Port Keats, Northern Territory, January 1906.

t 140. Pulchripitta iris melvillensis Math. = Pitta iris !

Pulchripitta iris indvillensis Mathews, Austral Avian Record, ii, 7, p. 129 (1915 — Melville Island).

Tjrpe : $ ad., Melville Island, ten mUes east of Gordon Point, 28. v. 1912.

J. P. Rogers coll. "' Stomach black ants."

Both these " Pulchripitta " are now rightly placed as synonyms by the

author.

PASSERES.

Muscicapidae.

t 141. Orthonyx teinminekii chandleri Math. = Orihonyxtemviinckiitemminckii.

Orthonyx temminrhii chandleri Mathews, Nor. Zool. xviii. p. .329 (1912 — Richmond River, North

New South Wales).

Type : <^ Richmond River, October 1910. Schrader coll.

Said to have " the red on the rump less pronounced," but this I cannot see !

There are no other differences.

(Mathews generically separated the New Guinea Orthonyx novaeguineae and

victoriana as Papuorthonyx because they have the metatarsus in front " booted,"

instead of " scutteUate," also the shafts of the rectrices are as a rule stronger.

Otherwise these birds are so much aUke that I, for example, treated the Pajjuan

forms as subspecies of temminckii (Nov. ZooL. xxxvi, p. 88). It wiU be most

interesting to see which example will be followed !

t 142. Macrorthonyx spaldingi albiventer Math. = Orthonyx spaldingi.

Macrorthonyx spaldingi alhiventer Mathews, A^isiral Avian Record, ii, 7, p. 130 (1915 — Atherton,

North Queensland).

Type : $ ad., Atherton, North Queensland, September, 1908. Schrader

coU.

Said to be " whiter on the abdomen," but this is not the case.

t 143. Cinclosoma punctatuni neglectum Math. = Cinclosoma punctatum.

Cinclosoma, punctatum neglectum Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 330 (1912 — "Victoria, South Aus-

tralia ").

Type: ? ad., Frankston, 13.iii.l909.

t 144. Cinclosoma punctatum dovei Math. = Cinclosoma punctatum.

Cinclosoma punctuatum dovei Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 330 (1912 — Tasmania).

Type : Tasmania, no original label.

The author says it is darker and smaller, but a second specimen in his collec-

tion is not darker, and several examples from Australia are not larger, but as

small and even smaller than the type of the supposed " dovei."

48 NOVITATES ZOOLOCICAE XXXVII. 1931.

145. Ciliclosoma castanotum dundasi Math. = Cinclosoma c(i.^la»ot«m dioidasi.

Cinclosotna caslanotion dundani JIathews, -Yoi'. Zool. xviii, p. 330 {1912 — Lake Dundas, W. Australia).

Type : ^ Lake Dundas, West Australia, 850 feet, 16.vii.l905. F. L. W.

coll.

There seem to be cliflferences between the West Australian birds which

Mathews calls "dundasi" and the typical castcmoium. The chestnut on the

back in the males is more widely extended and of a Ughter tinge, the inner second-

aries are more closely bordered with chestnut-rufous, and the bill is in most

specimens distinctly shorter. The length of the wings is rather variable, but

only four adult males of dundasi, and three of G. c. castanotum are in the Tring

collection. A specimen from the Everard Range in the interior of Austraha

seems also to belong to dundasi.

(The differences of Cinclosotna castanotum clarum Morgan, 1926 from Lake

Gairdner from C. c. dundasi require confirmation !)

146. Cinclosoma castaneothorax nea Math. = Cinclusoma clnmnnomeum nca.

Cinclosoma castaneotliomx nm Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 331 (1912 — Day Dawn, West Australia).

Type : S ad., Day Dawn, 1,400 feet, II .vii. 1903. F. L. coll.

The pair from Day Dawn seems to differ from its alHes by having blackish

shaft lines to the feathers and being about as dark as C. c. castaneothorax, not pale

as C. c. cinnamomeum.

(The name wea is not a Latin word and can therefore not be altered !)

t 147. Samuela cinnamomea todmordeni Math. = Cinclosoma cinnamomeum

cinnamomeum.

Samuela cinnamomea lodmorihni Mathews, Austral Ai'iun Reeoril. v. p. 35 (1923 — " Todmorden,

Central Australia ").

Type : <S ad., Todmorden, N.W. of Lake Eyre N., July 1914. S. A. White

coll.

This is imdoubtedly the pale cinnamomeum and not nea ! In the Syst . Av.

Australas., p. 558, it is placed as a synonym of the dark 7iea, which is quite

wrong. Specimens from Macumba are of course exactly the same as the one

from Todmorden.

148. Samuela alisteri Math. = Cinclosotna alisteri !

Cinclosoma alisteri Mathews, Bull. Brit. Orn. C'hih, xxvii, p. 16 (191(1 — " West Australia").

Type : (J ad., WaddiUnia, Nullarbor Plains, September, 1922. C. G. Gibson

coll.

This bird is figured on plate 427, vol. ix, B. Australia. There are in the

Mathews collection three specimens from the same locahty, which are the same.

The Nullarbor Plains, however, are near the south coast of Austraha, long. 128

to 130 about, not in West Australia ; unle.ss there is another Nullarbor Plain in

West Australia of which I cannot find any indication.

This Cinclosoma alisteri Math, is a very distinct form, ))ut it may jiossibly

one day be looked upon as a subspecies of C. cinnamomeum.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 49

? t 149. Samuela cinnamomea sainueli Math. = 1 Cinclosoma cinnamomeum

castaneoihorax ?

Samuela cinnamomea samueli Mathews, Austral Avian Record, iii. p. 60 (1916 — " Gawler Ranges

South Australia ").

Type : (J Sandford's Paddock, Gawler Ranges, N. of the Eyre Peninsula,

3.ix.l912.

This specimen is quite different from nea and it is quite an error to put it

down as a synonym of the latter ! There are, it is true, indications of central

dark lines on the feathers of the back, and the skin is in very worn and poor

condition ; if it is not castaneoihorax it may be another subspecies.

t l.'O. Drymodes brunneopygia victoriae Math. = Drymodes brunneopygia

hnninropi/gia.

Drymodes brunneopygia victoriae Mathews. Nor. Zool. xviii. p. 332 (1912 — "New South Wales,

Victoria").

Type : ^ Kow Plains, Victoria, 6 . x . 1 909.

(Admitted synonym.)

151. Drymodes superciliaris colcloughi Math. = Drymodes superciliaris coldovghi?

Drymodes superciliaris colcloughi Mathews, Austral Avian Record, ii, p. 97 (1914 — Roper River,

Northern Territory).

Type : (^ ad.. Roper River, Northern Territory, September 1910, M. J.

Colclough coU.

This specimen looks very distinct, but the " reddish buff " tmderside is obvi-

ously dirty, the rufous colour being stained ! The specimen is, however, also

more reddish on the upperside, and therefore may be a distinct subspecies —

though it is peculiar that only one skin was obtained ; at least it appears so, but

Mathews does not inform one how many specimens he examined, a most incon-

venient, and sometimes misleading omission.

152. Pycnoptilus floccosus sandlandi Math. = Pycnuptilus fioccosus sandlamU.

Pi/cnoptiliis floccosus sandlandi Mathews, Nor. Zool. xviii. p. 331 (1912 — " Victoria").

Type : J Sassafras, Victoria, 28.xii.1908.

We have, besides the type, one (^ from Fern Tree Gully, Victoria, and a

female and young male from Selby. These specimens are certainly, though

slightly, darker than our New South Wales examples, from the Blue Mountains

and Port Hacking. Mr. Edwin Ashby mentions it from Mount Dandenong,

Victoria. This shghtly different form is described and figured in vol. ix of the

B. Australia by Mathews. The original diagnosis m Nov. Zool. (1912) is quite

wrong ; this subsjiecies is not '" much " darker, nor is the head and back " bluish

brown," " instead of fawn." Nevertheless it is slightly darker, especially on

the sides, and that is all that can be said. Perhaps it is very shghtly smaller,

but to make sure of this more j)roperly sexed specimens of P. floccosus floccosus

must be available. This is a rare species, " living in dense growth of dogwood

and bracken, under which many cliunps of bayonet or sword grass are found."

It is very local and stationary. (From labels of the discoverer.)

4

50 NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1931.

t 153. Hylacola pyrrhopygia belcheri Math. =Hylacola pyrrhopygia pyrrhopygia.

Hylacola pyrrhopijgia hdcheri Mathews, Amlml Avian Remnl, i. p. 191 (1913— " Anglesea, near

Geelong, Victoria, No. 15745").

Type : Juv. No original label, but a Mathews' collection label, on which is

WTitten by Mathews " LandsUp Anglesea, Victoria, 16. .v. 1912. 25 miles S.W.

of Geelong."

This and another bird from same locaUty, said to be a pair, but seem to be

both young females, still with the rufous throat and chest. These birds are

both young pyrrhopygia pyrrhopygia and therefore must be from N.S. Wales,

and not from near Geelong (Anglesea) in Victoria ! How the error about the

locality was made I cannot explam.

t 154. Hylacola pyrrhopygia brevicauda Math. = Hylacola pyrrhopygia cauia.

Hylacola pyrrhopygia hreviranda Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii. p. 332 (1912—" Victoria ").

Type : ? ad., Victoria, 4.viii.l910.

This specimen is not paler above than others, and its short wmg and tail

is due to its being a female !

t 155. Hylacola pyrrhopygia halmaturina Math. = Hylacola pyrrhopygia cauta.

Hylacola pyrrhopygia hiihmlurinu Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii. p. 333 (1912— Kangaroo Island, South

Australia).

Type : (^ ad., no original label, but label written by Mathews says Kangaroo

Island", 28.iii.1905, <^ !

This specimen is a fine adult male with a wing of 60 mm., but other specimens

from Kangaroo Island measure generally only 59 mm. on the wing, females of

course less. The darker coloration of the upperside is not seen in other examples !

Kangaroo Island specimens do not differ from cauta.

156. Hylacola pyrrhopygia whitlocki Math. = Hylacola pyrrhopygia whitlocki.

Hylacola pyrrhopygia whitlocki Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 333 (1912 — " West Australia ").

Type : (?) ad., Sthling Ranges, S.W. Australia, 22. ix. 1910. J. F. W. coll.

There are foiu- adidts and several young from the Stirling Ranges and other

locaUties in S.W. Australia (Gnowangerup, Tom Carter coll.) which have very

distinct white edges to the greater upper wing-coverts, and they may be separated

bj' this pecuharity ; in other races these white edges are only indicated by greyish

white markings, often almost invisible. Perhaps the subspecies is shghtly

smaller, but more specimens should be available to be sure about this. They

are not " lighter above," the author did not grasp its difference.

(The unfortunate little Hylacola have been hard treated of late. Mr.

Mathews described four supjiosed new subspecies. In his great book Birds of

Australia he, in the end, came to the conclusion, that there were seven subspecies

of H . pyrrhopygia and no other species, and suggested that "many others" would

be named if the supposed subspecies prove valid — he also said that '" the sexual,

and maybe seasonal, plumages " did not appear to be well known yet. The

latter can hardly be said nowadays, and that " many others " will be named

is not likely the case ! In his Systema Avium Australasian, n, p. 562, however,

he admitted two species, H. pyrrhopygia and cauta, each with three subspecies.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1031. 51

This is quite wrong. Most of his suggested names are synonyms, and there is

no reason to enumerate two species

The Hylacola pyrrho-pygia Vig. & Horsf. 1827, differs at a glance by a some-

what indistinct greyish-white supercihary Hne, a small, hardly visible and not

quite white spot on the primaries, and by greyish or brownish, not pure white

tips to the outer rectrices. This form is apparently only found in New South

Wales, and a northern subspecies.

" H. J)- belcheri " Math, is a synonym, but there must be an error about its

supposed locality !

" H. p. brevicauda " is a synonym of cauta, and so is " H. p. Jialmaturina,"

as specimens from Kangaroo Island are indistinguishable from cauta.

H. p. u'hiflocki from S.W. Australia might be kept separate by the white

edges to the greater upper wing-coverts, as explained above. The distribution

in South West Australia is also remarkable, as it is widely separated from the

known habitats of the aUied forms — unless it has not been found in the interl3dng

stretches of land.

We have therefore the following subspecies of the genus :

Hylacola pyrrhopygia pyrrhopygia (Vig. & Horsf.).

New South Wales.

Hylacola pyrrhopygia cauta C4ould.

Victoria and South Australia, Kangaroo Island.

Hulacola 2}yrrhopygia whiilocki Math.

S. W. Australia : Stirling Ranges, Wongaii Hills, Gnowangerup {Tom

Carter), east of Broome Hill (Tom Carter).

There is also a bird called Hylacola pyrrhopygia magiui Howe, Emu, xviii,

p. 59 (1918 — " Cobbora, New South Wales ") which is said to be paler than

H. p. pyrrhopygia, to have a whiter eyebrow, and more linear black stripes on

the throat and breast, also to be larger — but measurements are not given.

This would thus seem to be quite different, but from an article by the same

author, Howe, in Emu, xvii, I fear that this author compared single specimens,

not series, of these birds, and that his statements about their differences are

therefore partly erroneous.)

t 157. Psophodes olivaceus scrymgeouri Math. = Psophodes olivaceus olivaceus.

Psophodes olivaceiis scrynigeouri Mathews, Nov. Zool. xviii, p. 333 (1912 — " Victoria").

Type : ($) ad., Gippsland, Victoria, no date.

t 158. Psophodes olivaceus sublateralis Math. = Psophodes olivaceus olivaceus.

Psophode.'i ulimceiis siihlaleralis Mathews, Xot\ Zool. xviii. p. 334 (1912 — "Tweed River, North

New South VPales, No. 7127 ").

Type : "3" but surely ?, Tweed River, N.S.W., June 1894.

In the description it was only said that this bird was smaller. In 1930 the

author quoted the name " sublateralis " as a synonym of olivaceus, but omitted

to say that the small birds are females, with wings of about 91-95, while males

have wings of 96 to 105 mm.

52 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1031

t 159. Psophodes olivaceus magnirostris Math. = Psophodes oUvacens olivaceus !

Psophodes olivacms nmgiiiroslris Mathews, Austral Avian Record, i, 4. p. 92 (" Rockhampton. Queens-

land").

Type : cJ ad., Rockhampton, Southern Queensland, April 1882.

Rockhampton is situated in southern, or you may say middle Queensland,

and this is still the southern P. olivaceus olivaceus, though its bill is rather large.

But there is, in North Queensland, tablelands of Upper Barron River, " about

32 miles from Cairns," at Tolga, Cairns, Johnstone River, Atherton, and doubtless

many other places, the "P. crepitans laferalis," rectius P. olivaceus lateralis of

North, 1897, which has, as clearly said in the original description, brownish tips

to the lateral rectrices, and much more greenish flanks.

t 160. Psophodes nigrogularis pallida Math. = Psophodes nigrogttlaris.

Psophodus nigrogularis pallida JIathcws, Austral Avian Record, iii, p. 60 (1916 — " South- West

Australia " !).

Type: $ Cape Mentelle, West Australia, 26.xii. IftOl. C. P. Conigrave

coD.

(This is the only specimen in the Mathews collection. Evidently a rare

species in collections.)

KOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 53

THE BIRDS OF THE BALEARIC ISLANDS.

By CAPTAIN P. W. MUNN, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U., A.AM.O.U.

T^HE Balearic Islands — composing a province of Spain — lie off the east coast

■^ of Spain, between latitudes 1° and 5° E. and longitudes 38° and 41° N.

They consist of three large islands — Majorca, Minorca, and Iviza — and a

number of smaller ones — Formentera, Cabrera, Conejera, Dragonera, etc.

The nearest to the mainland is Iviza, some 50-60 miles east of Cabo de Nao,

in Valencia ; then Majorca, about the same distance north-east of Iviza ; and

Minorca, 20-30 miles north-east of Majorca.

The area of Majorca is 1,3.50 square miles, with 265,000 inhabitants ; Minorca

is 293 square miles, with 40,000 inhabitants ; Iviza is 230 square miles, with

26,000 inhabitants. The chief towns of each are : Palma, m Majorca ; Mahon,

in Minorca ; and Iviza, in Iviza.

Of the general history of the islands, a good deal has been written :

The Story of Majorca ami Minorca, by Sir Clements Markham (1908).

Majorca, by H. C. Shelley (1925).

Guide to Majorca, by F. Chamberlin (1925).

The Balearics ami their Peoples, by F. Chamberlin (1927). Etc., etc.

In Majorca the whole north-west coast is guarded by a lunge of mountains

■ — seated with their backs to the chilly north, and their feet m the sunny plain —

averaging some 5 miles in width, and running from near Andraitx to PoUensa,

with the narrow mountainous ridge of the Pollensa lieninsula extending to

Cabo Formentor.

The highest jjeaks in this range are the Puig Mayor (4,579 ft.), Massanella

(4,383 ft.), Tomir (3,598 ft.), all between SoUer and Pollensa ; Galatzo (3,352 ft.),

and Esclop (3,032 ft.), between Ancbaitx and Esporlas.

Other groups of momitains are on the Alcudia peninsula, the highest pomt

here being the Atalaya de Alcudia (1,475 ft.) ; round Arta, with Ferruch

(1,635 ft.) ; Randa (1,792 ft.), near Lluchmayor ; and several smaller isolated

groujjs of lower elevation, scattered over the southern plain.

Most of these mountains were, except the extreme summits, formerly

clothed with woods of Pine {Pinus halepensis) and Evergreen Oak {Quercus ilex),

but most of the trees having been cut down for timber, firewood, or charcoal,

they are now greatly denuded of forest, only the imdergrowth of heather {Erica

midtiflora), cistns- {Cist us albidus, etc.), lentisk {Pistacialentiscus), myrtle {3Iyrtus

communis), rosemary {Rosmarinus ojficinalis), wild ohve, etc., etc., being left.

The palmeto {Chamaerops Mimilis) also occurs, but is very local. In remote

parts, however, some fine pine-woods, the resort of the Crossbill, still exist, but

outside them the hillsides are wild, rocky, and scrub-covered, and, as a rule,

singularly bare of bird life.

On the sea-ward side the coastal mountains descend abruptly to the sea,

the magnificent cUffs forming an incomparable coast-line.

Sheltered by the northern wall of mountains, with its foot-hills covered with

olives, algarobas (locust-beans), etc., lies the fertile cultivated [)laiu, where are

grown corn, beans, peas, and all sorts of vegetables, and almonds, vines, figs,

54 NOVITATES iiouLORlCAE XXXVII. 1931.

apricots, and friiits too numerous to mention ; and, though cultivation is con-

tinually extending, there are still great expanses, particularly near the coast, of

lock-strewn. scrub-covered country, the especial hamit of Marmora's Warbler.

In certain low-lying parts near the coast are extensive marshes and lagoons,

chief among them being the Albufera, near Alcudia ; the Albuferete, near

Pollensa ; the Porassa, near Santa Ponsa ; and in the extreme south of the

island, near Estany and Campos. Formerly a large marsh, called El Prat,

existed between Palma and Arenal, but this has now been drained.

Of the existing marshes, the Albufera of Alcudia, and its neighbourhood, is

undoubtedly the part of the island richest in ))ird-life. It lies just inshore, west

of Alcudia Bay ; the Bay itself is fringed, most of the way round, next its sandy

shore, with a belt of sand-dunes, overgrown with beautiful pine-woods, with a

thick undergrowth of scrub lentisk, myrtle, heather, cistus, etc., in places densely

bound together with tangles of Smilax aspera. Nearest to Puerto Alcudia is an

extent of marsh-land, covered with Crithmiim nuirifimmn. Inula crithmoides,

spear-grass and coarse herbage and occasional tamarisks, among which lie several

shallow lagoons, most of which dry up in summer. Unfortimately the pine-woods

are now being cut down, and the marsh-land given over to cultivation.

The Albufera proper is a large tract of swamp, entirely under water, fed by

a strong spring north-east of Muro, called the Fuente de San Juan, and receiving

the streams draining the south-east side of the northern range of moimtains

from as far west as Alaro ; and is covered with a dense growth of reeds, inter-

sected by numerous ditches and canals, all of which drain into the sea nearly in

the centre of the Bay, through a large main canal.

An attempt was made between 1860 and 1870, by an English company, to

drain this marsh in order to grow rice, cotton, etc., and a most elaborate system

of roads, dykes, and pumpmg-stations still remains in a ruinous and dilapidated

condition, the works having been abandoned. Rice is, however, still grown on

the fringes of the swamjs, and there is a paper-mill in the centre, lately shut down,

where paper was made from the reeds.

But the great disadvantage in the island generally is the lack of water in

the summer, and the scarcity of permanent streams ; practically the water-supply

is dependent on the winter rainfall, and very little effort is made on any large

scale to store the immense quantity of water that runs to waste ; the beautiful

gorges in the hills are only running streams after heavy rains or melting snows,

and most of the streams that are permanent have their water used up for irrigation

before it reaches the sea.

Generally, however, all the islands are somewhat disappointing to an

Ornithologist, and visitors often say there are no birds — certainly they require

seeking, and from constant persecution are unusually wild and shy ; but lately,

owing to the stricter enforcement of the laws of close-times and licences, under

the Directory of Primo de Rivera, an increase in certain species was already

perceptible.

The strenuous work of climl)ing the rocky hills takes a lot of time with but

meagre results. The sandy sea-shores and sand-banks are ideal for nesting

shore- and sea-birds, but on the former only Kentish and Little Ringed Plovers

abound, and on the latter Gulls are few, and of Terns there are none. Compara-

tively few species of birds of prey frequent the hUls, and the cliffs of the coast,

which should teem with bird-life, are barren.

NOVITATRS ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 56

The marshes therefore remain the only spots really prolific in bird-life, and

are so on account of their impenetrability.

There is also the difficulty of exploring off the beaten track, on account of

the absence of food and accommodation, while in the moimtains there is hardly

a habitation to be found at a greater elevation than 2,000 ft.

Minorca is, on the whole, a somewhat desolate and low-lying island, and is

now little visited, chiefly because of the jioor accommodation in the inns of the

island. It is surrounded by a wild, irregular, cLiff-bound coast of no great height,

with numerous rocky inlets and gorges, and but few sandy bays or beaches ;

there are no permanent streams, and few marshes, which are all near the coast.

The centre of the island is hilly and well-wooded — the highest hill is Monte

Toro (1,145 ft.), but the next highest are considerably lower — this wooded

country and its lanes are quite attractive.

Generally it is very wind-swept, and in the exjjosed parts such trees that

exist grow in sheltered ravines and hollows.

Cxdtivation is carried on with difficulty, on account of the rocky nature of

the country, and its exposed position ; but many of the knolls, which are general

throughout the country, are cultivated nearly to their summits, the remainder

being covered with stunted scrub growing among the rocks ; in the hollows and

valleys crops are also grown and grassy pastures are not infrequent.

There is a considerable extent of desolate moorland, chiefly near the coast,

thickly covered with scrub of heather, myrtle, cistus, lentisk, etc., and given over

to rabbits, Stone-Ckirlews, and Marmora's Warbler.

Numerous deep, rocky gorges run down to the sea, those in the south coast

being particularly imposing ; and the few sandy bays have a backing of sand-

dunes, usually shutting in a reed-grown marsh or lagoon, through which a sluggish

stream trickles, at different seasons making its way into the sea, or being absorbed

in the bank of sand on the shore.

It is less populous and not so highly cultivated as Majorca, and birds there

do not lead so precarious an existence, for having been longer afforded a certain

measvH'e of protection, they are not so wild and shy ; but the species are less

numerous than in Majorca, and there is little difference in the Ornithology of the

two islands.

IviZA, FORMENTERA, CaBRERA, CoNEJERA, DraGONERA, ETC.

On account of the absence of comjjetent observers in the smaller islands,

information of the occurrence of rare birds there is scanty, and personal visits to

them are the only means of obtaining any knowledge of their birds.

Iviza is generally hilly and pine-clad — the Ivizan Pine (Pinus jnnea) being

the common tree — with a considerable area of cultivation. The highest hills lie

near the coast, the highest peak being the Atalaya de San Jose (1,553 ft.), due

west of the town of Iviza. The greater part of the island is surrounded by a

very irregular, rock-bound coast, with innumerable rocky inlets, and a number

of gorges runnmg down to them, and many islets of various sizes lie off the

main island.

Except at Santa EulaUa there is no permanent supply of fresh water in the

streams, and no marshes of any consequence, but extensive Salinas lie in the

south of the island.

66 NoVITATES ZoOLOGirAK XXX VIX. llKil.

Formentera, to the south of Iviza, is somewhat flat with a good deal of cultiva-

tion, and there are a few low hills, and some large lagoons, but it is sparsely

inliabited.

Cabrera and Conejera are rather high, rocky islands off the south coast of

Majorca, the former having a few inhabitants, besides its small garrison.

The remaining islands are generally uncultivated and uninhabited except

by the lighthouse-keepers, and perhaps a small farm visited only occasionally by

its cultivators, and Ijy fishermen who live in their boats in sheltered creeks.

Of Spwt in the islands, with the exception of wild-fowl, there is practically

none ; everybody shoots, but as the native is not a sportsman, his only reason

for shooting is for the '' pot."

A good many much-harried rabbits abound, and are especiallj^ abundant in

Minorca ; there is a fair sprinkhng of persecuted hares (in Majorca) ; a number

of paitridges of a particularly wary disposition ; some quail and woodcock ; and

in winter the marshes teem with wild-fowl. These marshes are generally

privately-owned, and, if only they were in the hands of people who knew any-

thing of shoots, would afford sjilendid sport. Also it would appear that the

ever-running streams m the Albufera of Alcudia have possibilities for stocking

with fish.

The inhabitants of the islands are very friendly and courteous, but do not

take much interest in the doings of the foreigner among them. They are not, as

a rule, interested in natural objects, and have little knowledge of the natural

history of their district. Regarding bird-life their ignorance is astonishing ; even

the shepherd-boys who spend the whole day in the country with their flocks take

little notice of the birds around them, and no reliance can be placed on any

information they may give ; therefore there is a difficulty in obtaining reliable

records of the occurrence of rare species ; for to any of the inhabitants a bird is

a bird, and as such to be killed and eaten — only a sufficiently large bird exciting

any remark.

Finding that no Englishman has attempted to make a complete list of the

birds of the Balearic Islands, I have devoted most of my eleven years residence in

Majorca to this object ; the position of Alcudia being especially favourable,

only the narrow ranges of hills on the PoUensa and Alcudia peninsulas lymg

between it and the open sea on the north and east, enabling one to notice migrants

passing direct to, or from, the open sea ; and the proximit}' of the Albufera and

attractive surrounding country make it a spot where further discoveries may yet

be made.

But the main stream of migration does not pass through the islands, few

sj)ecies only regularly following this route ; apparently it keeps nearer the main-

land of Spain, as is shown by the number of sjiecies that occur as stragglers.

The direction of migration is north-east and south-west, possibly to and from the

mouth of the Rhone, so that the stragglers that occur here are only the outer

edge of the stream, and are thus cutting off a corner.

Remarkable in the islands is the absence of many species that are common

on the Spanish mauiland, such as the White Stork, Crows, Magpies, Jays, Lesser

Kestrels, Woodpeckers, Tree-Creepers, Nuthatches, etc., nor is there anything

to show that they have ever inhabited the islands.

In the following pages, devoted to the different species of birds, I have

NoVITATES ZoOLilUICAE XXXVII. lOlil. 57

relied chiefly on my own observations, assisted by those of the few modern

observers who have visited the islands, and I have not paid much attention to

the writings of earlier authors, which are, in many cases, so out of date as to be

unreliable.

Few native names are given, and only of those species that are commonly

known, for many native names given in some works are unknown to most of the

inhabitants.

In this work I have elaborated, corrected, and added to, up to date,

my " Notes on the Birds of Alcudia, Majorca " {Ibis, Oct. 1921, pp. 672-719) ;

" Notes on the Birds of Minorca " {Ibis, July 1924, pp. 446-467) ; " Additional

Notes on the Birds of Alcudia, Majorca " {Ibis, Jan. 1925, pp. 39-47) ; " Addi-

tional Notes on the Birds of the Balearic Islands " {Ibis, July 192(i, pp. 407-477) ;

" Further Notes on the Birds of the Balearic Islands " {Ibis, Jan. 1928, pp. 17-22).

In addition, the following wTiters on the Ornithology of the Balearic Isles

have been consulted, and quoted from :

1. A. VON HoMEYER. In Jouriuil fiir Omit holvgie, 1802 and 18()4. He visited

the islands in the middle of April until the middle of May, 1801, but many of his

statements could only have been from hearsay.

2. Barcelo y Combi.s. " Catalogo metodico de las aves observadas en las

Islas Baleares " (Madrid, 1866). Some of his notes were not from his own obser-

vations, and are questionable.

3. The Aech-Duke Ludwig Salvator. 7 vols., 1869-1891. On the

Balearic Isles, but is not reliable as far as the Ornithology of the islands is con-

cerned.

4. Howard Saunder,s. " A List of the Birds of Soutliern Spain " {Ibis,

1871, pp. 46-68, 205-225, 384-402).

5. Mauri CIO Hernandez PoN.SETi. " Catalogo de las aves observadas en la

Islade Menorca " (Mahon, 1911). This is a list of the collection of Birds m the

Literary and Scientific Institute, in Mahon. L^nfortunately the bii'ds in this

museum, all of which have been obtained in the island, are without data, and

Sefior Ponseti's remarks on the different species are only general, and do not

usually apply to Minorca in particular.

6. A. VON Jordans. " Die Vogelfauna Mallorcas " {Falco, August 1914).

A most complete and detailed work on the avifauna of the islands. He spent

March, April, and May 1913 in Majorca, and species that he did not liimself

observe he has added on the authority of earlier writers. He has later supple-

mented this work by others (see No. 8 below).

7. Philip Ggsse. " Notes on the Birds of the Balearic Islands "

{AvicuUiiral Magazine, 1920). He visited some of the islands in April, 1914.

8. A. VON Jordans. "Die Ergebnisse meiner zweiten Reise nach

Mallorca " {Journal filr Ornithologie, July and October 1924, and April,

1925.) This is a supplement to No. 6 (above), and a very valuable addition

to his earlier work. He was in Majorca from March to July, 1921, and besides

including no less than twenty subisi^ecies, since increased to 23, — the vahdity

of some of them, however, having yet to be proved — he noted the Great Reed

Warbler, Little Bittern, and Red-crested Pochard, which no modern observer

had before recorded. He paid another visit to the island in 1927, from April

to June, the results of which were published in Nov. ZooL, vol. xxxiv, July,

1928, pp. 262-336. (" Die Ergebnisse meiner dritten Reise nach den Balearen.")

58 NoviTATES Zoological XXXVII. 1931.

9. P. Henrici. " Ornithologische Ergebnisse zweier kurzen Reisen nach

den Baleareii und Pityusen '" {Beitruge ziir Fortpflanzumjshiolocjie der ]'6gel.

Jan., Sept., Nov. 1926 and Jan., March, May, 1927). He visited some of the

islands in 1924 and 1926, and found the Citril Finch breeding, also noting the

Collared Pratincole, as well as suspecting the nesting of Calandrelln minor.

In the same periodical for Jan. 1926 he published an interesting account,

with illustrations, of the breeding of Sylvia sarda balearica.

10. Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain. " Die Eier der Vcigel von Mallorca

(Balearen) " {Beitr. zur Forfpflanzungsb. der Vogel, March, May 1927). On the

eggs of Majorcan birds, based on those collected by Ratcliff in 1909, and by myself,

and on the lists of v. Jordans and Henrici. No information had hitherto been

published on Ratcliif's collection, which is of great interest, comprising many

species of which he was the first to obtain eggs from Majorca.

11. Dr. Claud B. Ticehurst and H. Whistler. "A spring tour in

Eastern Spain and the Pityusae Islands " {Ibis, Oct. 1930, pp. 638-677). Their

most interesting discoveries were : Rufous Warbler, nesting of the Storm-

Petrel, and of the Western Mediterranean Shearwater, and the obtaining of the

yoimg in down of the latter.

A few other works have been published containing matter referring to the

Ornithology of the Balearic Isles, but they are of Uttle importance ; among

them are :

Armstrong and Cleghorn. " Description of the Island of Minorca (1754)."

Ventura de los Reyes y Prosper. " Caialogo de los At'e.s de Espana,

Portugal y Islas Baleares (Madrid, 1866)."

But it would only be misleading to quote from them.

Mr. H. F. Witherby visited the islands in June and July 1919, and has

suppUed me with several useful notes ; he has also kindly identified many of my

bird-skins, for which I am much indebted to him.

The Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain has furnished me with notes on many of the

eggs I have collected, which have been of great value to me. He also visited

Majorca, Iviza, and Formentera in April and May 1930, and made many interest-

ing observations which he kindly communicated to me — among them the finding

of nests of the Great Reed Warbler, and notmg Bonelli's Warbler and the Collared

Flycatcher. Some notes on his visit were published in Beitr. zur Fort-

pflanzungsb. der Vogel, Nov. 1930, pp. 202-204.

My acknowledgments are also due to Senor Don Joaquin Gual de

ToRELLA, and to his sons, for facilities enabling me to range the Albufera of

Alcudia ; and to :

Senor Mauricio Hernandez Ponseti of Mahon, who has kept me informed,

from time to time, of any rare occurrences in Minorca, from which this work has

greatly benefited.

Also I must not forget my collector — Antonio Gin art — who is unrivalled

by any Mallorquin in his knowledge of birds and plants and whose keenness of

sight and hearing are invaluable to me.

1. SPANISH RAVEN. Corvus corax hispanus.— Corp.

A common resident in all the islands.

They nest invariably in the crags among the hills, or in the cliffs of the sea-

coast, and never in trees. In the hiUs several pairs may sometimes be found

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 59

nesting in the same neighbourhood, if a particular range of cliffs, or a gorge,

contains sufficient caves or ledges, and the same nesting-sites are resorted to

annually. Though a nest often appears to be in an easily-accessible position, it

generally turns out to be extremely difficult to reach.

The eggs are generally laid in April, but I have seen young in a nest as early

as March 22.

It is rather a sociable bird, and sometimes assembles in considerable flocks,

if attracted by some common food-supply, and when playing in the air in the

spring.

They do a good deal of damage to the melon crops in Majorca, by pecking

holes in the fruits, and eating parts.

It is a somewhat smaller bird than the Common Raven (Corvus corax comx),

with a rather differently shaped bill, and slightly different shades of colouring.

It is also resident in Sjmin, as well as Corsica and Sardinia. Wardlaw

Ramsay (Birds of Europe and North Africa) gives it also as resident in Portugal,

but Tait (Birds of Portugal) describes the Portuguese Raven as Corvim corax corax.

2. HOODED CROW. Corvus comix comix.

I saw one in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, on June 18, 1926, which

appears to be the only record of this sjjecies in these islands.

It is very doubtful if the Carrion Crow (Corvus corone corone) has ever

occurred, certainly not in recent years, as pointed out by the Rev. F. C. R.

Jourdain (Bull, of the British Ornithologist's Club, No. clxxxviii, jj. 98), who

showed that the statements in Dresser's Birds of Europe, iv, p. 545, and in Howard

Saunders's Catalogue des Oiseaux du Midi de I'Espagne, that Corvus cornix comix

was found bleeding by v. Homeyer in the Balearic Isles, was based on error,

as V. Homeyer in the passage referred to (Jouriml fur Ornithologie, 1862, p. 252)

did not mention the Hooded Crow ; he merely stated that he had found a nest,

which was not examined, and from which no birds were shot, but which he

believed to be that of Corvus corone.

3. ROOK. Corvus frugilegiis frugilegus.

Has been recorded only from Minorca (Ponseti), very rarely in winter ; but

its occurrence in the other islands is doubtful.

4. CHOUGH. Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax.

Has occurred rarely, usually in winter or spring m Majorca and Minorca ;

but I saw a pair in Majorca on August 10, 1922, so that possibly it may occasion-

ally breed in the remoter parts of these islands.

5. STARLING. Stumus vulgaris vulgaris. — Estomel.

A common winter visitor, usually arriving in September and October,

and remaining luitil the beginning of March ; in some winters occurring in

vast numbers, and, after their usual manner, assembling in clouds before going

to roost in reed-beds or pine-woods.

They are considered great delicacies by the inhabitants, and are sold in the

markets for food.

6q Novitates Zoologicae XXXVII. 1931.

V. Jordans records a specimen {Journal fiir Ornith., July 1924, p. 403)

ringed at Liebach in North Bohemia, tliat was shot in Puerto de Campos in

Majorca.

6. SARDINIAN STARLING. Sturnus unicolor.

A rare straggler m Majorca, whence it has been recorded by Barcelo, Howard

Samiders, and the Arch-Duke Ludwig Salvator, but not in recent years.

It is resident in Spain. Portugal, North-West Africa, Sicily, Sardinia, and

Corsica.

7. GOLDEN ORIOLE. Oriolus oriolus oriolus.— Oriol.

A somewhat rare visitor on migration through the islands in spring, generally

in April and May. Fewer return in September, when they frequent the fig-trees,

and feed on the fruit. Tt is possible that a few may remain to breed.

8. HAWFINCH. Coceothraustes c. coccothraustes.

An uncommon winter visitor. In Majorca v. Jordans records a specimen

obtained near Arta in the spring of 1912 ; a female was caught at Alcudia in

November 1920, and kept in a cage until it died in August 1921 ; v. Jordans

obtained a female near Lluch on April 11, 1921 ; I shot an adult male in Puerto

Alcudia on December 1, 1930.

In Minorca, it has occurred rarely, generally in severe wmters.

In Iviza, Gos.se watched a male singing at Santa Eulalia on April 12, 1914.

9. GOLDEN-BELLIED GREENFINCH. Chloris chloris aurantiiventris ( Chloris

C. mallorcae v. Jordans). — ^'erderol.

A very common resident in the lowlands, orchards, woods, and lower hills

throughout all the islands.

They commence laying about the middle of April, making their nests usually

in pine-trees, or wild olives, but neither the nests nor eggs differ from those of

the Common Greenfinch (Chloris c. chloris). Birds in my aviary nested, and

hatched young, annually, but never reared them ; a seed-box was the favourite

nesting place.

In plumage it is a brighter-coloured bird than the tyjjical species, with

yellower imderparts, and is found in south of France, Spain, Portugal, and

North- West Africa.

Ticehurst and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 043) do not consider v. Jordans's

" maUorcae " a good race.

U>. GOLDFINCH. Carduelis carduelis africana ( -- Carduelis c. propeparva

V. Jordans). — Cardanera.

One of the commonest birds all the year round, in all the islands, and the

favourite cage bird.

They find abundance of food in the thistles and weeds that abound, and

also, in the autumn, feed on the seeds of the tomatoes that have not been gathered

in the fields.

They nest plentifully in the pine-woods and orchards, and in the wild olives

on the hill-sides, and the curtains of Smilax aspera in the woods are favourite sites.

The earliest eggs are laid about the middle of April, and neither nests nor

NOVITATES ZoOLOGICiE XXXVII. 1931. 61

eggs differ from the Common Goldfinch {Carduelis c. carduelis). Both iiest.s and

young are often infe.sted, and the young killed, by insect parasite,s ; probably the

wool used in the nest favours their growth, for I have noticed the same in other

birds' nests that have a lot of wool in their construction.

Being the commonest cage-bird, it is generally used in trap-cages, at the

end of the summer, as a decoy for young Woodchats, which attack it in the cage

and are caught — and eaten. It is also used as a decoy for others of its species,

during the drought of summer, when a drmking-i^an is arranged, and a net set

around the water, and thrown by the watcher pulling a string. Many of these

drinking-traps have I rendered viseless by putting a little salt in the water, for

the birds soon find out that the water is not fre,sh, and do not visit it, though

the watcher is for long ignorant of the cause.

Ticehurst and Whistler (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 645) unite v. Jordans's " prope-

parva " with " africana," thus disposing of v. Jordans's subspecies.

11. SISKIN. Spinas spinus.

An irregular winter visitor, sometimes occiuring in large flocks. I have also

seen them in pairs, remaining imtil the end of March and beginning of April.

12. CITRIL FINCH. Spinus citrinella citrinella.

Though Barcelo has recorded this species as rare in Majorca, no other

observer had noted it until Henrici saw the birds, and discovered two nests in

Majorca in May 1924 and 1925 ; also he heard birds in May 1924, in Formentera

(Beitr. ziir Fortpflanzungsb. der Vogel, Jan. 1927, p. 9).

13. SERIN. Serinus canarius serinus. — Gaffero.

A very common resident, assembling m large flocks in winter, and found

in all the islands.

They nest chiefly in the pine-woods and orchards, and commence laying

early in April ; sometimes the young are hatched in this month.

The tiny nest is a most beautiful structure of twigs and moss outside, thickly

lined with feathers.

14. ROCK-SPARROW. Petronia p. petronia ( = Petronia p. balearica v. Jordans).

— Gorrion bcrberisco.

A somewhat uncommon and local resident in the moimtainous parts, and on

the sea-cliffs of Majorca and Iviza. v. Jordans obtained specimens on the coast,

and noticed it also among the mountains of Majorca, and I have seen it in small

numbers on the sea-cliffs of the Alcudia peninsula, where they sometimes frequent

the caves inhabited by Rock-pigeons. Gosse obtained specimens in Iviza in

April 1914, and Jourdain noted it at Santa Eulalia in May 1930.

15. HOUSE-SPARROW. Passer domesticus domesticus {=Passer d. balearo-

ibericus v. Jordans). — Gorrion.

A common resident in all the islands, increasing with the spread of cultivation.

They nest as frequently in trees, often away from habitation, as in buildings,

also in rocks and hollow trees, and in Minorca a large colony had established itself

in a row of tall trees at the side of a main road.

62 N0\aTATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

16. TREE-SPARROW. Passer montanus montauus.

There is no record of the occurrence of the Italian Sparrow {Passer italiae)

in the islands, nor has the Tree-Sparrow {Passer montanus tnontamis)

occurred, except in Minorca, where it has been noted rarely on migration.

17. CHAFFINCH. Fringilla coelebs coelebs (=Fringilla coelebs balearica v.

Jordans). — Pinsa.

A plentiful resident, and generally distributed, in Majorca and Minorca, but

has not yet been recorded from either Iviza or Formentera.

It nests in orchards and woods, and as high in the hills as trees occur ; and

is one of the few birds that frequent the oak-woods, which, as a rule, are more

than usually destitute of bii'd-life.

They commence nesting early in April, and the nest, as well as the eggs, are

usually larger than British specimens ; also the majority of their eggs are of the

" Bullfinch type," bluish ground coloin- with markings at the larger end, and

are sometimes quite indistinguishable from those of Bullfinches.

Ticehurst and Whistler (/6(.s, Oct. 1930, p. 645) do not as yet consider v.

Jordans's " balearica " to be a recognizable race.

IS. BRAMBLING. FringiUa montifringilla.

An occasional visitor in severe wmters.

Barcelo has recorded it from Majorca, and Ponseti from Minorca ; but in

the latter island it has not been noticed during the last twenty years.

I obtained a specimen at Alcudia, Majorca, on November 3, 1928.

19. LINNET. Acanthis cannabina mediterranea. — Passerel.

A very common resident in all the islands, frequenting chiefly the more

open coimtry. They assemble in large flocks in the winter, and often remain

thus assembled until the summer.

Nesting commences in April, and extends into the summer ; the nest is

usually built in bushes and hedges, in pine-trees in the woods, in clumps of

Smilax aspera, and in large growth of inula in the marshes, as well as in scrub,

and bushes of C'istus.

The bird is slightly smaller, and more brightly-coloured than the Common

Linnet {A. c. cannabina), and is found m the Mediterranean countries eastward

to Turkey, and in Spain. Portugal, and North-West Africa.

(The Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis Unaria cabaret ) may be omitted from a modern

list, as it has only been recorded doubtfully by Barcelo.)

20. BALEARIC CROSSBILL. Loxia curvirostra balearica.— Trcnca-pinon.

This interesting subsjiecies was first separated by v. Homeyer m 1862

{Journal fiir Ornithologie, 1862), and has been very fidly described by v. Jordans

{Falco, Aug. 1914). The chief characteristics are the prevalence of a greyish

tinge in the jjlmnage, the females and young being especially grey ; a somewhat

differently-formed beak and a shorter wing. But, as with all Crossbills, the

phmiage varies immensely, so that hardly any two birds are alike.

It is a common resident in the larger islands, but much more abundant Ln

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 63

Majorca ; and wherever pine-trees (Pinus Imlepensis) abound, it frequents these

woods from sea-level to as high an elevation in the mountains as these trees

grow ; being somewhat gregarious they may be seen in small parties or consider-

able flocks most of the year. Near Palma, the woods around Belver Castle are

an especial sanctuary for them.

They are comparatively tame birds and not easily disturbed either when

feeding, or at their nests, and frequently remain quietly perched overhead in a

tree while one passes beneath, but when thoroughly alarmed fly away to a con-

siderable distance. A cock bird may frequently be seen, perched conspicuouslj'

on the topmost spray of a pine-tree, chirping loudly to his jiartner, or to the rest

of his party feeding silently amongst the boughs of the trees nearby — the " click-

ing " of the pine-scales being distmctly heard — or the whole party may be feeding

amicably together, chattering pleasantly all the time.

Besides the usual " chup " and "' chatter," the male makes, during the

breeding-season, a curious " trill," not at all unUke a Greenfinch.

When pairing they sometimes indulge in unseemly squabbles among the

pines, like sparrows, and make nearly as much noise about it.

They are extremely fond of bathing, and I have watched them washing

themselves in the j)ools aroimd the lagoons near Alcudia, and in the water-courses

in the hills, while they regularly visit the bird-baths in my garden, near Alcudia,

in the hot weather ; and they so thoroughly soak themselves that they can

hardly fly as far as the nearest tree to dry and preen their feathers.

The nesting-season lasts from December to Jidy, for I have foimd a nest on

December 15, 1928, with young some ten days old, and a nest with three .slightly-

incubated eggs on July 14, 1929 ; but March and April appear to be the most

general months.

The nest is always built on the fork of a lateral branch of a pine-tree, gener-

ally high up, and is a platform of dry pine-twigs on which a fairly compact cup

of dry grass, moss, wool or palmeto-fibre, is laid, lined with finer dry grass,

feathers, wool, and occasionally horse-hair, and it is sometimes very bulky.

The female generally sits closely — indeed, on one occasion she could have

been caught by hand — and when the nest is being climbed to, the pair flit closely

round, even perching in the tree, " chirping " loudly, and I have known a hen

bird return into the nest before the cUmber had reached the ground. The hen

bird does the entire work of building the nest, the male accompanying her on her

joiu-neyings, and cheering her with his constant " chirping " and " trilling," and

they are quite undisturbed by anyone near or watching them. After I had

removed a nest with eggs, the hen bird returned to the site, and appeared surprised

at not findmg it there, she then flew away and returned with the male, which

had, up to then, not appeared, and they both examined the spot, and seemed

puzzled at not finding the nest, pecking about among the few remaining twigs

of the base ; then the male having consoled himself, and his mate, by feeding her,

they both flew away cheerfully, " chirping " happily to each other.

The eggs, never more than four, are white, rather faintly spotted with

different shades of brown, with some spots of purplish or pale violet.

On leaving the nest, the young accompany their parents for some time,

usually two with the male and two with the female, and one brood that I ob-

served were so tame that I could have touched them, as they fed among the low

branches of a pine ; the young ones chattered continually, and kept so close to

64 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

their parents that they hindered their movements in extracting the seeds from

the cones, occasionally they tried to oj^en the cones themselves.

Besides the seeds of the pine-cones, they also feed on the huds of the pine-

trees, and I have seen them investigating the buds of almond-trees.

The older cones of Piniis halepenms are so strongly attached to the branches

that the birds cannot detach them, so they pick out the seeds while clinging to

a cone ; but the young cones, in spring, are easily detached, and the seeds ex-

tracted while the cone is being held by the feet.

21. CORN-BUNTING. Emberiza calandra.— Sissolera.

A common resident in all the islands.

It is never found far from cultivation, and, during the nesting-season, is

somewhat solitary, and scattered sparsely thioughout the lowlands ; but, after

breeding, they may be seen in small flocks of old and young, and among the olive-

groves of the foot-hills, as well as in the orchards.

The nest is made either on the ground, or close to it, among the crops, or

in the marshes in a clump of Inula crithmoides ; also in the pine-woods at the

foot of a tree, or beneath a thin shrub or small creeper.

It is a largish, loosely constructed nest of dry grass, lined with finer grass

and sometimes horse-hair. The nesting-season is from the end of April and

throughout May.

The eggs do not differ from British specimens, though perhaps are rather

smaller.

Among other sorts of seeds, they feed a good deal on the seeds of Asplwdelus

microcarpus, and to destroy this noxious weed in any way is to do some good.

22. YELLOW HAMMER. Emberiza citrineUa citrinella.

A rare straggler in winter only.

There are, however, only two records of its appearance — Ponseti notes one

obtained in Minorca in January 1914, and in April 14, 1926 I saw a specimen in

a cage at Lluch in Majorca, that had been caught the preceding January m a

clap-net at night, when netting thrushes.

It does not appear to be uncommon in Spain, for many are sold in the bird-

market in Barcelona, with other small birds, some being adorned with a small

patch of blue or red flannel stuck on the crown of the head and somewhat mysti-

fying the species.

23. CIRL BUNTING. Emberiza eirlus cirlus.

A resident, universally tlistributed in the wilder parts of the low ground and

lower hills of Majorca, but nowhere islentiful. An increase in numljcrs in the

autumn is probably due to passing migrants.

It has been once obtained in Minorca in June 1918 ; but, as yet, there is

no record from other islands.

V. Jordans obtained a nest with four eggs, at Valdemosa, on Jul}' 9, 1921,

a very late date {Journal fur Ornithologie, April 1925, p. 214), and Heiu'ici one

with three eggs near Alcudia on May 4, 1924 (Beiirdge zur Fortpflanzungsb.

der Vogel, Jan. 1927, p. 13).

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 65

24. ORTOLAN BUNTING. Emberiza hortulana.

Occur.s plentifully throughout the i.slands on migration in spring, generally

about the end of April.

Ponseti has included it as a resident in Minorca, Ijut it does not occur there

at all during the summer, nor on the return migration in the autumn, in any of

the islands.

2.j. REED-BUNTING. Emberiza schoeniclus canneti.

A common winter visitor to Majorca, and occurring on migration in

Mmorca.

It frequents the edges of the marshes, and adjoinmg fields, in small flocks,

but does not visit the high reeds of the swamps.

They usually feed on seeds, but I have seen them catching flies like Fly-

catchers.

One I kept in a cage for some months uttered, in the spring, a faint " croak "

in addition to its feeble song.

Some confusion has hitherto existed between this species and the next —

for Barcelo has recorded this as common in the Prat (a marsh now drained, near

Palma) and the Albufera of Alcudia, but the next species is the resident one, and

" schoeniclus " does not occur in summer.

26. THICK-BILLED REED-BUNTING. Emberiza tschusii witherbyi.

With the able assistance of Messrs. Witherby and v. Jordans, the confusion

between this subspecies and E. s. canneti has now been made fairly clear.

On March 25, 1921, I obtained a male Reed-Bunting in the Albufera of

Alcudia, Majorca, that I sent to Witherby as differing from any I had hitherto

come across, and he decided it was not referable to any known subspecies, but,

until more specimens were obtained, the form must remain uncertain.

In May and June 1921 v. Jordans obtained a series of both old and yoimg

from the Albufera, which he described under the above name {Journal fur Orniih.

July 1924, p. 402) ; but he very courteously refrained from describing it earlier,

in case I should obtain more specimens for priority of description.

It is described as differing markedly from other forms of thick-bflled Reed-

Bmitings in that its plumage is very dark, the head more conspicuously black,

with a much stouter bill, and apparently shorter wing. But Ticehurst and Whist-

ler point out that the breeding-dress of specimens from the Ebro Delta is not

distinguishable from E. I. compilator of Italy and Sardinia, but it is smaller, and

the bill not so stout (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 647).

It is a common resident throughout the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, and

hitherto had not been noted elsewhere ; but in May 1927, Witherby discovered

it in the delta of the Ebro, where it was fairly common [Bull. B.O.C., No. cccxlii,

p. 75), and Ticehurst and Whistler also found it breeding there in May 1930

(Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 647). This is therefore the westernmost point in Europe

where it is fomid.

In the Albufera of Alcudia it frequents only the wet parts of the marsh,

equally among the high reeds and the lesser growth, and the males are con-

spicuous m the spring perched on the swaying reeds, and uttering their somewhat

monotonous song.

They nest m May, and RatcliS found nests with three and five eggs on May

6

gg NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

9 and 11, 1909 (Jourdain, Beitr. fur Fortpflanzungsb. der Vogel, March 1927, p. 36).

On May 22, 1925, 1 fonnd a nest in the Albufera containing four half -grown young

and an addled egg. It was a very slight structure, hardly strong enough to sup-

port the young, fairly deep, and made entirely of dry grass. It was built on

flooded land only just above the water, here 6 to 9 in. deep, among short reeds

and rushes in a tliick undergrowth of climbing weeds. The old birds, that I

had watched for some time carrying food to the young, displayed Uttle of the

excitement characteristic of E. s. schoenidus, merely flitting quietly about and

perching on the reed-stems near.

The unusuaUy large size of the legs and feet of the young is noticeable ;

probably at an early age they would be obliged to forsake their frail home, and

seek life among the reeds. The palates of the nestlings are bright red.

The nests are usually difficult to find, being placed low down in the reeds,

and the thick weedy undergrowth that grows profusely at the edges of the ditches,

and close above the water. However, one nest shown to Jourdain and me in

the Albufera on May 6, 1930, with four eggs, was built in the side of a clump of

spear-grass on quite dry ground — quite an unusual situation.

The egg much resembles that of E. s. scJioeniclus, but is larger, greenish

brown with a purple tint, darker at the larger end, and sparsely scrolled and

spotted with dark brown of various shades, and lightly clouded with grey, chiefly

towards the larger end.

Their food consists of seeds, insects, grubs and caterpfllars, and I have never

yet discovered the birds feeding on the pith of reeds, as they have been said to

do, nor do they frequent the rice-fields. A tame one that I kept for some time

was particularly fond of house-flies and wasp-grubs, which it would take from

the hand.

27. SKY-LARK. Alauda arvensis cantarella. — Terrola.

A common winter visitor to all the islands, usually frequenting the culti-

vated parts.

They arrive in October, and remain mitil April.

Though Barcelo and Ponseti both mention it as a breeding-species, none

remain to nest.

During a very cold spell and bad weather in the south of Europe in January

1926, numerous small parties of Skylarks were seen passing along the shore of

Alcudia Bay, Majorca, from east to west, possibly driven from the south of

France and north of Italy, where the weather was usually severe.

28. WOOD-LARK. LuUula arborea arborea.

Occurs sparingly as a winter visitor, and on migration, but has been recorded

only from Majorca, though I expect it also visits the other islands, in which no

observation of it has hitherto been made.

From the fact of its having been noted here in the middle of April, I had

thought that it might remain to breed, but such is not the case. Unusual num-

bers occurred in January 1926, during the spell of cold weatlier referred to above,

and at the same time there was a great increase in the numbers of Crested Larks

and Stone-Curlews.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 67

(Duponf s Lark. Chersophilus d. duponti.

The record of this species consists of skins labelled "' lies Baleares " hi the

Tring Collection, and in that of Whitaker of Palermo. Dr. Hartert, however,

explains (Nov. Zool., xxxiv, 1928, p. 300) that '" The supposed Balearic

specimens were bought m the market by one of the brothers Gal (Gal Freres)

in Nice, and labelled ' Isles Baleares.' They were not ' collected by Schutter '

(quoting Bannernian in Ibis, Mar. 1927, Sujipl. p. 110), but bought from the

German dealer Willi. Schliiter, who had received them from Gal Freres. Tlie

birds came from North Algeria or Tunisia.") )

29. CRESTED LARK. Galerida theklae polatzeki.— Terrola puput.

With the irmumerable subspecies of Crested Larks, it is somewhat remarkable

that only one, Polatzeki's Crested Lark, occurs in the Balearics. It was fir.st

discovered by Polatzek in Iviza in 1910, and named after him.

It is resident and commonly distributed throughout all the islands, but,

during unusually severe winters, its numbers are considerably increased by

migrants driven in by the weather.

It is to be found from sea-level, in the phie-woods near the shore, and among

the rocks on the sea-shore, on bare, rocky, or scrub-covered hillsides, among

olive- and almond-orchards, in the open fields, and on bare, open country at

higher elevations.

They usually nest from about the end of April throughout May ; the latest

date on which I have found eggs being June 25, 1927.

A pair often resorts annually to the same vicinity to breed.

The nest is a shallow pad of ch-y grass and palmeto fibre, placed in a hollow

scraped in the ground, beneath the shelter of some small bush or rock, or among

weeds and short grass. Rough scrub-covered hillsides, and the rough ground

among ohve-trees on the foot-hills, are favourite sites.

The eggs are three or four in number, of whitish ground-colour, with larger

and smaller spots of jjale brown and ash-grey, usually zoned at the larger end.

They do not vary much, except in the depth of colouring, and not much in size.

For some time after leaving the nest, the yoimg accompany their parents in

a small family-party.

30. SHORT-TOED LARK. Calandrella b. brachydactyla.— Terrolot.

A common summer visitor to all the islands, arriving in March, sometimes

quite early in the month, and most of them have left by the beginning of

September.

They frequent the open low-lands, marshes, and cultivated parts, but are

not found at any elevation in the hUls, except where there are patches of culti-

vation.

It has the appearance of a miniature Skylark, running about on the ground,

with the feathers of the head raised. It floats about singing high m the air, and

also has a habit of smging while perched on the top of a stone-wall or on a rock.

They nest throughout April, May, and June — the latest nest that I have

found with fresh eggs being on July 4, 1922 ; but, as many nests are destroyed

by sheep and goats, and rooted up by pigs, probably such late nests are of birds

68 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

whose earlier efforts have been destroyed, as I do not think they are double-

brooded.

The nests are most beautiful little structures, compactly built in a scrape

in the ground, amongst short herbage, against a tuft of grass, or Inula — in

marshy places — on the sea-shore, and among the crops. They are composed of

roots, dry grass, sea-weed, etc., with a tiny cup lined with blossoms of cotton-

grass or some soft material. Many of them have an inclined plane of pieces of

dry mud from the groimd to the rim of the nest, on the side from which the bird

approaches it, and these planes, becoming bleached as the mud dries, often

makes the nest very conspicuous. A nest I found on June 18, 1926, was a

pyramid of dried pieces of mud in the middle of wliich was the tiny cup lined

with thistledown.

Three or four eggs are usually laid, rarely five. The bird generally leaves

the nest when one is some way off, but a nest I found on bare ground in a bean-

patch, where the beans had been cut, was quite in the open, and the bird was

plainly visible on the nest, and sat so closely that she could be watched from

three yards off.

After the nesting-season they assemble in flocks, associating with Corn-

Buntings, on the stubbles and bare fields.

(Calandrella Minor.

Henrici had two eggs brought to him by a native on May 20, 1924, in

FoTmentern (Beitr. zur Fwipflanzwujfib. der Vogel, Nov. 1926, p. 169), which he

assumed might belong to a subsisecies of Calandrella minor, but I doubt the

possibUity of identifying it from the eggs alone, and certainly no dependence

could be placed on the information of a native. Dr. Koenig is of opinion that

the eggs are abnormally-coloured specimens of the Crested Lark's (v. Jordans,

Nov. ZooL., vol. xxxiv, p. 285.) )

31. WHITE WAGTAIL. Motacilla alba alba.— Tatxera.

A common whiter visitor, arriving in October and departing in April, and

found in all the islands. I have seen an occasional pair later in the spring,

and imagined it might occasionally remain to breed, but it does not do so. They

frequent the fields, roads, and marshes, and are often seen following the plough.

V. Jordans {Journal fur Ornith., April 1924, p. 170) records one rmged at

Hermannsdorf in Lower Austria on June 29, 1920, that was shot at Mahon in

Minorca on January 30, 1921.

32. PIED WAGTAIL. Motacilla alba yarrelli.

Has occurred as a rare straggler in Majorca only.

The male of a pair was shot in Puerto Alcudia on March 5, 1923 ; a male

was seen at the same place on April 10, 192,5, in the company of a male White

Wagtail ; and another male was seen, also in Puerto Alcudia, on March 5, 1926.

33. GREY WAGTAIL. Motacilla cinerea cinerea.

A winter visitor, and fairly common, but only occurring singly or in jiairs,

in all the islands. They arrive in October, and remain until April, frequentmg

equally the lowlands, and the mountains, but always in the vicinity of water.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 69

A pair used to roost, and feed, in a well in my garden near Alcudia, Majorca,

about 25 ft. below the ground.

On May 11, 1920, 1 saw a brood of young ones in the cloisters of the Cathedral

of Barcelona.

34. BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL. Motacilla flava flava.

This species appears aimually in Majorca — and probably in the other islands

— on migration in spring, when small parties may be seen feeding near cattle.

I have observed them near Alcudia on April 27, 1925, and April 26, 1926,

and annually they appear about the same time.

It occurs more rarely on the autumn migration in September.

35. SPANISH BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL. Motacilla flava iberiae.— Titina

de prat.

One of the commonest, and most conspicuous, of the summer visitors m

the marshy parts of all the islands.

They begm to arrive at the begmning of March, and by the middle of the

month the majority have arrived ; in September there are very few remaining,

but in unusually hot and dry summers they depart earher, as well as Tawny

Pipits, Short-toed Larks, and some other summer visitors.

The earliest nests are found early in April, and thence onwards throughout

May and into early June.

They are usually well-concealed on the ground deep down in a tuft of grass

or Inula, and usually in damp situations ; but if the season be wet, and the

ground unusually flooded, the nests are often a foot or more above the ground,

in the thick herbage. They also nest among the pine-woods m the vicinity of the

marshes, making the nest at the bottom of a dense thicket of myrtle, smilax, etc.

As so many nests are destroyed by cattle m the open, for greater security they

are di-iven to nest in the woods, and the birds may often be seen flying distractedly

round the cattle in their nesting-haunts.

The materials of the nest are coarse, dry grass, or finer grass and fibre

outside, lined with horse -hair, wool, fine grass, and a few feathers.

The eggs vary from four to six, rarely seven, and both sexes incubate ; the

bird, on bemg disturbed from the nest, generally runs some distance before

taking flight.

The male birds, perched on the tops of spear-gtass, and swamp herbage, are

as brilhant and noticeable as Bee-eaters.

36. GREY-HEADED WAGTAIL. Motacilla flava thunbergi.

V. Jordans records the occurrence of this bird in Majorca on migration in

May (Falco, Aug. 1914, p. 71, and Jourti. fiir Ornith., April 1924, p. 169), but I

have not met with it.

37. MEADOW-PIPIT. Anthus pratensis.— Titina.

A common winter visitor to the marshes, particularly, and lowlands ; arriv-

ing in October, and remainmg until the beginning of April ; it Ls equally common

in all the islands.

Many are caught, with other ground-roosting species, at night by cattle-

70 NOVITATES ZoOLOalCAE XXXVII. 1931.

boys, who go out with a lantern and cattle-bell : the birds, thinking that a sheep

or ox is passing, crouch dazzled bj' the light, and are caught in the hand. I

have seen 200-300 brought m that have been caught in one night.

38. TREE-PIPIT. AnUius trivialis trivialis.

The Tree-Pipit occurs only on migration in all the islands, but not very

plentifully. Some pass through in April, but the greater number about the

middle of September.

39. TAWNY PIPIT. Anthus campestris campestris.

A common summer visitor to all the islands.

The earUest arrive in March — the earliest date noted being March 9, 1927 —

but the majority in April.

They usually all leave in August, but a few linger on into September, and

once only — in Majorca on December 3, 1927 — have I seen it in winter.

They chiefly frequent the marshes, sea-shore, fields, orchards, and low-

lands, and the foot-hills, but not uy> to any great elevation.

Nesting commences about the beginning of May, and they usually resort

each year to the same localities to nest.

I have foiuid a nest three years running in exactly the same spot — beneath

a bush in a dry-torrent-bed — and annually I look for a pair that nests in the

vicinity of my garden near Alcudia, the male choosing the top of the windmill on

the premises for his post of ob.servation. The latest date I have found a nest was

on July 11, 1924, with four hard-set eggs.

The nest is built m a deep scrape in the ground, made by the birds ; in

marshe.s, beneath a small clumj) of spear-grass ; on the sea-shore, among herbage,

sometimes close to high-water mark ; in fields, amongst grass close to a rock or

beneath a bank, or imder a thin clump of bramble, or among the dried leaves of

asphodel ; at the road-side, at the foot of a wall ; in dry water-courses, beneath

a small bush ; in pine-woods, in ojien spaces among the herbage ; on hillsides,

beneath a clump of palmeto or other scrub,

A nest with four eggs was placed on the edge of a clump of jialmeto, about a

foot from a Stonechat's in the middle of the same clumj), from which the young

Stonechats had Hown earlier.

Both sexes incubate, and, unless suddenly disturbed, the sitting bird runs

ofi the nest, and generally shams lameness to decoy the intruder from it. When

the hen bird is sitting, the male is usually perched on the top of some tree or

rock not far off, and directly she takes to flight, he jiursues her fiercely, driving

her about in all directions.

The nest is a stout, comj)act structure, composed of dry grass, roots, sea-

weed, and even bits of string, outside ; thickly lined with finer grass, palmeto-

fibre, and horse-hair, and it does not easily fall to pieces when removed.

The eggs are four or five in number, and do not vary much, being usually

greyish white or greenish white, marked with grey and purplish spots and

blotches of different shades.

The young in the nest are covered with long greyish, sandy-coloured down,

and, after leavmg the nest, are attended by the old birds for some time.

They are very fond of feeding, with Short-toed Larks, in fields where broad

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 71

beans have been cut, where, peering into the short, hollow-stubs, they pull out,

and devour any insects or grubs concealed therein.

I occasionally have seen and obtained unusually large and brightly coloured

examples of this bird, wliich measure at least half an inch more than usual, with

the upper parts very bright, and with conspicuously dark-edged wing-coverts,

and very bright underparts.

40. WATER-PIPIT. Anthus spinoletta spinoletta.

According to Ponseti, this species has occurred on migration m Minorca,

but not commonly.

I suspect it also visits Majorca, but have not yet been able to identify it

satisfactorily.

41. WALL-CREEPER. Tichodroma muraria.

The only occurrence of this bird in the Balearic Isles is furnished by Ponseti,

who records a specimen obtained in Minorca in October 1916.

Barcelo has recorded the Tree-Creeper and Nuthatch in his list as having

occurred in Majorca, but neither species has been noted by anyone else, and they

may well be omitted ; though it is certainly remarkable that neither these nor

Woodpeckers are found in the islands.

42. GOLDCREST. Regulus regulus regulus.

A common winter visitor ui all the islands, frequenting chiefly the pine-

woods from shore level up to the limit of tree-growth. The undergrowth of the

pine-woods is often heather [Erica multiflora), and among the tall growth of this

plant it is particularly fond of feeding, and is as tame and confiding a little bird

as in other countries ; probably its diminutive size protects it in these islands.

Barcelo has stated that it breeds in Majorca, but this is not the case.

In February and March 1922 I noticed many small parties passing through

my garden at Alcudia, evidently on migration, and many also occur on migration

in autumn.

43. FIRECREST. Regulus ignicapillus ignicapillus (=Regiilus IgTiicapillus

balearicus v. Jordans).

The Fii-ecrest is resident in Majorca, and probably in the other islands,

though it has, as yet, only once been recorded from Minorca, in October 1916.

It is not uncommon, and much more noticeable in the winter, for, during

the nesting-season, it is scattered sparingly throughout the larger pine-woods,

feeding among the big trees, and is much shyer and more restless than the Gold-

crest, and usually goes about m pairs.

V. Jordans obtained its eggs in Majorca in 1921, according to Dr. Koenig,

who mentions the clutch in the Journ. fur Oriiith., April 1925, p. 21 1, but neither

of them give any particulars of date, locality, etc., nor does v. Jordans mention

it in his writmgs.

44. GREAT TITMOUSE. Parus major mallorcae.— Ferrerico.

Resident and universally distributed in Majorca, Minorca, and Iviza, but

has not yet been recorded from Formentera. It is not very plentiful. They

72 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

frequent chiefly the " fincas " (orchard.s or small farms), especially oUve- and fig-

orchards, and destroy a good deal of fruit in the latter, and are also found in

pine- and oak-woods.

Their favourite nesting -places are holes in olive- and algaroba-trees, as well

as holes in walls and buUdings. A pair nested beneath the tiles of a house in the

Albufera of Alcudia, and, on May 6, 1930, Jourdain and I found there three

sejiarate nests, two with one fresh egg in each, and one with six eggs ; the bird

was sitting on the latter, and allowed herself to be .stroked. Later she reared a

brood of four young in the same nest.

I have found nests with eggs in April, May, and June, and once found a

single fresh egg in a deserted Linnet's nest ; and another in a hole in a tree, in

which the bird was caught, with hardly any nest at all ; normally, the nest is

of moss, lined with hair, wool, and feathers, and the eggs are typical.

Ticehurst and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 650) consider the race of Balearic

Great Tit to be very close to "aphrodite" from Cyprus; but in a later letter

Whistler informs me the race must be recognized.

45. BLUE TITMOUSE. Parus coemleus coeruleus (= Paras coenileus

baleai'icus v. Jordans).

The Blue Tit is uncommon, and only occurs in the mountainous jjarts of

Majorca — the only island from which it has been recorded — where it is resident,

but does not appear ever to descend into the low-lands.

In April 1926 a pair were evidently nesting in the Calvario at Lluch, and

V. Jordans obtained a young one in July 1921 {Journ. fur Orniih., Aj)ril 1924,

p. 165).

The above are the only species of Tits that occur in these islands, and though

Barcelo has included Parus ater in his list, it may well be omitted.

46. WOODCHAT. Lanius senator senator.

V. Jordans obtamed specimens of this bird in Majorca in April 1913 (Falco,

Aug. 1914, p. 37), and in Ajiril 1921 (Journ. fiirOrnith., April 1924, p. 151), also

Ticehurst and Whistler others in the Pityusae m May 1930 {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 652)

— all evidently on migration, as the Common Woodchat of these islands is the

following.

47. CORSICAN WOODCHAT. Lanius senator badius.— Capxerigan.

A common and conspicuous summer visitor to all the islands that are

sufficiently wooded, generally keeping to the lower lands.

It is particularly abundant in the neighbourhood of Alcudia, Majorca,

especially in and about the pine-woods near the sea-shore, and is plentiful in

the orchard.s in all parts of the islands.

They arrive at the end of March, nesting commencing in April, and nests

with eggs may be found up to the beginning of July.

Their favourite nesting-trees are pmes, where the nest is usually built among

the ends of the lower branches, sometimes in a fork. They also nest in thick

bramble-brakes and lentisk, sometimes quite low down, as well as in fruit-trees

in the orchards.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAK XXXVlI. 1931. 73

There is little attempt at concealment, and the bird sits closely, both sexes

taking part in incubation. The next is bulky and strongly-made, composed

externally of a few dry t\vigs and pieces of an aromatic plant, with the

yellow blossoms attached {Hdichryswm stoechas), and lined with dry grass,

cotton-grass blossoms, feathers, odds and ends of paper, fibre, string, etc. — the

lining of one nest was a mass of coot's feathers.

I found one nest on July 4, 1923, in a tiny bush in the open, and quite ex-

posed, that was made chiefly of bits of rag ; and another, a very small nest,

was conspicuously placed low down in a thin lentisk-hush.

Four to six, rarely seven, handsome and evenly-marked eggs are laid, of a

pale greyish- white ground, zoned with brown and grey blotches and spots of

various shades, at the larger end.

I found a clutch of foui' eggs near Alcudia, on June 15, 1926, which Jourdain

has described [Beilr. zar Fortpflanzuiirj.sh. d. Vogel, March 1927. p. 37), with

reddish ochre coloured ground, spotted with ash-grey, and thickly marked with

reddish brown at the larger end. Ratcliff obtained one egg of the reddish type.

Most of the birds leave at the end of August, but I have seen an odd one as

late as October 20, 1920 ; and the broods, after leaving the nest, scatter all

over the country, in j)laces where they do not occur earlier.

During the heat of summer, in July and August, many old and young are

caught in trap-cages, with a goldfinch as a decoy, and are eaten by the inhabitants,

who do not hesitate to devour even the disgusting-looking unfledged young from

the nest. Thus are the tables turned on this barbarous bird, which preys on

young birds from the nest, and fiercely chases the smaller birds, which, taking

refuge in a bush, are waited on by the shrike outside, and pounced on when emerg-

ing from theii- shelter ; or, poising itself in the air, with quickly-beating wings

and down-dropjJed legs, it watches some wretched mouse or insect in the grass

below, and suddenly dropping on it, secures it for its larder.

After a terrific hailstorm one early summer, I found several nests of this

species, also chaffinches', etc., in which the dead birds were sitting, evidently

killed by the storm, and Kentish Plovers' eggs broken by the hail.

4s. SOUTHERN GREY SHRIKE. Lanius excubitor meridionalis.

According to Ponseti, this species has occurred rarely on migration in

Minorca, and v. Jordans mentions a stuffed specimen in the Instituto Balear m

Palma, which was shot in Majorca in 1889 {Falco, Aug. 1914, p. 37) ; but the

origin of the specimens in this Institute is not dependable.

49. WHITETHROAT. Sylvia conunuiiis communis.

A passuig migrant only, occasionally in the spring, which does not remain

to breed.

On April 18, 1923, there was an unusual migration of this species, with Lesser

Wliitethroats, Wood-Wrens, and Willow-Wrens, at Alcudia, Majorca ; they were

swarming everywhere, particularly in the bean-crops and in every small garden ;

the passage only lasted two or three days. It rarely occurs in autumn ; one

was seen near Alcudia on September 20, 1929.

Ponseti has also recorded it from Minorca on spring migration, but there are

no records from other islands.

74 NoVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXX\^I. 1931.

50. LESSER WHITETHROAT. Sylvia curruca cuiruca.

Noticed onl^- in Majorca as a migrant in spring (Gos.se, Avicultural Magazine,

1920, and Muiin, Ihis, Jan. 102."j, p. 41).

51. GARDEN WARBLER. Sylvia simplex.

A rare summer visitor to Majorca, others occirrring on passage Ln spring and

autumn. Ponseti also records it on migration in Minorca, in spring and autumn.

Ticehurst and Whistler noted one on passage in Iviza on May 14, 1930 (Ibis,

Oct. 1930, p. 653).

One of a party of five or six was shot in my garden near Alcudia on Sept.

16, 1924, and a pair frequented the same place for some days at the end of

January 1927, from which it would appear that they do not all leave the island

in the winter.

I have also noted one on March 19, 1920 ; and on July 4, 1923, I found

a nest with four imfledged young, and identified the old birds as well, in a bush

in the pme-woods near the shove of Alcudia Bay, Majorca.

On July 11,1 925, I saw a brood of yomig ones on the wing, accompanied by

the old birds, close to the spot where the nest was found in 1923.

62. BLACKCAP. Sylvia atricapilla atricapilla (^Sylvia atricapilla koenigi

V. Jordans). — Cap negre.

The Blackcap is common in Majorca and Minorca, but it is difficult to say

whether it should be classed as a resident or summer visitor, for so many remain

thioughout the winter, and a great many migrants arrive in March and AprU.

It does not appear to be by any means common in the Pityusae, and Gosse only

has recorded it from Iviza in April 1914 (Avicultural Magazine, 1920). Neither

Jourdain, nor Ticehurst and Whistler, met with it at all during their visits there

in May 1930.

V. Jordans asserts (Nov. Zool., vol. xxxiv, July 1928, p. 273) that the

Blackcaps wintering here are the typical form (Sylvia a. atricapilla), whUst the

breeding birds are a subspecies described by him as Sylvia a. koenigi. Ticehurst

and WhLstler (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 653) consider v. Jordans's koenigi as certainly

a small-winged race, and probably recognisable.

Particularly attractive to these birds is the undergrowth in the pine-woods,

and the dense thickets of brambles, myrtles, etc., in the water-com-ses, but they

also frequent gardens and orchards, hedgerows and copses.

The nest is usually built on the outskirts of thick bushes, or in the midst

of thinner cover, sometimes in small trees, and not very low down ; it is sUght,

but neatly built of dry grass outside, thinly fined with horse-hair ; but one I

found was so thickly lined with black horse-hair that it contrasted strongly in

colour with the dry wliite material of the exterior. Another nest was built

entirely, inside and out, of thin, dry strips of palmeto-fibre, with a few odd bits

of dry grass, cobwebs, and wool outside.

Three or four eggs are laid at the end of AprU and in May. It is one of the

few good, fearless songsters, and may often be heard singing loudly during the

winter.

Both Blackcaps and Sardinian Warblers do considerable damage to fruit

— figs and stoned-fruit especially — -by picking holes in it.

NoVITATES 2oOLOC,ICAE XXXVII. 1931. 75

53. SARDINIAN WARBLER. Sylvia nielanocephala melanocephala. —

Biiscaret.

Thi.s charming and familiar little bird is one of the commone.st m aU the

islands, and found everywhere all the year round, even in the most remote spots

where no other bird is to be seen — amongst the spare scrub on the tops of the

hills, or in the scattered clumps of pines growing in inaccessible sj)ots among

the crags as well as in orchards, gardens, and woods ; the small gardens in the

busiest towns often harbouring them.

And there is no prettier sight than a brood of nestlings, ju.st out of the nest,

perched close together in a row in a bush, whilst the old birds hop and flit among

the bushes near, " purring " their anxiety.

It is one of the earliest breeders, having two or even three broods in the

year, and usually commences nesting at the end of March or beginning of April,

sometimes as early even as February ; on March 4, 1925, I found a nest near

Alcudia with three young ones a few days old, but a week later two of the young

had disapjjeared, and one was dead in the nest ; the spring of 1925 being un-

usually cold, they had probably succumbed to the weather. Severe weather

affects them a good deal, and after a heavy fall of snow in Majorca on Feb. 28,

1924, numbers were found dead, and they were quite scarce that year.

The height of the nesting-season is April and May, and the latest nest I

have found was on July 29, 1925, but I have seen a female carrymg nesting-

material to a partially-built nest on October 9, 1927.

They nest in every conceivable situation, low down in bushes ; the favourite

sites being in dense woodland undergrowth of butcher's-broom, myrtle and

lentisk, palmeto-scrub, brambles, hillside scrub, and roadside bushes.

They do not stray far from their particular haunts, and often nest

annually in the same spot, but damp or marshy situations are not particularly

favoured.

The nests vary considerably, some being small and compact, others bulky

and rather untidy, and are generally made of dry grass externally, with a pad

of cotton-grass blossoms or vegetable down — especially the silvery seed-down of

Clematis cirrhosa — in which the lining of fine, dry grass, horse-hair, or fibre is set.

This pad, or layer, of soft materials distmguishes the nest from that of any other

species of warbler. .Some nests I have found have had the base, and the pad

beneath the lining, composed of freshly plucked sprays and leaves of Gonvolvolus

althoeoides, or of the soft blossoms and leaves of a sage-like plant. Another

nest was made almost entirely of the silvery seed-down of ClenuUis cirrhosa,

mixed with a little dry grass, and was a most beautiful, fairy-like structure, as

of spun-glass.

The eggs are three or four, rarely five, in number, and vary extraordinarily ;

the commonest type has a pale greenish ground, with greyish specks of various

shades. A very handsome type has a whitish ground, with sjjots and blotches

of dark red, jjurple, and brown ; in fact, without identifying the birds, these

handsome eggs might belong to another species. A jjink variety has also been

found.

Henrici (Beitr. zur Fortpflanzungsb. der Vogel, Seirt. 1926, pp. 125-127)

has clearly described a number of clutches of various types taken in Majorca.

There is never any difficulty in being able to identify the birds, however,

76 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

as they are always in evidence near their nest, and sit so closely that I have

caught one in my hand ; the male, also, takes his turn on the nest.

In the spring the male has a habit — like tlie Cireenfinch, Serin, Marmora's

Warbler, Blue Rock-Thrush, and others — of floating about in the air, in a

" languishing " manner, uttermg its feeble song. The usual note is a harsh chatter,

and, when the young are hatched, a " purring " note, like the subdued chatter

of a Wren, or the " churring " of a distant Nightjar.

Insects and caterpUlars form their chief food, and the red flowers of big

clumps of Aniholysa in my garden, as weU as the flowers of the mimosa-trees,

are constantly searched by them for insects ; here also a bird wiU sometimes

come into the house, and hop about unconcernedly over and beneath the fuini-

ture, searching for food.

54. SUBALPINE WARBLER. Sylvia subalpina subalpina.

Barcelo has mentioned this species as common in Majorca, t)ut it is evidently

now only of the rarest occurrence, and only on migration, v. Jordans obtained

one on April 28, 1913, near Arta (Falco, Aug. 1914, p. 45), and Gosse another in

Formentera on April 19, 1914 {Avicultural Magazine). I have never come

across it.

55. ORPHEAN WARBLER. Sylvia hortensis hortensis.

A somewhat rare summer visitor to Majorca, arriving at the end of March

or beginning of April. The majority pass through on migration, but some

undoubtedly remain to breed ; and, though I have not yet found its eggs, I saw

a brood of young on June 16, 1924, which had left the nest, and were accom-

panied by the old birds, in the pine-woods on the shores of Alcudia Bay ; and I

have also found old nests in the woods.

It does not appear to have been recorded from any other of the islands.

50. SPECTACLED WARBLER. Sylvia conspicillata conspicillata.

A rare occasional visitor.

Ponseti has recorded one obtained in Minorca, in December 1913 ; and in

October 1926 a single bird frequented my garden, near Alcudia, Majorca, for

several days, but was found unfortunately drowned in a tank, on October 14.

57. DARTFORD WARBLER. Sylvia undata undata.

I am not yet certain of the status of this species, but believe it to be a

resident, but certainly rare ; and I have usually come across it in winter and

early summer, in Majorca only.

V. Jordans obtained one near Lluch on March 20, 1913 {Falco, Aug. 1914,

p. 45), and Henrici records one near Alcudia, on May 4, 1924 {Beilr. zur Fort-

jtflanzumjsb. der Vogel, Nov. 1926, p. 165).

Formerly, when the sale of any sort of bird was permitted in the markets,

I have seen, in Palma, examples of this species tied up in bunches of Wagtails,

Pipits, Blackcaps, ChiffchaSs, Sardinian, and Marmora's Warblers, and even

Goldcrests, etc.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. l'J31. 77

58. BALEARIC MARMORA'S WARBLER. Sylvia sarda balearica v. Jordans.

Tlii« interesting bird, first described by v. Jordans as a subspecies peculiar

to the Balearic Isles, is a not uncommon resident in all the islands ; and quite

plentiful in suitable localities.

Homeyer fiist noticed it in Majorca in 1861 ; Polatzek obtained specimens

from Iviza, and eggs from Formentera in 1910 ; v. Jordans specimens from

Majorca, Dragonera, and Cabrera in 1913, and found a nest with young m 1921 ;

I recorded it first from Minorca in 1923, where perhaps it is more plentiful than

in Majorca.

Since then Henrici has obtamed nests with eggs in 1924 and 1925 in Majorca

and Formentera, and has written a very complete account of it, with illustrations

(Beitr. zur Fortpflanzungsh. der Vogel, Jan. 1926, pp. 13-17).

The first nest I foimd in Majorca was on May 2, 1924, and contained three

nearly full3'-fiedged young, and the first nest with eggs on April 22, 1925 — which

I fully described in the Ibis, July, 1926, p. 469.

Ticehurst and Whistler (/6m, Oct. 1930, p. 654) noted it as common in Iviza

and Formentera ; Jourdam saw young on the wing on May 17, 1930, at Santa

Eulalia in Iviza, and also found it nesting among the juniper-bushes in Formen-

tera in the same month, v. Jordans {Faho, Aug. 1914, pp. 45-46) describes the

bird as follows : " The upper parts are bright ash-grey, only a few specimens

with quite slight traces of brown ; the head hardly darker than the back ; the

chin whitish. Throat and the whole of the underparts also light grej', likewise

with a cream -coloured tint ; no trace of the deejj ash-grey of the typical ' sarda.'

Beak longer and finer."

Witherby exhibited a series of specimens at a meeting of the British

Ornithologists Club on November 12, 1919, and described it as easily dis-

tinguished by its pale whitish throat and smaU size (Bull. B.O.C., No. ccxlv,

p. 29).

The bright-coloured beak and rims roimd the eyes are very conspicuous in

contrast with the general smoky hue of the plumage.

They afEect boulder-strewn open country covered with scrub of palmeto,

mjrrtle, cistus, rosemary, lentisk, grass, etc. ; and heathland thinly covered

with small pine-trees, with invariably heather among the undergrowth ; but

among the hills — on rocky ground covered with clumps of tall, coarse grass,

and scanty bushes ; in the pine-woods with thick undergrowth beneath the

trees, it is equally at home ; though it is never found on ground disturbed

by cattle.

They seek their food chiefly among the thin scrub and heather, and in the

pine-trees in sjjring, disturbing clouds of pollen from the blossoms of the pines

when feeding. I have also seen them feeding on the msects among the flowers

of a species of Cytisus.

It is amusing to watch a jjair seeking food for their young — dihgently

working their way through bush after bush of scrub, the female treasuring in her

beak the food she fuids, the male gobbling up all he finds ; when her beak is full

of insects and caterpillars, off they both dash straight to the clump where the

nest is ; the female proceeds to feed the young, the male perching near, and

when she is too long about it he goes down to the nest to hurry her up, and then

off away again they start to continue their search.

78 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

Nesting commences in April, and the young are usually hatched by the end

of that month. The commonest situation for the nest is low down among the

grass growing up at the bottom of the clumps of scrub, about six inches or a foot

from the ground, and on the outskirts of the clump. If there is a growth of

heather in the bush it is usually selected ; but sometimes completel3' isolated,

and comparatively small and thm plants are chosen. I found a nest in a small

isolated ])lant of Dorycninm suffruticosiim. and Henrici one in an islated bush

of Aspamyus uculijolius — both these are favourite plants for nestmg in. Besides

I have found nests in rosemary (which is usually avoided by birds for nesting in),

cistus, and lentisk, and in some instances as high as 3 ft. from the ground.

Nests built among the grass in the scrub are usually slight, and composed

entirely of that material, but m other situations they are buUiy and compact, of

lichen, dry grass, stalks and leaves, mixed with spiders' webs or wool outside, and

lined with finer dry grass or horse-hair. A nest placed in a light situation was

lined with light-coloured grass ; another in a dark place was lined with darker-

coloured grass and dark horse -hair.

The rim of the nest is always strongly constructed and strengthened with

cobwebs with feathers woven into it, and, as a rule, the nest may be distinguished

from a Sarduiian Warbler's by the stout rim and the absence of the layer of soft

material in which the lining is set.

Three or four eggs are laid, rarelj' five, which vary considerably, some

resembling types of the Sardinian Warbler. They are sometimes white, slightly

glossy, speckled and spotted all over with pale 3-ellowish-brown, more thickly at

the larger end ; others are white, sijotted, chiefly at the larger end, with reddish-

brown, and some faint spots of pale ash-grey ; or, greyish-white ground,

stippled all over with pale brown and ash-grey, denser at the larger end ; or

greyish-white ground, thickly mottled (almost blotched) all over with reddish-

brown.

The bird, when disturbed, slips off the nest, and flits from bush to bush like

a large insect ; and if there are young in it, or a brood about in the bushes near,

both old birds are usually very tame and noisy, uttering continually a subdued

ventriloquial " churr-churr," perching on the herbage or trees close by, or running

wildly about on the ground, hke mice, close to one's feet, and attempting to

decoy one from the young.

The old birds accompany the young brood, after leaving the nest, for some

time, when they are well able to fly, and it is possible that two broods are reared

in the year.

The yoimg, a few days old, are bUnd and absolutely naked, with a shiny

black skin ; the inside of the mouth being orange with two black spots in the

tongue.

The usual alarm or call-note is a harsh " check-check " repeated many

times ; but the male has a feeble song, which he often utters, during the nesting-

season, while flitting about " languidly " in the air, looking somewhat Uke a

small bat.

I have never found them nesting at any great distance from the coast ; on

apparently suitable ground in the interior of the large islands they are absent ;

but on ground, some miles inland, that has a decided open slope towards the

sea. they will be found, and they nest up to the very verge of the sea-cliffs, in

the extreme limit of th<j wind-shorn scrub.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 79

59. RUFOUS WARBLER. Agrobates galactotes galactotes.

The only occurrences of this species in the islands have been recorded by

Ticehurst and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 654), who saw a pair on Iviza on

May 8 and 9, 1930, and a smgle bird on Formentera on May 19, 1930, all probably

on migration.

60. CETTI'S WARBLER. Cettia cetti cetti ( = Cettia cetti salvatoris v. .Jordans).

This bird is resident, and common, in suitable spots in Majorca and Minorca ;

in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, it is as plentiful as the Reed-Warbler, and

other marshes also harbour it.

In Minorca it likewise frequents the marshes and reedy courses of the

streams. But it has not occurred in the Pityusae.

During the nesting-season they frequent the fringes of the marshes, but at

other times are found throughout them. Dense bramble-thickets at the edge of

ditches, and bushy thickets at the edge of a marsh appear to be the favourite

haunts during the summer, and not so much in the high reeds ; and at this

season they often stray in the woods nearby, among the thick imdergrowth.

They nest in April and May, and the nest is a deep, bulky, and untidy

structure, not in the least resembling a Reed-Warbler's, though sometimes built

in a similar position, with the reed-stems running through it ; it is placed either

low down, or at some distance above the ground, or water, in reeds or bushes,

and loosely constructed of dry grass, bits of reeds, and feathers, lined with the

flowers of the reeds, finer dry grass, feathers, and horse-hair ; and the interior

is very deep.

Tlu-ee or four eggs are laid of an unmistakable deep brick-red colour.

The song is startUngly loud, and, on being distiu-bed from its nest, or from

the thicket where its nest is, bursts wildly into song. Sometimes, in the vicinity

of its nest, it will hop about uttering a plaintive " phiu."

61. REED-WARBLER. Acrocephalus scirpaceus scirpaceus.

A common resident in the marshes and streams of Majorca, Minorca, and

Iviza. In the latter island, Ticehurst and Whistler (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 655)

recorded it in May 1930, and Joiu'dain found it nesting there in the same month.

It frequents equally the innermost recesses of the marshes, as well as ditches,

and swampy cover adjoining, and in any of these situations the nest is made.

They nest rather late, and eggs are not often found before the end of May,

or in June, when the reeds have begun to put forth new leaves.

The well-known nests are supported on the stems of the reeds, sometimes

on the reed-stems growing up through a bush or thicket, from 1 to 2 feet above

the ground, or water ; and are deep and tidily constructed of line, dry grass or

reed, lined with the flowers of the reeds. The eggs do not differ from the typical.

In Sei^tember 1927 I found a nest containing a broken, unhatched Cuckoo's

egg, that appeared to have been deserted.

62. GREAT REED-WARBLER. Acrocephalus arundinaceus arundinaceus.

Homeyer and Barcelo both mention this species as occui'ring in the marshes

of Majorca, and v. Jordans has definitely recorded it, and obtained specimens

from the Albufera of Alcudia, where it is rather local, and not very common,

and is a summer visitor.

80. NOVITATES ZOOLOGIOAE XXXVII. 1931.

Ticehiir.st and Whiistler (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 655) ob.served it in Iviza on

May 11, 1930, where Jourdaln also noted it on May 18, 1930. It has not yet

been recorded from Minorca.

I obtained nests with eggs in the Albiifera of Alcudia in May 1930. Its

loud song may easily be distinguished b}- its " tinny " notes.

63. AQUATIC WARBLER. Acrocephalus aquaticus.

A rare resident in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, wliere I have noticed it

both in summer and winter.

On May 22, 1925, I watched one for some time, which was evidently nestmg

in a dense reed-bed, and one was shot there in April 20, 1925.

64. SEDGE-WARBLER. Acrocephalus schoenobaenus.

I have only noticed this sjiecies as occurring somewliat rarely in spring in

the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca.

Gosse noted one in Iviza in April 1914 (AvicuUural Magazine).

65. MOUSTACHED WARBLER. Lusciniola melanopogon melanopogon.

This rare warbler is an abundant resident in the Albufera of Alcudia, and the

Albufereta of Pollensa, but has not been recorded from anywhere else in the

islands. It is there, I think, the most plentiful of the Reed-Warblers, exceeding

in numbers the Reed- and Cetti's Warblers.

They are not particularly shy, and feed quietly among the thick reeds,

hopping about just above the surface of the water, every now and then running

sideways up the stems of the taller reeds ; and they are distinguishable by their

dark plumage.

The loud preliminary notes of their song — not unlike the cry of a Redshank

— suddenly bursts forth from among the reeds, continued by a more subdued

song rather Uke a Sedge-Warbler's, but not so harsh, and it may be heard at

most times of the year. The alarm note is a sort of " clucking " note. Their

song can easily be distinguislied from the wild notes of Cetti's Warbler, and

from the more strident warbling of the Reed-Warbler, and even above the loud

chorus of croaking frogs.

The small loud singing Reed-Warblers — Moustached, Reed, Cetti's, etc. —

are all called by the natives " Rossinols de kuniet " (" Reed-Nightingales ").

They nest from the midcUe of May imtil the last week in June, rather earUer

than Reed-Warblers ; the earliest eggs I have found being on May 19, 1927.

The nest is invariably built in the reeds at the side of a ditch, and not in the

middle of the reed-beds, which the Reed-Warbler often chooses, and is suspended

on the reed-stems, one or two feet above the surface of the water ; it is a rather

untidy, loosely-built structure, made almost entirely, externally, of long, wide

strips of dry reed, very often curiously knotted and twisted together, with the

rim tied down in a remarkable way ; the lining is of the fine flowering tops of the

reeds, with occasionally a few feathers.

Exactly the same position for the nest is often chosen every year, and one

I found was built on the top of the remains of the nest of the year before. They

are totally different from Reed-Warblers', which are tidy and compact, and always

made of much finer materials, besides being deeper.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1031. 81

The eggs number three or four, and bear some resemblance to Sedge -

Warblers', and are usually of a pale, greyish-brown ground-colour, stippled closely

all over with darker yellowish brown, formmg a zone at the larger end, and

sometimes with a few black dots or streaks. The depth of colouring varies in

most clutches.

The j)alates of the nestlings are orange-yellow, without any spots.

66. WILLOW-WARBLER. Phylloscopus trochilus trochilus.

67. WOOD-WARBLER. PhyUoscopus sibilatrix sibilatrix.

68. CHIFF-CHAFF. Phylloscopus collybita collybita.—

Pajaros de nieve.

All these Warblers are common winter visitors to the islands, and a great

many besides ])ass through on migration in autumn and spring.

In Majorca the earliest arrivals I have seen were at the begmning of Septem-

ber, when they are in very bright plumage, and they sometimes occur as late as

the middle of May.

The Chifi-chafE is by far the commonest, and sometimes swarms during the

winter in warm, sunny spots, frequenting the orchards, the vegetable crops, the

marshes, and especially the pine-wood.s.

They are tame, familiar little birds, and, in cold weather, come boldly into

the houses ; one bird used regularly to come to roost every night behind the

bottles on a shelf in a cafe.

They are often heard singing during the winter.

The native name " Pajaros de nieve" ("birds of the snow") is given to

them because of their tameness in severe weather.

(Savi's Warbler. Locustrella luscinioides luscinioides.

Undoubtedly breeds in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, where Jourdain

and I heard it " reeling " frequently in May 1930, and it was also there later in

the summer, but its identification is not yet sufficiently certain to include it in

this list.)

69. BONELLI'S WARBLER. Phylloscopus bonelli bonelli.

Homeyer and Barcelo have both recorded this species in Majorca ; but until

1930 — when some numbers were seen, and heard singmg, by Jourdain and myself,

on passage at the beginning of May, in the neighbourhood of Alcudia, Majorca^

it had not been noted there by any modern observer, though probably its passage

may have hitherto remained unnoticed.

Ticehur.st and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 656) have recorded it from Iviza

on May 9, 1930, not uncommonly ; from Espardell on May 15, and ui Formentera

on May 18 and 19 — all in passage.

I think that, under the circumstances, there may have been an unusual

stream of migration of this species through the islands at this period, similar to

that of the Common Whitethroat in 1923 (v. No. 49).

6

82 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

70. FANTAIL WARBLER. Cisticola juncidis cisticola ( = Cisticola juncidis

intermedia v. Jordans). — Uicc de ban.

A common resident in all the islands ; in the marshes and their neighbour-

hood, in swampy meadows and adjacent to streams, as well as among the crops.

They commence nesting at the end of March and beginning of April, and I

have found a nest bemg built as late as July 14. Two, if not three, broods are

reared.

The beautiful purse-like nest is carefully concealed low-down amongst grass,

inula, spear-grass, and in bushes overgrown with herbage, also in corn and bean

crops. I have sometimes found them in clumps of grass in pine-woods adjoining

the marshes, and also in scrub, but never far from water. But the nest is not

difficult to find, as the bird is very tame, and generally leaves the nest only when

one is close to it, and does not hesitate to return to it when one is nearby. It is

a deep pocket, among the stems, of cobwebs, down, etc., like the web of some

insect, with the opening near the top.

Four or five eggs are laid, of two types ; one jiure white, and the other pale

blue ; spotted eggs have not yet been found.

It is a restless Httle bird, attracting attention by its flitting jerkily in the air

above the grass uttering its squeaky cry, but on the ground it runs about not

unlike a Meadow-Pipit.

The native name " Ox-eye " (" uiec de bau ") is said to be given to it on

account of its restless habits.

Ticehurst and Whistler (Ibis. Oct. 1930, p. 658) cannot see that v. Jordans

" intermedia " is a recognizable race, as Ivizan and Majorcan specimens do not

differ in any way from Spanish birds ; neither is it recognized in Lynes's " Review

of the Genus Cisticola " [Ibis, Suppl., Oct. 1930, p. 87).

71. MISSEL-THRUSH. Turdus viscivorus viscivoras. — Grivia.

A not uncommon winter visitor, but generally singly, or two or three together.

They generally frequent the oUve-orchards, or scattered trees on the hill-

sides, and lowlands.

72. SONG-THRUSH. Turdus musicus musicus.— Tort.

Very common during the whiter, and universally distrilnited in all the

islands. They arrive in October, and remain until April, a few even untU

May ; but St. Matthias Day is said by the natives to be the day on which the

Swallows arrive and the Thrushes depart.

Great numbers are caught and sold for food in the markets, with Redwings,

Fieldfares, Blackbirds, a few Ring-Ouzels, and an occasional Blue Rock-Thrush ;

the current price for these delicacies being quoted in market-lists. From Minorca

quantities are exported to Barcelona. They are shot and trapped in every

imaginable way ; in clap-nets at night, as well as in fine nets set up on tall canes

between the trees, into which the birds fly ; and the shepherd-boys set up in-

numerable stone-traps, on the same principle as our brick-traps, and baited with

a few berries, in the woods.

They are said to get their esteemed flavour from feeding chiefly on ohves,

which they pick up on the ground beneath the trees, and they also damage the

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 83

fruit on the tree.s a good deal ; but I have found them feeding also on a very

objectionable-looking yellowish fungus^that grows in the pine-woods. Their

principal food, however, consists of snails, worms, etc.

Needless to say, continual persecution makes them very wild and shy.

V. Jordans has recorded (Journ. f-iir Ornith., April 1924, pp. 159-160) a Song-

Thrush ringed at Kufstein in the Tyrol, on June 26, 1914, which was recovered

at Mahon in Minorca on February l.'S, 1915 ; and another ringed at Leipzig on

May 28, 1916, and recovered near Palma. Majorca, on November 25, 1916.

73. REDWING. Tardus Uiacus.

74. FIELDFARE. Turdus pilaris.

Both these species are winter visitors only, and not uncommon, but, of the

two, the Redwing is the most plentiful ; and the Fieldfare is said to occur in

Minorca only in severe winters.

They frequent the same olive-orchards, woods, and trees on the scrub-

covered hill-sides, as do the Song-Thrushes.

All the Thrushes are known generally by the natives as " Torts."

75. WHITE'S THRUSH. Turdus aureus.

Has been obtained once only, in Minorca in January 1912 ; probably the

only example ever recorded from Spain.

76. BLACKBIRD. Turdus merala menila. — Merlere.

A common and universally distributed resident in Majorca and Minorca.

Gosse has recorded it from Iviza in April {Avictilt ural Magazine, 1920), but

neither Tieehurst nor Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 657) saw it in the Pityusae, nor

did Jourdain, in May 1930, so possibly Gosse may have mistaken the Blue Rock-

Thrush for it, as he does not mention that species.

It is always wild and shy, on account of the attention it receives from

" gunners."

Nesting commences early in March, and continues throughout April and

May, and into June.

The nest is placed sometimes comparatively high up in the fork of a pine-

tree, but more usually low down in creepers against the trunk of a tree, in low

bushes and brambles, in a heap of cut brushwood, in a bank, or even on the

ground in the woods amongst herbage. Very often it is practically unconcealed

except for the assimilation of the materials of the nest with its siuroundings .

As a rule the nests are small, but differ little in construction from those at home.

Three or four eggs, occasionally five, are laid, and are typical. They are

not such strong songsters as in England, and, on the whole, sing very little, being

in such request for the " pot " makes them fearful.

77. RING-OUZEL. Turdus torquatus torquatus.

A winter visitor, and only as yet recorded from Majorca and Minorca, but is

not very common. It generally frequents the gorges in the hills, and scrub-

covered hillsides near the sea-shore,

g^ NOVITATES ZooLoaicAE XXX\^I. 1931.

78. BLUE ROCK-THRUSH. Monticola solitarius solitarius.— Passera.

This handsome Ijird is fairly plentiful in the wilder parts of all the islands,

among the hills and on the sea-coasts, and is particularly numerous in Minorca,

where it is found even in the suburbs of the towns.

In Iviza, Ticehurst and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 6.57) noted a pair, on

May 8, 1930, feeding their young in the town walls.

A good many remain throughout the winter, but most appear to arrive in

March. During the winter the resident birds forsake the highlands, and visit

the plains, and every year I welcome one in my garden near Alcudia, Majorca, that

takes up its post on the roof of the house or on the top of the windmill, whence,

on sumiy days, it pours forth its song. Also a bird perches, and sings, daily

diirmg the nesting-season, on the cross on the top of the chapel at Lluch

in Majorca, and in other places I have noticed birds taking up their positions

regularly on conspicuous buildings.

In the solitude of the hills, or on the splendid cliffs of the coast, its wild song

is most pleasing — often it will sail out from a crag in the cliffs, floating in the air

on extended wings, uttering its striking song ; or from a rocky hillside launches

forth into the air, floating hither and thither, singing all the while.

They nest in April and May m caves and crevices of the cliffs of the sea-coast,

or among the crags in the lulls, and in holes in ruined buildings, making a large,

loosely-constructed nest of sticks and dry grass, lined with finer grass and roots ;

a heap of large sticks beneath a ledge or crevice in the rocks will often disclose

the position of a nest, for the birds, in endeavouring to make a foundation for it,

spill a quantity of material beneath.

The eggs are very glossy, of a pale blue ground, slightly speckled with pale

red, and four or five are usually laid.

79. ROCK-THRUSH. Monticola saxatUis.

A somewhat rare summer visitor to the mountainous parts of Majorca, and

occurring also in Minorca on migration in spring. Its nest has not yet been foimd

in Majorca, but v. Jordans assumes that it may breed sparmgly ; he obtained

specimens in April and May there (Nov. Zool., vol. xxxiv, p. 276).

80. REDSTART. Phoenicurus p. phoenicurus. — Coua rotje.

Occurs throughout the winter sparmgly, but numbers pass through the

islands on migration in autumn and spring.

I notice the first arrivals in Majorca in October, and the latest occur up to

the end of April, but none appear to breed.

They frequent chiefly the orchards, gardens, and olive-covered hillsides.

81. BLACK REDSTART. Phoenicurus ochrurus gibraltariensis.

As the last, this species occurs throughout the winter, but more plentifully ;

also many pass through on sprmg and autumn migration, at the same time as the

Redstarts, but none remain to breed.

Every winter one or two roost in my garden in Alcudia, either in the veranda

of the house, or in a crevice between the stones of the windmUl.

Besides frequenting orchards, gardens, etc., ruined walls and buildings are

favourite haunts, as well as the bare, sunny faces of high crags among the hills.

NoVITATES ZOOLOGIOAE XXXVTT. 1931. 85

82. CONTINENTAL REDBREAST. Erithacus rubecula rubecula.— Ropit.

An abundant winter visitor to all the islands, and universally distributed.

They arrive in October, at the same time as the Song-Thrushes, and linger

until the middle of April.

Formerly, quantities were sold for food in the markets, with other small

birds, for on their arrival they are always very fat, and though numbers are still

sacrificed to the omnivorous islanders, they are not allowed to be sold publicly.

v. Jordans (Journ. fur Ornith., April 1924, p. 164) mentions one ringed on

August 5, 1919, in Korodigraben, near Manetin, that was recovered on December

26, 1919, near Mahon in Minorca.

83. NIGHTINGALE. Luscinia megarhyncha megarhyncha (=Luscinia

megarhynchos luscinioides v. Jordans). — Rossinol.

A very common summer visitor to the woods, bramble-brakes, gardens, water-

courses, and isolated patches of scrub or bush, alike in the plains and hills, also

in the suburbs of the towns, in all the islands.

They arrive at the beginning of April, and most of them have left in Sep-

tember.

The nest is made in April and May, among tliick undergrowth of myrtle,

lentisk, palmeto, brambles, etc. ; thickly wooded water-courses, and gorges in

the hills are favourite spots.

It is usually low down in a thick bush, and is rather slightly constructed of

dry leaves, moss or palmeto outside, lined with finer day grass and black horse-

hair— a dark nest, for dark eggs, in a dark situation.

The eggs number four or five, and are too well-known to need descriiDtion.

It is practically the only bird that sings fearlessly, and by day and night,

and though in finest song before the young are hatched, it also sings a good

deal after nesting is over, and the young have flown ; I have often seen young

on the wing, and heard old birds singing on the same day.

Ticehurst and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 658) are unable to recognize

V. Jordans's " luscinioides " as a race.

84. THRUSH NIGHTINGALE. Luscinia luscinia.

Ponseti records this species as rare, and occurring on migration in Minorca,

but there appears to be a certain amount of doubt as to its occurrence, never

having been observed in any other of the islands, nor is there a specimen in the

museum at Mahon.

8.5. WHITE-SPOTTED BLUETHROAT. Cyanosylvia suecica eyaneeula.

Occurs rarely on migration, in spring and autumn, in Majorca and Muiorca.

v. Jordans observed it in Majorca in March and April 1913 {Faico, Aug. 1914,

p. 57), and I obtained sjjecimens, and noted others, near Alcudia, in March 1927,

and October 1930,

Witherby made the most interesting discovery, in June 1927, of this species

nesting in the Sierra de Gredos in Spain.

86 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. UI31.

80. BLUETHROAT. Cyanosylvia suecica gaetkei.

Ticehurst and Whistler record two seen in Iviza on May 9, 1930, and one

seen in the same place on May 10 ; and obtained a single female {Ibis, Oct. 1930,

p. G59).

87. CONTINENTAL STONECHAT. Saxicola torquata rubicola.-Vitrac.

A very common resident in all the islands, universally distributed in open

countrj^ in the lowlands and on the scrub-covered hillsides.

A very noticeable bird from its habit of perching conspicuously on the top

of a tall weed, a bush, or wall.

They nest from early in March mitil late in May, and have two broods

m the year.

The nest is placed on the ground, under a bush, a clump of grass or palmeto,

among " Inula " in the marshes, or in the herbage of the pine-woods. It is

usually made of dry grass, palmeto-fibre, dry sea-weed, or moss, lined with fibre,

roots, horse-hair, fur and feathers. The male bird also assists in incubation.

The eggs number four or five, sometimes six, and are usually smaller than

" Hibernans," but of similar colouring.

The amount of white in the plumage of the male bird is very variable, some

having an unusual amount.

88. WHINCHAT. Saxicola rubetra rabetra.

Occurs on migration in small numbers in April and May, and rarely in

autumn, m all the islands.

I have thought that a few remain to breed in Majorca, as I have seen some

about in the summer, but have been unable to find a nest.

89. WHEATEAR. Oenanthe oenanthe oenanthe.- C'ul l)lanc.

A plentiful bird of passage in spring — March, April, and May — and in

autumn — September and October — in all the islands.

90. Oenanthe oenanthe nivea.

V. Jordans (Nov. ZooL., vol. xxxiv, July 1928, pp. 277-278), and Ticehurst

and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 660), consider the Wheatear that remains to

breed in the islands to be the above form.

I found an old nest in a rabbit-burrow, on ground much frequented by

Wheatears, near Puerto Alcudia, Majorca, in 1921.

In July 1919, Witherby obtained an adult in full moult, and a young one,

in Iviza, and found that they evidently bred in some numbers near some salt-

pans on the coast, where he saw a good many young ones of various ages {Bull.

B.O.C., No. ccxlv, p. 29).

Henrici obtained a single fresh egg from a nest in a wall in Formentera, on

May 22, 1924 {Beitr. zur Fortpflanzungsb. der Vogel, Nov. 1926, p. 167) ; Jourdain

found a nest in a stone wall, in Iviza, with large young ones on May 21, 1930 ;

also Ticehurst and Whistler {I.e.) obtained specimens in the Pityusae, diu:ing

the same month, which were breeding.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. lf)31. 87

Throughout the summer some Wheatears may be seen on the bare, rock-

strewn ground, near the edge of the cliffs, along the whole south-east coast of

Majorca, from near Porto Gristo to the extreme sou'th jJomt of the island, as

well as on the bare, rough ground, and salt-pans near Salinas and Puerto Campos ;

also on the coast, to the westward of Palma, some occur in summer.

91. GREENLAND WHEATEAR. Oenanthe oenanthe leuconhoa.

Occurs sparingly on migration in spring.

Polatzek obtamed specimens in April 1910 in Iviza ; and v. Jordans on

March 29 and April 5, 1913, in Majorca ; also Gosse one at Alcudia, Majorca, in

April 1914.

92. BLACK-EARED WHEATEAR. Oenanthe hispanica hispanica.

Occurs regularly in small numbers on migration in April in Majorca and

Minorca, but has not yet been recorded from other islands. It is generally

solitary.

93. HEDGE-SPARROW. Accentor modulaiis modulaiis.

A scarce winter visitor to Majorca and Minorca, where it is found only

among scrub, and the undergrowth in the pine-woods, and their vicinity, equally

in the lowlands, and among the hills.

94. NORTH-AFRICAN WREN. Troglodytes troglodytes kabylorum

(= Troglodytes troglodytes miilleri v. Jordans). — Petxera. •

A not very common resident in Majorca and Minorca ; but neither Jourdain,

nor Ticehurst and Whistler (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 661) noted it in the Pityusae.

It is so extremely shy, however, that it appears rarer than it really is ; one

does not often catch sight of the tiny bird, and its weak song is oftener heard.

Even in my garden near Alcudia, Majorca, where every encouragement is given

to birds, and where one or two paii's nest every year — sometimes in a mass of

ivy-geranium growing over a rock, or in a curtain of Mesembryanthemum

immediately below the house, or among the tresses of " Morning Glory " on a

pergola — I hardly ever get a glimpse of the old birds ; even when builduig or when

they have young, they invariably approach or leave the nest by some circuitous

route.

It is universally distributed, from close to the sea-shore to among the highest

moimtains ; among scrub, in the woods and rocky gorges, and straying out

among the rocks and scrub m the most desolate situations.

The nest is usually built low down — in fact, I have found one on the ground —

amongst thick undergrowth, against the trunk of a pine in juniper, rosemary,

and lentisk bushes, frequently in clumjjs of palmeto (Chamaerops huinilis), and

in thickets of Smilax aspera, less often in clefts of rocks and in caves. One I

fovmd was in a thick parasite growing on a pine-tree about 20 ft. from the ground.

It is composed of moss and dry herbage, sometimes with a lot of dry sea-

weed, or the di'y leaves of a very prickly thistle, outside, lined with feathers,

hair and palmeto fibre — one nest was lined entirely with feathers from the carcass

of a Barn-owl close by.

88 NOVITATES ZoOLOr.ICAE XXXVIl. 1931.

Four to six eggs are laid in the beginning of April, or even earlier, and the

young are often ready to fly in May. The eggs are white, spotted with faint

red, rarely of an intense shade ; and are generally somewhat smaller than

British eggs.

It is very doubtful if v. Jordans s "' miilleri "' is a recognizable race.

!i5. BALEARIC SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER. Muscicapa striata balearica

V. Jordans. — Capamoscas.

This is the form of Spotted Flycatcher that breeds in all the Balearic Islands,

and has been separated Isy v. Jordans from the typical bird {Falco, Aug. 1914),

which only passes through the islands on migration.

The differences, as pointed out by Witherby {Bull. B.O.C., No. ccxc, p. 5),

are paler stripes on the forehead, fewer and finer stripes on the breast, and

paler upper parts ; but its habits are jirecisely similar to M. .s. strinfa.

It is a common summer visitor, universally distributed in the plains and

hUls ; frequenting woods, orchards, and oUve-covered hills, as well as towns

and villages, occurring even in the middle of Palma.

It arrives in April, and is one of the last summer visitors to leave, some not

infrequently lingering on as late as the end of November, though the majority

disappear m September.

They nest in May and June, in fruit-trees in the orchards, in woods, in pines

and among vines ; or in sheds, outhouses, and in the houses themselves, as well

as in ruined walls and buildings.

The nest is rather large and untidy, composed outside of dry twigs, moss,

roots, grass, bits of sea-weed, straw, etc., lined with vegetable down, palmeto-

fibre, horse-hair, and feathers ; one I found was made almost entirely of the dry

stems of sorrel, with the seed-vessels attached, mixed with a little dry grass, and

lined as usual.

Three or four eggs are laid, resembling those of the typical species, but not

usually so brightly coloured.

Witherby has identified a specimen of this subspecies obtained at Bitye,

Ja R., Cameroon, on Afiril 23, 1921, and found another in the British Museum

from the Ja R., on October 28, 1907 (/6».s, Aprill92.5, p. 62.5, and Bun. B.O.C.,

No. ccxc, p. 5).

9(i SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. Muscicapa striata striata.

Passes through the islands on migration only, in spring, and has been

obtained by v. Jordans in Majorca (Falco. Aug. 1914, p. 38).

97. PIED FLYCATCHER. Muscicapa hypoleuca hypoleuca.

In some years Pied Flycatchers occur in quantities on migration northwards

in April and the begimiing of May. They are found throughout all the islands,

both in the plains and among the hills, and as they remain for some weeks, it

might be thought that some would stay to breed, but none appear to do so,

and only a few are seen on the return migration in September.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. IflSl. 89

98. WHITE-COLLARED FLYCATCHER. Muscicapa coUaris.

Though Barcelo has recorded this species a.s rare on migration in Majorca,

and Ponseti as occurring on migration in spring in Minorca, tliese records may

be considered doubtful, and Ponseti has probably confused it with M. h. hypoleuca.

However, Jourdain identified an example near Puerto Alcudia, Majorca, on

May 7, 1930, which establishes it as an occasional passing migrant.

99. SWALLOW. Hirundo iiistica rastica. — Oronella.

A summer visitor to all the islands. The earliest arrivals have been noted

in Majorca at the end of February, but the majority arrive in March. St.

Matthias Day is said by the natives to be the day on which the swallows arrive

and the thrushes depart. They leave in September and the beginning of October,

but a few stragglers sometimes occur throughout the winter.

During some unusually chilly weather at the beginning of May 1926, hun-

dreds were seen huddled miserably together on telegraph-wires, and blades of

spear-grass, near Alcudia, Majorca.

Annually, during the last days of April, a considerable migration of Swifts,

Swallows, House- and Sand-Martins passes northward over Majorca at a good

height, and with the aid of glasses others can be seen flying high up beyond

the range of the naked eye.

100. MARTIN. Delichon urbica urbica.

Ticehurst and Whistler obtained a specimen in Formentera on May 17,

1930 (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 663) — proving that the typical race occurs on migration.

101. Delichon urbica meridionalis.

A summer visitor to all the islands, but not very jjlentiful ; more so m

Minorca than in the other islands.

I have noted the earliest arrivals in Majorca on March 5, 192.5, but the

majority arrive in April. At the end of March 192.5 a great many succumbed

to the inclement weather, and were found dead in houses and outhouses, where

they had sought refuge from a raging gale.

In Minorca they often nest in the small square holes, built in the walls of

the houses, close below the eaves, for ventilation, but nowhere in any of the

islands do they nest in such numbers beneath the eaves of the houses, as on

th« mainland of Spain, where the nests are often built in tiers beneath the broad

eaves ; in the Balearic Isles two or three nests beneath the eaves of a house

is quite rare, and as many nest on the cliffs of the coast, and among the crags

of the hiUs, as on the houses of the towns and villages.

They depart in September and October.

102. SAND-MARTIN. Riparia riparia riparia.

A summer visitor, but local and not numerous, some arriving in March, but

the majority in April ; in 1921 a colony to the west of Palma had arrived on

March 13.

There are a few small colonies, or odd pairs, breeding at suitable spots m all

the islands ; and some may be found occasionally among the sand-hills on the

90 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931J

shores of Alcudia Bay in Majorca ; but they are always very uncertain and

irregular in their appearance at their nesting-places, often forsaking them for

3-ears together, or a solitary pair turning up where formerly several have nested.

They usually depart in October ; but a greater number pass through the islands

on migration, in spring and autumn.

103. ROCK-MARTIN. Riparia rupestris.

A common resident m all the islands, where they nest in inaccessible places

in the caverns of the sea-coast and among the bills, visiting the plains in search

of food, and retiring to their caves to roost at night.

1(14. WRYNECK. Jynx torquilla torquilla.

105. NORTH-AFRICAN WRYNECK. Jynx torquilla mauretanica.

Both the tj^ical Wryneck and the North-African subspecies occur in the

islands.

The former occurs plentifully as a migrant both in spring — in April and

May — and in the autumn, usually in September ; but some remain throughout

the winter.

It would appear, from specimens collected, that the North- African form is

a resident, but is not at all plentiful, though universally distributed.

106. CUCKOO. Cuculus canoras bangsi. — Cucuy.

A summer visitor to all the islands, and universally distributed, but not very

plentiful as a breeding-species. Many more — probably Cucuhis c. canorus — pass

through the islands on migration than remain to breed.

The majority arrive early in April, but the earliest date I have recorded, in

Majorca, is March 6, 1920.

On May 20, 1923, a young one, a few days old, was found in a Sardinian

Warbler's nest, from which it had ejected the young Warblers. Henrici (Beiir.

zur Fortpflanzungsb. der Vogel, March 1927, p. 50) found a stale egg in a deserted

Sardinian Warbler's nest on April 30, 1 925, and I found a broken egg in a Reed-

Warbler's nest on September 27, 1927, which had evidently been deserted — all

these in Majorca.

Young birds are not infrequently seen on the wing in August.

On warm early-summer nights in Majorca, Cuckoos may be heard calling

from the hUls, Nightingales singing, and Stone-Curlews clamouring, while

Bitterns " boom " from a neighbourmg marsh.

107. GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO. Clamator glandarius.

Though this species is a not uncommon summer visitor in Spain, the only

record for the Balearic Islands is by Ponseti, of one obtamed in Minorca in 1912.

108. SWIFT. Micropus apus apus.— Falscca.

Swifts arrive in most of the islands early in April, but in Minorca at the end

of March. They career, during the summer, in hundreds over Palma and Mahon,

but are less numerous in the smaller towns.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 11131. 91

They nest beneath the Roman tiles of the roofs, beneath the eaves, and in

holes and crevices of the buildings, and not uncommonly in the caves and cliffs

of the sea-coast, among the hills and in the mountain gorges.

A " dust-devil " invariably attracts any swifts, s\vallov\s, or house-martins,

in its neighbourhood, which seize the bits of paper, straw, feathers, etc., carried

up by the whirlwind, and bear them off to their nests.

The majority depart in August, but a few linger on throughout September

into early October.

109. MOUSE-COLOURED SWIFT. Micropus muiinus illyricus.

This species occurs as a summer visitor in all the islands, but is not nearly

as plentiful as the Common Swift, except in Minorca, where it is nearly as

numerous as that bird, and nests there in numbers beneath the tiles of the roofs,

and in the ventilator holes imder the eaves of the houses.

It also is to be found nesting on the sea-cliffs, but I have not noticed it

nestmg on inland cUffs, though possibly it may occur in a few places.

They arrive and depart at the same times as the Common Swift.

110. ALPINE SWIFT. Micropus melba melba.

Occurs somewhat rarely in Majorca in summer, where I have observed speci-

mens near Alcudia on April 1, 1920, in the company of Common Swifts, and on

March 28, 1925 ; v. Jordans has also recorded it from the island, also Homeyer.

Ticehurst and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 665) noted a pair in I viza on

May 8, 19,30.

There are no records of its occurrence in Minorca.

Barcelo has recorded it as a rare breeding-species m the mountainous parts

of Majorca, and mentions the capture of specimens in the tower of Palma

Cathedral.

I have suspected its breeding in the island, for on May 12, 1924, I saw some

in a wild gorge among the Arta Mountains, and v. Jordans, in May 1927, obtained

an example, near Arta, with nesting-material in its beak ; also he observed others

on the coast of Formentera that probably had young (Nov. Zool., vol. xxxiv,

July 1928, p. 295).

111. NIGHTJAR. Capriinulgiis europaeus europaeus.

Ticehurst and Whistler (/fei.s-, Oct. 1930, p. 666) obtained a male in Iviza on

May 13, 1930, which was on migration, and met with others, also on Formentera.

Therefore the typical Nightjar passes through on migration, but the following is

the breeding-race :

112. Caprimulgiis europaeus meridionalis. — Engana-pastors.

A summer visitor, but not very plentiful, to the wooded parts of all the

islands, both in the plains and in the hills.

The earliest date I have of their arrival in Majorca is April 2, 1926, when I

flushed a pair among the pine-woods of the Cabo del Pinar.

I have obtained young birds of the year at Alcudia on August 5, 1922, and

November 14, 1923.

92 NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVIT. 1931.

In the summer ami autumn evenings they hawk round tlie lights on the

quay of Puerto Alcudia, and I have seen four at one time thus occupied, on

October 5, 1923.

One was caught in a fishing -boat in Alcudia Bay, on May 31, 1922, attracted

by a light on board ; and another, on September 22, 1924, exhausted bj' flight,

fell into the sea near a fishing-boat off the Cabo del Pinar, and was drowned ;

another was caught in some fishing-nets, hung up to dry, in Puerto Alcudia, in

the summer of 1920.

They do not appear to depart until November ; the latest dates I have

noticed them, in Majorca, being November 26, 1925, and November 19, 1926,

and throughout October they are frequently seen.

The Majorcan name " Engana-Pastors " means " C!heat the Shepherds " or

" Shepherds' Cheat."

113. BEE-EATER. Merops apiaster.— Beyarol.

A summer visitor, and a jjassmg migrant in varying numbers in spring, and

less frequently in autiunn, to all the islands ; breeding regularly in Minorca, and

possibly in the Pityusae, but now very rarely in Majorca.

When I first came to Majorca in 1919, the absence of the Bee-eater from

among the summer visitors was most noticeable to anyone acquainted with the

summer birds of Spain. It was then only a straggler on migration, and only one

passing flock was seen on April 26, 1920 ; v. Jordans saw a party migrating on

May 14, 1921 {Journ. fur Ornith., July 1924, p. 406) ; and on May 17, 1922, and

on April 21, 1923, I saw parties on migration.

In the following years from 1924, they have passed over more frequently ;

in fact, almost daily in April and May, 1925, and in that year as early as

March 26.

Henrici (Beitr. zur Fortpflanzungsb. der Vogel, March 1927, p. 50) also

observed flights in 1924 and 1925 in Majorca and Formentera.

Ticehurst and Whistler (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 666) noted some, in May 1930,

passing on jsassage over Iviza and Formentera.

The flocks in spring almost invariably pass over from south-west to north-

east, rarely from west to east. A few only return on passage in August and

September.

Formerly, according to Homeyer and Barcelo, it was a breeding-species in

Majorca, but for many years it has only done so exceptionally ; in May 1926, a

small party hxmg about a newly-opened quarry near Puerto Alcudia for some

days, and would undoubtedly have bred there, if they had not been disturbed.

In 1927, V. Jordans discovered a small colony nesting near Arta (Nov. Zool.,

vol. xxxiv, July 1928, p. 276). In June 1929, one, it not two, pairs nested in a

sand-bank in " El Arenal," a sandy ravine among the pine-roods between the

Albufera of Alcudia and Alcudia Bay, and on July 10, 1929, I dug out a nest

here with five hard-set eggs, and caught the female in the hole. Small parties of

birds having been observed occasionally, in Majorca, in late summer might con-

firm their nesting there exceptionally.

It is very doubtful, however, if they would ever establish themselves, for the

havoc they make among the bees, of which great numbers are kept in Majorca,

would certainly lead to their destruction.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 93

In Minorca, it remains annually to breed, probably on account of the less-

populous state of that island, but it is not very plentiful even there, usually in

small and scattered colonies here and there, in sandy banks, dunes and quarries.

In May 1926 I found a fairly large colony in the northern part of the island,

where the birds had made their nesting-holes in flat ground in light, sandy soil,

among, and on the edges, of thin pine-woods, and beside the cart-tracks through

the trees. The holes ran horizontally just below the surface and might have been

made by rats, though it was somewhat surprismg when a brilliant Bee-eater flew

from a hole immediately beneath your feet ; high sandy banks and dunes near

by were not used at all.

114. HOOPOE. Upupa epops epops. — Puput.

Common and universally distributed throughout aU the islands, where so

many remain all the year round that it may be classed as a resident, whose

numbers are increased by immigrants that arrive in March and April, but a good

number of these migrants only pass through the islands.

They nest in May, chiefly in holes in trees, more rarely in walls, and build-

ings, and V. Jordans has found it nesting in rocks near the .sea (Falco, Aug. 1914,

p. 102).

A brood of young that I had from the nest were most entertaining pets ;

though only the size of thrushes, they were in perfect plumage, with crests and

tails fully developed, only the white spot on each side of the gape and their size

distinguishing them from old birds, also they were able to fly a httle. They were

fond of clinging to the sides of the interior of the fish-cage in which they were

kept, after the manner of young Woodpeckers.

The familiar " hoop-hoojj — hoop-hoop " of these birds in the nesting-season

is followed by a sort of grating hiss, and after nesting, when the young are still

about, their most frequent note heard is a harsh chatter, something Hke a starling.

115. KINGFISHER. Alcedo ispida ispida. — Dornisso.

A winter visitor to suitable locaUties m all the islands.

Barcelo has classed it as a breeding-species in Majorca, and Ponseti also, in

Minorca, but it certainly is not so now.

The earliest arrivals usually appear in August, though I have seen one on

Jidy 30, 1929, and generally in pairs. They remain until March.

They often frequent the rocks on the sea-shore, and I have seen them fishing

in tanks in which water is stored, for irrigation, froni the water-wheels, these

tanks often holding small fish and tadpoles.

1 1 u. ROLLER. Coracias garrulus garrulus.

Has been recorded from Minorca by Ponseti, and from Majorca by Barcelo,

on migration.

One was killed on Cabrera, by the commandant there, in May 1930, and was

preserved. This unique record was rescued from oblivion by Lady Sheppard of

Fornalutx, who kindly communicated it to me.

94 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 193 1.

117. BARN-OWL. Tyto alba alba ( Tyto alba kleinschinidti v. .Toidans).—

Oliva.

A sparingly distributed resident in Majorca, Minorca, and Iviza.

Tiiey inhabit chiefly the towers of the churche.s, and the natives affirm that

they drink the olive-oil from the lamps on the shrines, hence the native name

" Oliva " (oHve).

A pair frequent and breed in the holes in the rocky sides of the Cueva de San

Martin near Alcudia, Majorca, in which there is a ruined subterranean chapel ;

and beneath their nesting-hole I have found remains of their eggs, as well as

skeletons of old and young owls, and pellets of fur and bones of mice, rats and

young rabbits, also of feathers and bones of greenfinches, sparrows, and a

crossbUl.

Another place frequented by a pair was a cleft in a sea-cliff to the west of

Palma.

Two dead specimens were found in April, 1920, in the pine-woods on the

shores of Alcudia Bay, from which a wren had taken feathers to line its nest.

v. Jordans (Journ. fur Ornith., July 1924, p. 409) gives a detailed description

of the differences between his " kleinschmidti "' and other subspecies of

Barn-owls.

118. LONG-EARED OWL. Asio otus otus.

Has been recorded by Barcelo from Majorca, and by Ponseti from Minorca,

but no late observer has ever met with it ; as a rare straggler, perhaps, it might

occur.

119. SHORT-EARED OWL. Asio fianinieus flainmeus.

Occurs rarely on migration in Majorca in April and May, and again in

November. It has also been recorded from Minorca.

One was killed against the electric -wires, near Alcudia, Majorca, on November

3, 1923, and a wounded one was brought to me on November 27, 1925, which I

kept alive for some time until it escaped — the eyes of this specimen were black

with a narrow yellow rim. Another occurred near Puerto Alcudia on February

20, 1930.

120. TAWNY OWL. Strix aluco aluco.

Undoubted occurs rarely m Majorca, though I have not yet been able to

procure a specimen. It is also said to occiu- in Minorca.

A pair is assumed to have nested, some years ago, in a cave beneath the

walls of Alcudia, Majorca ; and on January 2, 1922, in the moonlight I saw what

appeared to be a bird of this species, around my garden near Alcudia.

During the summer of 1927, I nightly heard its cry near the town of Alcudia,

but was unable to see it.

It has also been reported to me from near Palma.

121. SCOPS OWL. Otus scops scops (=Otus scops raallorcae v. Jordans).—

Mussol.

This delightful little Owl is common throughout all the islands, and its

monotonous piping note may be heard everywhere during the summer chiefly,

at night — though it not infrequently calls during the day.

XoviTATES ZooLOGiCAE XXXVII. I'JSl. gg

Thougli generally a suninier visitor, arriving in March and Ajsril, many

remain throughout the winter.

It is particularly abundant about Alcudia, Majorca ; the ancient towii-walls

being a great .stronghold for them ; it may often be perceived spending the day

in a tree or thick bush, and, on being noticed, compresses its plumage, and draws

itself to its utmost height, looking like a thin branch or stick.

Nesting commences in May, the eggs being generally laid in a hollow tree, or

in a hole in a wall or building. A nest with three eggs, and one of the year

before, was taken in a hollow olive-tree, near Alcudia, on May 3, 1926, and the

bird was caught on the eggs ; she laid another egg in her cage, and was given

her liberty the next day. On May 22, 1 926, she had returned to the same tree,

and had laid, and was incubating, four eggs.

Another nest in a hollow algaroba (locust-bean) tree had three much-

incubated eggs on June II, 1926, and the female was caught on the nest.

On June 28, 1926, a nest with three big young ones was found in the south

gate of Alcudia, and on June 9, 1927, another nest with four tiny young, covered

with white down, in a hole in an algaroba-tree.

The young, when they have left the nest, make a piping noise something

like the old birds, but fainter, and very hoarse ; the call of the female is fainter

than the male's.

V. Jordans's " mallorcae " is certainly not a good race (fide Hartert).

122. LITTLE OWL. Carine noctua noctua.

The only actual instance of the occurrence of this bird of late years in the

islands was when I was walking up a rocky gorge on the north coast of Minorca,

on May 7, 1923. I idly struck with my stick at what appeared to be a dead

stump on a rock ; it turned out to be a Little Owl which, when knocked over,

developed instantly fiery eyes and menacing claws ; but before I coidd secure it,

it recovered and flew farther up the gorge. I flushed it again several times, but

it wisely never again allowed so near an approach.

In Majorca I have heard it cry diu-ing the autumn of 1920, near Puerto

Alcudia, and v. Jordans also has heard it near Arta on April 23, 1913, and at

Valdemosa on May 17, 1913 {Falco, Aug. 1914, p. 107).

Homeyer's statement of its frequent occurrence in Majorca must be a

mistake.

123. BLACK VULTURE. Aegypius monachus.— Voltor.

This noble bird is numerous and resident in all the mountainous jjarts of

Majorca, but the only occurrence in the other islands is of a specimen shot at

Mercadal, in Minorca, on November 26, 1929, which is preserved in the museum

of the Ateneo at Mahon.

It is a mystery how these great birds find sufficient food ; no doubt they do

not live entirely on carrion, sickly sheep and young lambs are not allowed to

die natural deaths in the hUls where these Vultures are numerous, and I know

of an instance on the Cabo de Menorca where five Vultures were driven away

from a dying lamb by some fishermen, who secured it and took it home.

And an uistance of a carabiniero " resting " beneath a bush was aroused by

one swooping down on him, which he hurriedly loosed forth at, and shot.

Two pairs, and an odd bird, of this species used to inhabit the hills around

96 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

the Atala_va of Alcudia. and coidd be seen almost daily going their regular beats

over the countr}- round, or perching on the ruined watch-tower on the summit.

On January 14, 1920, I saw one of these pairs mating, and at the end of

March both pairs had taken up their nesting-quarters, one pair in a cavern on a

precipice immediately above the Cabo del Pinar, and the other on a ledge on

the sheer rock immediately beneath the Atalaya, about a mile and a half apart ;

the odd bird, a young one, had disappeared.

One pair only now remains, and that is being constantly harried by the

caretaker of " La Victoria " (a shrine among the hills), who tells me he has tried

to drive them away, because of the damage they do among the young lambs.

On the Pollensa peninsula they are still numeroas, perhaps the number of

semi-feral goats there attracts them, and I have seen, at one time, no less than

twelve overhead, near Cape Formentor.

Westward, throughout the whole northern range of mountains they are

numerous, also m the Arta Mountains.

It is remarkable that this species is exclusively a rock-nesting bird in

Majorca — as are all the birds of prey — but they do not confine themselves to

nesting entirely in the higher hills ; rocky hills of quite low elevation, provided

there are sufficient inaccessible caverns in them, are also frequented. One day I

climbed into a cavern, on a low and comparatively easily accessible hUl, when a

Black Vulture swept out, and nearly knocked me down the liillside. Usually

they are very wary and imapproachable birds, and v. Jordans had great difficulty

in obtaining a specimen.

A well-known bird was kept for many years in a cage at Miramar, the estate

of the late Archduke Ludwig Salvator, and was said to lay an egg annually

in its cage.

A young bird was obtained from a nest near Pollensa in 1927, and kept for

some time in a cage. It became so tame that it was not possible to drive it into

freedom.

Another in captivity was fidly grown, though not yet in adult plumage, and

became extremely tame within a few weeks of its capture, and delighted in having

its head rubbed like any old parrot. When feeding, it completely surrounded

the back and sides of its nest by expanding and erecting its ruff feathers, to

protect the rest of its plumage from being fouled, and it always thoroughly

cleaned its plumage after feeding.

124. GRIFFON VULTURE. Gyps fulvus.

The occurrences of this species are recorded by v. Jordans (Falco, Aug. 1914,

p. 116) from Majorca, who relates that the late Archduke Ludwig Salvator told

him that he had seen one once near Valdemosa, and records another obtained

near Arta, also he thinks he saw one in the same neighbourhood in 1927 (Nov.

ZooL. vol. xxxiv, July 1928, p. 306), but I consider these records very doubtful.

125. EGYPTIAN VULTURE. Neophron percnopterus percnopterus.

A resident in aU the islands, but not very plentiful. It appears to be most

numerous in Minorca, where it nests on the sea-clifis, and in the fine gorges on

the south side of that island.

No«TATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 97

This is probably the " rare species of white crow of large size that the

inhabitants call Aguila de Mon Toro " — mentioned by Armstrong in his history

of Minorca !

Near Alcudia, in Majorca, when the marshes are drying up, two or tliree

pairs may be seen walking about on the mud seeking dead fish, etc. ; and I have

seen a pair on the sand-banks of Alcudia Bay, in attendance on a dead pig

washed up there.

Their time of nesting appears to be ui May.

126. MARSH-HARREER. Circus aeraginosus aeruginosus. — Arpella.

A common resident m the marshy parts of Majorca, and less so in Minorca

and Iviza, where there is less extent of suitable country for them. Ticehiu-st

and Whistler noted one in Formentera on May 19, 1930 {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 667).

I saw one in May 1926, in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, dropping its

prey over a certain spot in the reeds, where probably the nest was ; and in the

same marsh I have seen two young birds fly up out of the reeds to meet the

parent bird overhead, which dropped its prey, to be caught in the air by one

of the young.

They harry the flocks of ducks and coots in the marshes, and I have seen a

pair try to cut out a wigeon from a large flock, but unsuccessfully. And another

that swooped down, and pursued a wild duck, which easily escaped it.

They make determined attacks on the flocks of coots, and by swooping

above them, try to separate one from the flock ; the coots scutter wildly over

the water, with such a flapping and splashing that can be heard a long way off,

and then as quickly as jsossible assemble together again, while the Harrier

retires to rest nearby, until it renews its assault.

On the approach of one of these birds to a nesting-colony of Stilts, some of

the Stilts instantly fly up and drive it away.

127. HEN-HARRIER. Circus cyaneus cyaneus.

A scarce straggler on migration to Majorca, but in Minorca it is apparently

a resident, but not plentiful ; it has not been recorded from other islands.

A pair were seen near Alcudia in Majorca on April 24, 1925, and a female

frequented that locaUty for some days in the middle of August 1925. It is

noticeable that though the swallows, etc., mob a strange Harrier, they take no

notice of the native Marsh-Harriers.

Another was seen on September 15, 1927, being mobbed by a Kestrel. Other

occurrences of this species at Alcudia were on April 21, 1928 ; July 9, 1928 ; and

November 1, 1929 ; v. Jordans saw one near Arta in April 1921 (Journ. fiir

Ornith., Oct. 1924, p. 524).

Homeyer and Barcelo have classed it as a breeding-species, but it is not

so now.

128. PALLID HARRIER. Circus macrourus.

A rare straggler on migration.

On April 8, 1924, I saw one near Puerto Alcudia, Majorca ; and what was

probably a very pale-coloured male of this species frequented the Albufera there

in May 1927.

7

9g NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVIl. 1931.

Ponseti has recorded it once from Minorca, and Henrici (Beitr. zur

Fortpflanzungsb. der Vogel, March 1927, p. 51) records one shot at Formentera

on April 25, 1925, and others seen there about the same time.

129. MONTAGU'S HARRIER. Circus pygargus.

A rare straggler. One was obtained by v. Jordans on May 2, 1913, near

Santany in Majorca (Falco, Aug. 1914, p. 112), and I saw two near Puerto Alcudia

on May 8, 1930.

130. BUZZARD. Buteo buteo buteo.

A scarce visitor to Majorca and Minorca in the winter, and on migration in

spring.

131. GOLDEN EAGLE. Aquila chrysaetus homeyeri.— Aguila.

In the winter this species is not infrequently seen in Majorca, and possibly

there may yet be an e5Tie or two to be discovered in the northern range of moun-

tains, though I believe this to be doubtful, for such a rapacious bird would not

be allowed to exist as a breeding-species in these days.

Both Homeyer and Barcelo considered it common, but probably other

species were mistaken for it.

V. Jordans made great efforts to obtain a specimen, but was unsuccessful.

On November 23, 1919, I saw one near Alcudia, fiercely attacked by a

Raven, which even pitched on the Eagle's back, and did not cease its attacks

while they remained in sight.

On March 7, 1921, I had a near view of one hunting along a hillside ; it

eventually perched on a rock, at no great distance from me, where it remained

some time.

132. WHITE-SHOULDERED EAGLE. Aquila heliaca adalberti.

I saw a large, dark, white-shouldered bird of this species, on November 20,

1919, over the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, being pursued by a Herring Gull.

V. Jordans beUeved he saw one near Valdemosa, in Majorca, in the beginning

of May 1921 (Journ.fiir. Ornith., Oct. 1924, p. 521).

133. WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. Haliaetus albiciUa.

Homeyer has recorded this species from Majorca in 1861, and Howard

Saunders has stated (" List of the Birds of Southern Spain," Ibis, 1871) that

there were at least two nests in the Balearic Isles, one being on Dragonera. It

is, however, not present in these days as a breeding-species in the islands, and

does not now nest on Dragonera ; and there is no modern record of its occurrence,

even casually.

134. BONELLI'S EAGLE. Hiaeraetus fasciatus Jasciatus.

An uncommon resident in the mountainous parts of Majorca, rarely straying

into the plains.

I used to see it near Alcudia more often in former years than at present,

for those that frequented the hills of the Alcudia peninsula have disappeared.

Witherby found a pair nesting near Lluch in 1919, and a pair still frequents

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 9()

the same place. Also v. Jordans found it nesting near Valdemosa in 1921

{Jonrn. fur Ornifh., Oct. 1924, p. 522).

Henrici also saw it in Majorca on May 4, 1924 ; as well as in Minorca (Beitr.

zur Fortpflmizungsb. der Vogel, March 1927, p. .51), which is the only record

for that island.

135. BOOTED EAGLE. Hieraetus pennatus.

Not uncommon in Majorca and Minorca, and probably also occurs in Iviza.

Some pass through the islands on migration, and a party of six were seen in

Majorca, on February 16, 1922, migrating in a north-easterly direction, and

another party of five on February 13, 1927.

They occur equally in the plains and among the hills, and do considerable

damage to the poultry in the farms, ranking with the Kite in this respect, and

indeed the natives do not distinguish it from that bird, calling them both

" Milano."

The Kite, however, swoops upon its prey, and snatches it up, whereas the

Booted Eagle plunges straight down upon it, and seizes it on the ground.

They have a habit of hovering stationary in the air, without any beating

of the wings, merely swaying in the breeze ; and it wheels more sharply in the

air than a Kite.

They invariably nest in inaccessible crags m the hills, and on the sea-cliffs,

and never in trees ; and birds in both dark and light phases of plumage occur.

136. SPARROW-HAWK. Accipiter nisus nisus.

Occiu's occasionally on migration, and during the winter, but is not common,

and does not remain to breed, though both Barcelo and Ponseti state that it

is resident.

137. KITE. Milvus milvus milvus.— Milano.

A resident in all the islands, and generally distributed ; a single pair will

range over a great extent of country, having regular beats, so that they are not

very numerous.

They are the terror of the poultry -yards, and, being extremely wary, kill

a great many fowls, and various devices are rigged up on the farms to scare

them away.

They often visit the harbours and sea-shore, and snatch uji refuse from the

siuiace of the water, to be devoured on the wing, frequently associating with

the guUs for this purpose.

They nest mvariably among the crags in the hills, and on the cliffs of the

coast, and never now in trees, though Howard Saunders, when he visited Majorca,

found them nesting in pines.

138. BLACK KITE. Milvus migrans migrans.

Uncommon, and usually occurring on migration m spring, in Majorca.

I have noted it on February 9, 1920, near Pollensa, and April 14, 1920,

near Alcudia ; v. Jordans has recorded it from near Arta on April 4, 1921 {Joiirn.

fiir Ornith., Oct. 1924, p. 524) ; v. Homeyer also noticed it near Esporlas.

Ponseti has recorded a single specimen from Minorca.

100 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

13(1. HONEY-BUZZARD. Pemis apivoras apivoras.

Of accidental occurrence. The only specimen is recorded by Ponseti as

having been obtamed m Minorca in September 1902.

UO. PEREGRINE FALCON. Falco peregrinus brookei.— Falco.

A not-uncommon re.sident in all the islands, nesting chiefly on the sea-

cUffs, but also in the crags among the hills. The abundant Rock-Pigeons and,

in the winter, wUd-fowl, provide them with jjlenty of food. They evidently

cross the sea between Majorca and Minorca — a distance of about 2.5 miles —

for hunting purposes, as I have seen examples en voyage between these islands.

Mallorquins are great pigeon-fanciers, and the pigeon-flying clubs let out

hundreds of carrier-pigeons at places distant from their homes ; the instant a

flight of pigeons is loosed is the signal for peregrines to appear literally " out

of the blue," and strike down and carry away pigeons in sight of the onlookers.

The evening flights of pigeons in the towns also attract the falcons.

Ticehurst and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, pp. 667-668, and July 1930,

pp. 548-551) expose the wanton and useless destruction of this species by foreign

agents in the Pityusae, and I have heard later that their total bag of Peregrmes

there numbered four adults and twenty -one young !

In all probability the typical race of Peregrine {Falco peregrinus peregrinus)

also occurs in winter, but so far no specimens are available.

141. HOBBY. Falco subbuteo subbuteo.

Occurs rarely on migration in Majorca and Minorca. I saw one near Alcudia,

Majorca, on April 19, 1924 ; and another, on AprU 27, 1925, was accompanying

a great migration of swifts, swallows, and martins ; it had seized one of them,

and was carrying it about in its claws, mobbed by a crowd of the migrants.

142. MERLIN. Falco columbarius aesalon.

Of rare occurrence in whiter in Majorca and Minorca. I have seen examples

near Alcudia, Majorca, on December 5 and 28, 1919 ; February 16, 1926 ; March

15, 1927 ; February 10, 1928 ; and February 16, 1930.

143. ELEONORA'S FALCON. Falco eleonorae.

Though Majorca is not very rich in birds, it gives opportunities for studymg

closely several sorts that are rare, or not found elsewhere, such as the Crossbill,

Thick-billed Reed-Bunting, Marmora's Warbler, the present species, and others.

Eleonora's Falcon is a summer visitor to the islands, and is abundant in

Majorca at certain seasons ; it assembles annually in extraordmarj' numbers,

before dispersing to its nesting-haunts, in the pine-woods surrounding the

Albufera of Alcudia, and at first I mistook this gathering for Peregrines, as a

few were among the Eleonoras. Some arrive here at the end of April and

beginning of May, and from the latter half of May until the end of June are most

plentiful. Their numbers dwindle through the early days of July, when they

have mostly dispersed to their breeding-haunts.

NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAB XXXVII. 1931. 101

In these woods, where the trees are of large size, the Falcons are unusually

tame, sittmg among the branches, and even peering down at anyone passing

beneath, and I have noticed as many as seven perched in one tree.

They hawk for dragon-flies above the pine-woods, and over the Albufera,

and over the adjacent fields for a small beetle — Anomola devoid — that issues in

numbers from the sandy soil ; between twenty and thirty Falcons may be seen

at one time over these fields, and Herring-gulls, Kestrels, and Ravens often

associate with them on the same ground.

In the woods, so regardless are they of human beings, that on one occasion

there was a covey of yoimg partridges in the scrub beneath the trees, that was

occupying my attention, as well as of a couple of Falcons seated in a tree above ;

when the covey took to flight, I and my manservant dashed after it to catch a

young one, and the Falcons also joined in the chase ; they were unsuccessful, but

I managed to secure a yomig one, about as big as a thrush.

When hawking for di-agon-flies, they sometimes fly at a great height, very

little lower than the Swifts, and drift about in circles on motionless outspread

wings, the wide-spread tail only working to direct the flight — a sudden twist

in the air, a snatch with the feet, and an insect is being devoured as the bird

resumes its smooth course. Kites, Herring-gulls, and Kestrels occasionally

clumsily imitate the Falcons in their jiursuit of this prey.

Their cry, which is often heard among the dark pine-woods, is not so slirUl

as a Peregrine's, but altogether deeper and fiercer, and more penetrating and

prolonged, and they also make another cry, a querulous, chuckling note, deeper

than a Peregrine's.

It is a mystery where all these Falcons breed — many must leave the island

for other quarters — for comparatively few are seen about the island-coasts after

their dispersal, and only occasional birds stray into the interior during the

nesting-season. Nor do they re-assemble in the pine-woods until the spring of

the next year, but must make their southerly migration singly, or by another

route. The latest straggler I have noted in the island was on November 9, 1927,

and that was certainly migrating, but September appears to be the usual month

for their departure.

On the island of Dragonera, however, a fair number still breed, the nesting-

season being late in July, and Dr. Cushman Murphy visited the island in July

1926, in the yacht Wawaloam, and describes his acquaintance with these Falcons

in Journal of the American Museum of Natural History, ^oveniher-Decemher,

1926, p. 561.

I visited Dragonera in July 1927, and found the Falcons fairly numerous

there, and on the adjacent coast of Majorca, where they were feeding on di'agon-

flies above the pine-woods, and also on the Cicadas, which were Uke swarms of

bees among the pines, and the noise of their " shrilling " like a loud chorus of

frogs. Two or three falcons at a time were noticed perching on the top of the

deserted lighthouse on the summit of the rock, and others flying over the scrub

on the landward slope. But, anyhow, they are not now as numerous there as

in Howard Saunders's time, who, on May 19 and 20, 1869, found them in great

abundance — " When sitting with my legs dangling over the precipice a little

below the highest peak, the birds passed backwards and forwards within a

few yards, as thick as Swallows on a summer's evening " {Ibis, 1871, p. 58,

" List of the Birds of Southern Spain "). In this account, the early date of

102 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

their arrival in Dragonera is remarkable, but v. Homeyer noted a pair there

in May 1861.

Ticehurst and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. fi68) record a colony on one of the

small islands of the Pitjoisae group, in May 1930, but there are no records as yet

from Minorca or Iviza, though doubtless they occur there.

This falcon often feeds very late in the evening, in fact, until it is almost

dark, and I have obtained a male in the uniform dark plumage, that had flown

against the electric wires, near Alcudia, in the dark, on June 30, 1927, This

specimen was very dark slate-coloiu- above, and dark brown beneath. The

eyes, black ; the skin round the eyes, bluish white, shghtly yellow round the

rim ; cere, whitish, with a small spot of yellow on the ridge between the nostrils ;

beak, bluish, darker near the tip ; legs and feet, bright yellow ; claws, black ;

roof of mouth brilhant sky-blue. The testes were largely developed and the

stomach full of the remains of beetles and dragon -flies.

The ovary of the female of a pair shot by v. Jordans in the middle of

June 1927 had very small eggs.

" Esjjarver " is said to have been the native name in Majorca for this species,

but at present it is known by no other name than " Falco."

144. RED-FOOTED FALCON. Falco vespertinus vespertinus.

Barcelo has included this species in his list of birds of Majorca, and it has

been obtained very rarely on migration in Minorca, where, Ponseti states, the

only sjJecimens procured were part of a large flock.

It can only be a rare straggler.

145. KESTREL. Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus. — Chorige.

The Kestrel is common in all the islands, resident, and universally distributed.

It nests from the end of April until the beginning of June ; in cliffs, both

uiland and on the sea-coast, as well as in old, and even still-used buildings ; it

does not, however, nest in trees.

A pair usually nest in the Torre Mayor of Puerto Alcudia, Majorca, and

another pair annually visit, in spring, the windwiU in my garden, near Alcudia,

where probably they formerly nested ; at CiudadeUa, in Minorca, a pair were

inhabitmg a windmill in the town ; and some nest in the rocks above the

harbour of Port Mahon. At Santa Eulalia, in Iviza Gosse noted a pair nesting

in the walls of the Fonda.

It is a much bolder and more aggressive bird than in some other countries,

and preys largely on small birds ; on April 21, 1923, one had caught a Common

Whitethi'oat, which it dropped when disturbed ; another was caught in a trap-

cage, with a Goldfinch as a decoy, set to catch VVoodchats.

I have seen them worrying Kites and Vultures, and stooping rejaeatedly at

Peregrines ; one even struck a Peregrme that flew near the Kestrel's nest, but

the big Falcon did not retaliate, being nesting — neighbours in the same cliff,

j)erhaps it was not an unusual occurrence.

140. LESSER KESTREL. Falco naumanni naumanni.

It is remarkable that this species, which is so plentiful in parts of Spain,

should be so rare m these islands ; and I very much doubt any of the recori?

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAK XXXVII. 1931. 103

Homeyer states that he found a nest in the Arta cave in Majorca (which

might have been a Common Kestrel's) — and Barcelo has recorded it as nesting

rarely near Capdepera (this might have been Homeyer's record), v. Jordans

noted specimens in Majorca, in April and May 1913 (Falco, Aug. 1914, p. Ill),

but it is not an easy species to recognize while at liberty.

147. OSPREY. Pandion haliaetus haliaetus. — Aguila pexetera.

The Osprey is not uncommon in all the islands, and is resident. It appears

to have increased in numbers since Homeyer and Barcelo wrote, as they con-

sidered it infrequent.

In the neighbourhood of the Albufera and lagoons of AlcucUa, Majorca,

they are most plentiful, and I have seen seven fishing at one time, among a

crowd of Common Cormorants, which were much disconcerted by the Osjoreys'

plunging amongst them.

I saw one attempt five times to catch a fish, twice the fish escapmg by

jumping out of the water ; the fifth time the Osprey was successful, just managmg

to catch the fish in one foot. Another had caught a big gold-fish in a tank, and

appeared much alarmed at the appearance of its prey, for it tried to get rid of it,

but its claws seemed to be so firmly fixed in the fish that it could not disengage

them, so it flopped down on to the ground near and at last managed to shake it

off, and left it behind, whUe it flew away.

On April 16, 1930, one dropped a fish it had caught in an adjacent lagoon

near Alcudia, into a disused stone water-channel, which I retrieved while it was

still alive.

It is very rarely that they prey on anything but fish, though I once saw one

that was carrying in its claws what appeared to be a Little Grebe ; most likely

it had caught it in mistake for a fish.

It is noticeable that they invariably carry their prey lengthwise, with the

head usually pointing forward, and their talons in either side.

They are comparatively tame and moffensive birds, and are generally

unmolested, but I have seen a pair stooping repeatedly at a Black Vulture, which,

however, contmued its circling and soarmg aloft quite undisturbed.

Occasionally they enter the harboiu-s to fish, and plunge on to theii- prey

without paying any attention to the boats and fishermen around.

They nest in the cliffs around the sea-coast of all the islands, in April and

May, and nearly every bold headland has its eyrie, but it appears that a pair has

usually two or three nesting-sites, and the same nest is not occupied every year.

A pair nesting on the cliffs near Col Baix, on the Alcudia peninsula, apparently

had newly-hatched young on May 10, 1930, when both old birds were seen in

the nest.

148. CORMORANT. Phalacrocorax cai'bo sinensis.— Corpetasse.

I am not satisfied as to the breeding of the Common Cormorant in the

Balearic Isles, and think that the next species is confused with it, very few

of the natives distmguish the two species, and call them both " Corpmarin " —

which is the name for the Shag.

In the Ibis for Oct. 1921, p. 703, I stated that it nested on the cliffs

of the Cabo de Menorca round to the Cabo del Pinar, in Majorca, associating

104 NOTITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

with the Common Heron on the latter cape, but no Cormorants nest there now,

and I have never seen any examples during the summer ; but v. Jordans states

{Faico, Aug. 1914, p. 138) that it is a common breeding-species in all the islands.

To the contrary, some other authors deny its occurrence, during the summer,

in the extreme Western Mediterranean — Irby in Ornithology of the Straits of

Gibraltar (1895 edition) says " is found near Tangier from December to February.

The same remarks equally apply to this bird on the Andalusian side. I never

saw it in summer."

Tait in Birds of Portugal, j). 172, says : " I have not seen this bird during

the summer months."

Ingram m Birds of the Riviera, p. 104, says : " Although it nests freely in

some parts of the Mediterranean, I do not think it does so anywhere along the

southern shores of France." ^

Arevalo in Ave^ de Espana, p. 403, mentions it as frequent in winter, and

during bad weather.

Neither have I been able to discover it breeding anywhere on the coasts of

Minorca ; and though Ponseti mentions it as common and resident, he omits

the Shag altogether. And there is no definite information of its breeding, or

occurrence in summer, m any of the other islands.

In winter, it visits all the islands commonly, arriving in October and leaving

in March.

A number of Cormorants fish, during the winter, in the Albufera of Alcudia,

and adjacent lagoons, retiring at night to roost at a certain spot on the crags,

and among the stunted pines on the clifEs, of the southern face of the Cabo del

Pinar, sharing their roostmg-j)lace with an equal number of Common Herons.

A specimen was caught on the road between Mahon and Fornells, in Minorca,

on November 21, 1929, with a rmg in its leg marked " Museum Nat. Hist. Leiden,

Holland, 65962," which was ringed as young on July 11, 1929, at Lekkerkerk,

near Rotterdam.

149. SHAG. Phalacrocorax graculus desmarestii. — Corpmarhi.

The Shag is generally distributed in small numbers along the rocky coasts of

all the islands, where there are clifEs, and is resident.

In stormy weather they venture into the harbours and sheltered bays to

fish, but never into the fresh-water lagoons or marshes, as the Common Cor-

morant does.

They assume their crests in December and January, but their time of nesting

appears irregular. I have seen a crested bu-d attended by a brood of fully -grown

young on the sea in December, and another brood in January ; others on their

nests in March ; and in May, on the same day, I have seen sonie on their nests,

and others at the base of the cliffs with their fully -grown young.

It is remarkable how the white underparts and the green upper plumage of

the immature birds, assimilate with the green sea-weedy edge of the base of the

cliffs.

The nests are made singly, or a few together, in caverns and holes on the face

of the lower parts of the cUffs, the opening of the hole sometimes being decorated

with growing clumps of purple stock, through which the bird has to push its way

on entering or leaving the nest.

NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1031. 105

As a rule they roost at their nesting-places, or on the rocks and cliffs near ;

but I have heard of one being caught, in the early morning, asleep in a buoy in

Alcudia Bay.

150. GANNET. Sula bassana bassana.

A rare straggler ; one was captured off Minoica, on a fish-hook by a fisherman

(Catalogo des las aves observadas en la Isla de Menorca, Ponseti, p. 67) ; and

another was captured there in the winter of 1929-30 {El Dia, Feb. 19, 1930).

Ticehurst and Whistler (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 669) record an immature bud

seen off Iviza on May 12, 1930.

(Pehcan. Pelecanus ?

The occurrence of an example of the White Pehcan {Pelecanus onocrotalus

onocrotalvs) in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, in 1773, is m the catalogue of

Don Ventura de los Reyes (1886), and the same is referred to by Barcelo.

Howard Saunders says in the Ibis, 1871, " List of the Birds of Southern

Spain," that the Dalmatian Pelican {Pelecanus crisjnis) has been obtained in the

Balearic Isles, and he is quoted by Arevalo {Aves de Espaiia, 1887).

I have been told of one that was obtained in the Albufera some twenty or

thirty years ago. There seems to be some doubt as to the species.)

151. GREY LAG-GOOSE. Anser anser.— Oca sauvatje.

A rare winter visitor that has only been recorded from Majorca. I saw one

on the lagoons near Alcudia on Feb. 19, 1921, and heard a wild goose of some

sort passing over the Albufera in the evening of Feb. 28, 1920.

Four large grey geese were about the Albufera and lagoons for some days

at the beginning of November, 1926, and a large flock there in January 1928,

and on February 10, 1928, I identified a party of six here as belonging to this

species.

Barcelo has written of it as a frequent visitor on migration.

152. WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. Anser albifrons albifrons.

The only record of this species is one I saw in the marshes near Alcudia,

Majorca, on September 19, 1921 ; it was exceedingly wild and ,shy, and was soon

frightened away.

153. BEAN-GOOSE. Anser fabalis fabalis.

In Majorca Barcelo has recorded this species as occurring rarely in autumn,

and in Minorca it has been known to visit the lagoons there rarely, but only in

the coldest winters.

I saw a specimen in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, on December 5, 1928,

which had been disturbed by a " coot-shoot " then in progress.

154. WHOOPER SWAN. Cygnus cygnus.— Signe.

Has occurred rarely in Majorca and Minorca, usually only in severe winters

On February 22, 1926, it was " rumoured " that one had been seen in Alcudia

Bay, and that there were three more in the Albufera of Alcudia ; there was a

dense fog on that day.

106 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

155. SHELDRAKE. Tadoma tadoma.

A male of this species frequented tlie inundations near Alcudia, Majorca, for

some time in February 1924, and is the only occurrence I can find of this bird in

the islands ; I first noticed it on February 3, usually accompanying a small flock

of Wild Duck, but it had disappeared by the end of the month.

Unusual niimbers of wild fowl were in the district at this time, the weather

being cold and very stormy, culminating in a heavy fall of snow on the 28th,

which covered the whole country to a depth of from three to six inches. Sar-

dinian and other small Warblers suffered considerably from the snow, many being

found dead.

I5(i. WILD DUCK. Anas boschas boschas.— Col blau.

A common resident in the swamps and marshes of the larger islands. Vast

quantities visit such localities in the winter — the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca,

and the Albufera, near Mahon, in Minorca, being particularly favoured spots.

They feed in the marshes at night and rest at sea during the day, and miles of

duck may be seen on the sea outside the marshes in calm weather.

They commence nesting early in March — the earliest dates I have found

nests being March 10, 1922, with two fresh eggs, and March 19, 1922, with eight

fresh eggs — and continue throughout April and May.

Their nests are usually made among the dense undergrowth of the woods

adjacent to the marshes, as well as among the bushes, grass and other herbage

romid the edges, but the eggs are much sought after by the natives, who, if pos-

sible, kiU the duck, and take her eggs. Most of the eggs I have found appear to

run rather smaller than British specimens, the number in a clutch varying from

seven to eleven eggs.

157. GADWALL. Anas strepera.

Barcelo has recorded this as frequent in winter in Majorca, but there are no

recent records of its occurrence.

158. GARGANEY. Querquedula querquedula.

Occurs in small numbers in Majorca in spring.

A male was shot out of a flock of seven on March 25, 1921, near Alcudia.

Gosse has recorded it from Santa Eulalia, Iviza, in April 1914 (Avicultural

Magazi7ie).

159. COMMON TEAL. Querquedula crecca.— Setla.

Plentiful in Majorca and Minorca during the winter.

I have never seen any but injured birds late enough in the sprmg to suppose

they might nest.

160. WIGEON. Mareca penelope.— Siulador.

A plentiful whiter visitor to the seas around all the islands, and to the open

lagoons near the coast, but rarely found in tlie reedy swamps, such as the Albu-

fera, etc., in Majorca.

They arrive in October, and depart in early spring.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. l07

Hil. SHOVELER. Spatula clypeata.

Not very common in winter, and only recorded from Majorca, where I have

noted examples in October 21, 1921, and April 4, 1924, near Alcudia.

162. PINTAIL. Dafila acuta acuta.— Couer.

One of the most plentiful of the ducks that visit the islands in the winter

generally associating with the Wigeon, and remaining so late in the spring, that

I have thought it possible some might nest in Majorca.

On April 16, 1927, I saw a couple of drakes in the Albufera of Alcudia, which

were joined by a duck, that was chased about by the drakes, as if she had recently

left her nest.

163. RED-CRESTED POCHARD. Netta rufina.

Occurs very rarely m Majorca. Homeyer in 1861 noted two pairs breeding,

and obtained a young one in the Prat — a marsh, now drainetl, near Palma ; and

V. Jordanssaw an adult male in the Albufera on May 11, 1921 (Journ.fur Ornith.,

Oct. 1924, p. 582).

Barcelo has recorded it as plentiful all the year in the marshes of Majorca,

but it is now extremely rare.

164. WHITE-EYED POCHARD. Nyroca nyroca nyroca.

A winter visitor, only recorded from Majorca.

I have noted specimens on October 21, 1921, in the Albufera, and quite a

number were shot there in the winter of 1930-31.

165. POCHARD. Nyroca ferina ferina.— Cap Vermey.

Plentiful in winter in Majorca and Minorca, generally associating with

Tufted Ducks.

I saw a pair in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, as late as the end of May

1923, as if they contemplated nesting there.

166. TUFTED DUCK. Nyroca hiligula.— Moreto.

Occurs in winter in about the same numbers as the Pochard, in Majorca and

Minorca.

Some, already paired, were seen on the Albufera, near Mahon, in Minorca,

in March 1920, but none remained to nest.

167. SCAUP. Nyroca marila marila.

A rare winter visitor.

I saw one near Alcudia, in Majorca on November 4, 1924.

168. GOLDEN-EYE. Glaucion clangula clangula.

There is no record of this species during recent years in the islands ; but

Barcelo has noted it as occurring rarely in winter off Majorca.

iQg NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

If)!). COMMON SCOTER. Oidemia nigra nigra.

Two young birds of tiie year were shot out of a party of four, in Puerto

Alcudia, Majorca, on December 4, 1928.

Hitherto tliere has been no record of Scoters from any of the islands, and

they must therefore be only rare stragglers in winter.

170. GOOSANDER. Mergus merganser merganser.

Occurs in small numbers durmg the winter in Majorca.

I have noted it near Alcudia in the autumn and winter of 1920-21, in Decem-

ber, 192.3, and in November and December, 1926, on the lagoons, and in the

Bay off the months of the streams rumimg into it.

Though there are no records from the other islands, it is likely to occur

there also.

171. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. Mergus serrator.

Occurs in winter in rather greater numbers than the last-named.

I noted a good many in the Bay of Alcudia, Majorca, in November and

December 1921, when the drake of one jjair was killed, and the duck shot at, but

missed ; she only ilew away a short distance and then returned to her dead mate,

remaining near him until a boat put off to pick him up when she reluctantly flew

away, but returned later to the same place.

Ponseti records a pair killed in the harbour of Mahon, Minorca, in

October 1907.

172. SMEW. Mergus albellus.

Barcelo has recorded this species as a rare winter visitor to Majorca. I

observed a female, or young male, near Puerto Alcudia, Majorca, on December 24,

1929 ; but I have heard of no other modern record.

173, FLAMINGO. Phoenicopterus antiquorum. — Flamence.

There are, unfortunately, very few reliable records of the occurrence of this

interesting bird in the Balearic Isles.

Rumour says that they formerly bred in some of the islands, but they cer-

tainly have not done so for very many years, and are now only the rarest of

visitors. Population and cultivation have so mcreased, and marshes and lagoons

so diminished in size and number, that there are now no localities in any island

where they could remain undisturbed.

Homeyer noted a pair in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, on May 26, 1861 ;

and when a system of irrigation and cultivation of tliis marsh was initiated

between 1860 and 1870, small parties of stragglers sometimes occurred, and

individuals were occasionally killed.

Examples also occasionally visit the lagoons in the south of Majorca ; and

V. Jordans heard of some visiting the neighbourhood of Arta occasionally (Falco,

April 1914, p. 122).

A single bird appeared in the Bay of Alcudia, in May 1924, and remained for

a few days ; it was generally wading in the shallows among the sand-banks at

the lower end of the Bay, always at some distance from the shore, and was

very wary.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 109

A fine adult was shot in the Albufera of Alcudia on January 9, 1928 — about

the time of the unusually severe weather in most parts of Europe — and on

January 24, 1928, I watched three others basking and sleeping in a big lagoon

in the same marsh ; a day or two later these were joined by five or six more,

and consequently the whole countryside was literally "up in arms " seeking

their destruction ; some were killed, and the rest driven away.

It occurs also but rarely in Minorca, and Ponseti says some arrive every

winter, but are either killed, or driven away, so " that they do not remain to breed

in Minorca." There is a specimen from the island in the museum at Mahon.

Howard Saunders {Ibis, 1871) has said that it sometimes nests in Iviza,

but now, there as elsewhere, it is only a rare straggler ; one was killed at San

Antonio in 1926.

174. HERON. Ardea cinerea cinerea. — Garza.

The Common Heron occurs fairly commonly in suitable localities in all the

islands, some being winter visitors, and a lesser number residents ; while some

only pass through on migration, in Majorca, usually in March, when I have

severally times noted parties migrating northwards.

In Majorca also a few pairs nest in the Albufera of Alcudia, and others at

various places on the sea-cliffs ; there used to be a big colony near the Cabo del

Pinar, but this has now been nearly exterminated by gunners ; many of the

herons that feed in the Albufera during the winter retire to roost on this cape,

in the company of Common Cormorants.

Jourdain saw old birds, accompanied by young of the year, in Iviza, in

May 1930.

175. PURPLE HERON. Ardea purpurea purpurea.

A summer visitor to Majorca, and on migration in the other islands.

It arrives in April, and the latest remain until early October, but it does not

occur in any great numbers.

Its chief haunt now in Majorca is the Albufera of Alcudia, where it breeds

among the thickest reed-beds, and RatcUff took its eggs there in May 1909

{JouTdum, Beitr. zur Fortpflanzungsb. d. Fd^eZ, May 1927, p. 84). Four or five

eggs are laid.

In the other marshes of this island it occurs very sparingly.

176. GREAT WHITE HERON. Egretta alba alba.

A very rare straggler.

I saw a bird of this species on May 28, 1923, near Alcudia in Majorca, which

appears to be the only record, in spite of Barcelo's recording it as a common

breeding-species.

177. LITTLE EGRET. Egretta garzetta garzetta.— Garza blanc.

Homeyer recorded this species, in 1861, in the breeding-season, in Majorca —

now however it only occurs as an occasional visitor on passage.

V. Jordans saw one, in May 1913, in the Estanque de ses Gambas, near

Estany {Falco, Aug. 1914, p. 121) ; I saw one in the Albufera of Alcudia on April

19, 1926, and again several times in June of the same year, in the same place,

110 NOVTTATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

but never more than a single bird. Also in the same locality, three birds on

April 24, 1928 ; a pair on April 30, 1928 ; a single bird on October 25, 1928 ;

a pair on the sandbanks of Alcudia Bay on March 25, 1929, among the sea-

gulls ; and two small flocks on September 5, 1929, flying from the north into the

marshes of Alcudia.

It is one of those species that, if not molested, would probably remain to

breed.

178. BUFF-BACKED HERON. Ardeola ibis ibis— Garz6n.

An occasional straggler to Majorca and Minorca.

On January 12, 1920, one of these birds flew into the Albufera of Alcudia,

and settled among some cattle, but it did not remain long before continuing its

flight southwards.

I saw another in the same marsh on April 24, 1922 ; and another, on January

10, 1923, had been about the Albufera for a week or two, and was much sought

for by gunners.

In Minorca it has only occurred as a rare visitor on migration.

179. SQUACCO HERON. Ardeola raUoides.— Martinet ros.

Barcelo has recorded this as a common resident in Majorca, but the only

occurrences in late years are of one shot by v. Jordans on June 20, 1921, in the

Albufera, and another seen there by him on May 25 of the same year. Also

one was killed in the Albufera, at the end of April or beginning of May 1930.

It has occurred rarely on migration in Minorca.

180. NIGHT HERON. Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax.— Orval.

Though this species occurs — chiefly in the neighbourhood of the Albufera

of Acudia, Majorca — annually in some numbers, which remain in the district

for some time ; it does not appear to breed there yet.

Homeyer recorded it as a common breeding species in 1861. During March,

April (most numerously in this month). May, and June annually, small parties

visit the pine-woods between the Albufera and the sea-shore, and scattered

individuals occur in the marsh itseK, and in thick plantations inland.

On April 15, 1922, a female, with very small eggs inside, was knocked down

with a stick, as she flew about in a dazed manner, among the dim pine-trees of

the woods near the shore, and on June 20, 1923, I found an unfinished nest,

which was later forsaken, in a thick clump of pine-trees in these woods, that a

party of Herons had been frequenting for some time, and on August 19, 1922,

there were some frequenting the same place.

On February 6, 1 924 parties of these birds were seen migrating north-east.

One was caught on the Cabo del Pinar on December 22, 1922, and another at

Andraitx in May 1922.

In Minorca it only occurs rarely on migration The status of this bird now

is, therefore, a visitor on migration, some, possibly, remaining throughout the

winter ; but it is one of those species that, from not being unduly molested, is

increasing in numbers, and probably will soon again breed in these islands.

NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1931. Ill

181. LITTLE BITTERN. Ixobrychus minutus minutus.

Of rare occurrence.

V. Jordans found a nest with five eggs in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca,

on June 17, 1921 (Journ.f. Ornith., Oct. 1924, p. 528) and saw the bird — which

is the first record of its occurrence in the island.

I saw a specimen in the same marsh on April 28, 1925.

In Minorca it is an uncommon visitor on migration.

182. BITTERN. Botaurus stellaris stellaris.— Queca.

A common resident in the marshes of Majorca, particularly in the Albufera

of Alcudia.

In Minorca it has only been noted as an uncommon visitor in winter and

spring ; but there are a few localities there where it might possibly be found the

whole year.

In Iviza, one was obtained by Mr. Willford at Santa Eulalia on April 15, 1914

(A vicidt ural Magazine ) .

Its habits, when undisturbed, somewhat resemble those of a rail, resting

hunched-up among the reeds, or pursuing its way slowly along a ditch picking

up food here and there as it goes.

Its " booming " may be heard both by day and night, at most times of the

year, and when heard close by, the bird appears first to draw in its breath, and

then expel it with a " boom," the call thus sounding as " who-umpf."

18.3. WHITE STORK. Ciconia ciconia ciconia.

The almost complete absence of the White Stork from the Balearic Isles

is remarkable.

Barcelo has recorded it as a rare visitor on migration to Majorca, but it

has not been noted at all of late years.

Howard Saunders noticed a great flight off Minorca (Ibis, 1871, " List of the

Birds of Southern Spain ") ; and a specimen was obtained there in May 1919

(Ponseti).

184. SPOONBILL. Platalea leucorodea leucorodea.

Barcelo has recorded this species as being of very rare occurrence in autumn

in Majorca ; but there is no recent record of it from any of the islands.

185. GLOSSY IBIS. Plegadis falcinellus Jalcinellus.

Now only a rare straggler on migration in the islands.

On June 12, 1926, a single bird was seen in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca,

feeding with a Little Egret ; it was the survivor of a party of three that had been

about the district for a month, but the others had been killed.

Homeyer had noticed it in the Prat — a marsh now drained between Palnia

and Arenal — in May 1861.

In Minorca it has occurred rarely on migration (Ponseti).

The Archduke Ludwig Salvator in his work on the Balearic Isles (vol. 2,

1871), gives the native name of this bird as " Corpetasse," but this name is used

for the Common Cormorant, and I doubt if the Ibis was ever sufficiently well

known to have a native name. The same authority gives it as a spring migrant

in Iviza.

112 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

is(i. CRANE. Grus grus gras. — GruUa.

Has been recorded by Barcelo as occurring rarely on migration in spring

in Majorca ; and in Minorca it has been noted rarely on passage in winter (Ponseti).

An adult and an immature bird visited the marshes near Puerto Alcudia,

in Majorca, on October 17, 1930, and remained there for a few days, until both

were shot. The species being entirely unknown in the district, the killers did

not venture to eat them, but others who did said the flesh was very bad, " but

we ate it."

(DemoiseOe Crane. Anthropoides virgo.

The occurrence of this species is doubtful, and only rests on Bareelo's records

of a specimen obtained in the Porassa, near Santa Ponsa, in 1718, and of another

in October 1782, from the Albufera of Alcudia — both from Majorca — which

were sent to Madrid.

It occurs rarely in Soxithern Spain.)

(Ch-owned Crane. Balearica pavonina.

Howard Saunders {Ibis, 1871, " List of the Birds of Southern Spain ") has

cleared off the reputed records of this species in the Balearic Isles by the remark

that it has " never occurred," which is probably correct.

Possibly it was named " Balearica " when the whereabouts of the islands

was as little known as the bird itself.)

187. LITTLE BUSTARD. Otis tetrax tetrax.

Has only been recorded from Muiorca, when the few examples that have

occurred were in the winter.

A single female specimen from the island is in the museum at Mahon.

188. STONE-CURLEW. Oedicnemus oedicnemus oedicnemus. — Xibelli.

There seems to be a doubt as to which form of Stone-Curlew inhabits these

islands ; hitherto it has been accejsted as the typical bird, but now v. Jordans

places it as " saharae " (Nov. Zool., xxxiv, July 1928, p. 318), and Ticehurst and

Whistler also, from a specimen from the Pitynsae (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 670).

Until further specimens are obtained it must remain doubtful.

It is an abundant resident in aU the islands, and universally distributed from

the seashore, up to among the olive-covered foot-hills, and on open spaces among

the lower mountains.

In winter they assemble in small flocks, and m March separate into pairs

for nesting. The eggs are laid throughout April and May, the latest date I

have found them being May 31, 1927. I have never found more than two in

a nest, and they are laid in a scrape on bare or stony ground, beside a rock or

beneath a plant ; on the sand of the seashore among scrubby herbage ; in the

midst of thin pine-woods where there are open stony patches, or sometimes at

the foot of a small jime ; on wild, wind-swept, scrub-covered moorland near the

sea, where I have found them amongst rocks close to the edge of the cliffs — and

I have flushed a pair on a rocky slope right on the face of the cliffs ; on cultivated

groimd (more rarely) ; and on rock-strewn gromid among the olives on the lower

hills.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 113

The scrajje has sometimes a considerable quantity of pebbles, etc., in and

around it, and several scrapes are sometimes made before deciding in which

the eggs are to be laid.

The extraordinary warmess of the birds at theii- nest has caused natives to

assert that they hatch their eggs by standing some distance off, and by con-

centrating on them the glare of their fiery eyes, cause them to hatch from the

heat thereof !

But I have once seen a pair — both birds were sitting on or near the nest —

leave their eggs ; both crept slowly away, cowering close to the ground with heads

drawn in close to the body, looking rather like a brace of partridges ; when some

distance off they assumed upright positions, separated, and ran swiftly away

before taking flight.

A bird on the watch, and realizing that it is observed, will, by imperceptible

movement, simply fade away into better concealment.

A good many are killed in the winter on the cultivated land of the orchards

and " Fincas " (small farms), and a native has assured me that he secures them,

among his olive-trees, by enveloping himself in a sheep-skin and stalking them

on all fours, and by this means he is enabled to approach them so closely, that

he can catch them by hand !

189. CREAM-COLOURED COURSER. Cursorius cursor cursor.

Has only been recorded from Minorca, where it has occurred rarely in sprmg

and summer on passage.

190. COLLARED PRATINOCLE. Glareola pratincola pratincola.

Now a rare straggler on migration in spring to Majorca and Minorca

Homeyer obtained it in May 1861, in Majorca, and Barcelo wrote of it, in 1866,

as frequent there in spring and summer.

Henrici (Beitr. zur Fortpflamungsb. d. Vogel, May 1927, p. 100) saw a pair

near Salinas on May 11, 1925, and I saw a single bird, evidently on migration,

on May 31, 1927, near Alcudia. A small flock was seen on the rice-fields of the

Albufera of Alcudia on May 6, 1930.

191. WOODCOCK. Scolopax rasticola rusticola. — Cega.

There is a species of Ojihrys — either Ophrys speculum or 0. scolopax —

foimd in Majorca called by the inhabitants " Sebetetes del Bon Jesus " (Foot-

prints of Christ) of which it is said that when the Jews sought Chi'ist to kill Him,

the Woodcock obliterated His footprmts, hence the eggs of the Woodcock should

never be destroyed. The centre of the flower exactly resembles the head of a

Woodcock and the " mirror " on the petal below, a footprint.

In spite of the above legend the Woodcock does not breed in the islands,

but is a common winter visitor, the earliest arriving late in October but the

majority in November, and though the greater number leave in March, a few-

stragglers remain throughout April.

They are universally distributed, especially amongst the thickets of myrtle,

heather, rosemary, cistus, etc., in the pine-woods, but may also be flushed among

the orchards, in the woods and copses among the hills, and in the scrub of the

hillsides ; in the cane-brakes of the marshes, and even on the cliffs of the coast,

8

J]^4 NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1931.

whence they flight to their feeding -grounds in the evening ; generally they occur

singly, though once, at the end of November, I flushed five in a small plantation

of pine-trees.

Usually every winter a couple take up their quarters in my garden, near

Alcudia, and sometimes have remained so late that I have been in hopes they

might stop all the year.

On several occasions I have watched Woodcock running about and feeding

among the fallen leaves beneath the trees in an orchard, and my garden-visitors

even venture through the veranda of the house, and feed in the borders round

the edge. Their habits then are rather Rail-like, and are very active and lively,

but squat down, and instantly remain motionless, if they are disturbed.

192. GREAT SNIPE. Gallinago media.

Barcelo has recorded this species as a rare spring migrant m Majorca.

I flushed one, on April 29, 1927, at the edge of the Estanque de ses Gambas,

near Santany, in Majorca ; it lay very close and only made short flights, uttering

a faint, harsh croak, when flushed.

There is no other modern record of its occurrence in the islands.

193. COMMON SNIPE. Gallinago gallinago gallinago.— Cegay.

An abundant winter visitor to the marshes and swampy places of all the

islands.

The bulk arrive in October and November, and remain untU the end of

April, but I have seen one m Majorca as early as August 28, 1927, and v. Jordans

has noted some as late as May 16, 1913, in the Porassa, near Santa Ponsa, m

Majorca (Falco, Aug. 1914, p. 127) ; but there is no sign of their having ever

bred in the islands.

In the rich rice-fields on the outskirts of the big marshes in Majorca they are

extremely plentiful, taking refuge among the high reeds when disturbed.

A specimen of Sabine's Snipe was shot in the Albufera of Alcudia, on Febru-

ary 27, 1920, but was so mangled by the dog that retrieved it, that it was not

possible to preserve it.

19-4. JACK SNIPE. Limnocryptes gallinula.

A not uncommon whiter visitor to the same locahties as the Common Snipe

in all the islands.

As is their habit, they lie very close, and I once trod on one, m the marshes

of Alcudia, Majorca, which left some of its feathers beneath my foot.

195. KNOT. Calidris canutus canutus.

Occurs occasionally in small numbers in autumn.

I have only noticed it in the marshes near Alcudia, Majorca, m October

and November 1920.

196. LITTLE STINT. Erolia minuta.

In favourable seasons quantities pass through the islands on migration in

spring, iisually in April and May, and fewer on return migration in autumn.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 115

If their feeding-grounds in the marshes continue in suitable condition, a

good many remain throughout the summer in Majorca, and retire southwards

in the autumn with those birds that are returning from their northern breeding-

haunts, but none remain throughout tlie winter.

When alone they are extremely tame, but they associate also with C'urlew-

Sandpipers, Kentish and Little Ringed Plovers, and when mixed with the former,

are more wary.

lit". TEMMmCK'S STINT. Erolia temiiiincki.

On May 15, 1924, a small party of these birds frequented a pool in the

marshes near Alcudia, Majorca, for a short time ; this is the only record I have

of this species in the islands.

IDS. DUNLIN. Erolia alpina.

A not very common visitor, occasionally occurrmg on migration in spring,

and more rarely in autumn ; but as yet only recorded from Majorca and Minorca.

Homeyer observed it in Majorca in May 1861, and obtained a specimen, and

Barcelo has recorded it as plentiful in both islands, v. Jordans saw some in the

Porassa in Majorca in May 1913 [Falco, Aug. 1914, p. 130).

Near Alcudia, Majorca, I have seen small numbers on May 24, 1922, and a

small party — one bird having black underparts — associating with Little Ringed

Plovers on some partially inundated fields, on May 27, 1925, this season being

an exceptionally wet one ; also a number in fine breeding-plumage in the mud-

banks of a large lagoon, on August 22, 1927 — this season was an unusually dry

one, and these mud-banks are seldom exposed.

In Minorca a specimen was obtained in April 1921 (Ponseti).

199. CURLEW-SANDPIPER. EroUa ferruginea.

Like the Little Stint, with which it is usually associated, quantities of Curlew-

Sandpipers sometimes pass through the islands on migration in spring and

autumn, though not so plentifully in the autumn.

Should the state of the marshes be sufficiently attractive, a few loiter in

them throughout the summer, but none remain in the winter.

200. SANDERLING. Crocethia alba.

An occasional visitor on migration to Majorca.

Witherby observed it near Alcudia in July 1919, and I saw a smaO flock

there in the begmning of May 1922.

201. RUFF. Machetes pugnax.

Occurs sparmgly on migration, and occasionally remains throughout the

winter.

A small party frequented Alcudia Bay, in Majorca, all the winter of 1919-20,

until the beginning of April, 1920 ; and others were observed there at the end

of Augu.st 1925.

Homeyer noted it m spring in Majorca, and Barcelo quoted it as frequent in

spring and autumn.

116 NOVITATES ZOOLOUICAE XXXVII. 1931.

In Minorca it has occurred very rarely on migration ; in Iviza, Jourdain

noticed it in May 1930, and Ticehurst and Whistler (Ibis, Oct., 1930, p. 671)

one in Formentera on May 18, 1930.

202. REDSHANK. Tringa totanus totanus.

A common winter visitor and passage migrant to the marshes of all the

islands.

Some remain in the larger marshes of Majorca throughout the year, but do

not breed, though Homeyer and Barcelo have stated that it was a not-uncommon

breeding-sjjecies m their time.

203. SPOTTED REDSHANK. Tringa erythropus.

A very rare straggler on migration to Majorca.

I saw a soUtary bird of this species in the marshes near Alcudia on May 24,

1922 ; and v. Jordans some in May 1927, near Salinas (Nov. Zool., vol. xxxiv,

July 1928, p. 314).

Homeyer observed it at the end of May 1861, in the Prat, near Palma, and

Barcelo quoted it as occurring in winter and spring.

204. GREENSHANK. Tringa nebularia.

Both Homeyer and Barcelo have noted the occurrence of this species on

migration, in Majorca, in former years.

V. Jordans saw foiu- birds near Sahnas in May 1927 (Nov. ZooL., vol. xxxiv,

July 1928, p. 314).

205. COMMON SANDPffER. Tringa hypoleuca.

Occurs commonly on migration in spring and autumn, and in smaller

numbers through the winter, in all the islands.

In Majorca and Minorca some pairs frequent likely situations for nesting aU

through the summer, but no nests, eggs, or young have yet been discovered

in these islands.

Their favourite haunts are aromid lagoons and pools in the marshes ; the

edges of streams, the sea-shore, and the rocks at the base of the cUfis ; on the

shore beneath the Almudaina, in Palma, they may sometimes be seen.

During the summer they usually frequent the edges of the streams near

the sea-shore, which, at this season, have ceased to run into the sea, being rather

semi-stagnant lagoons, blocked at the mouth by a bank of sand through which

the water soaks into the sea ; but, at this season, I have never met with any

among the hills at any elevation, the upper courses of the hill-streams being then

dry, except for a pool or two.

206. GREEN SANDPIPER. Tringa ochropus.

A winter visitor in small numbers, recorded from Majorca, Minorca, and Iviza.

It is usually solitary or in pairs, rarely in larger inimbers, and often remams

untU the end of May, re-appearing in late summer or early autumn.

NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 11131. JliT

207. WOOD-SANDPIPER. Tringa glareola.

A winter vi.sitor in somewhat larger numbers than the last-named, but only

recorded from Majorca.

It usually occurs in small jjarties, and remains until late in spring — the

latest date I have noticed it being April 30, 1926 — but v. Jordans obtained one,

in the Estanque de ses Gambas, on May 2, 1913, with strongly-developed testes

{Falco, Aug. 1914, p. 129).

208. BLACK-TAILED GODWIT. Limosa limosa limosa.

A straggler only on migration in Majorca and Minorca.

V. Jordans saw one in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, on June 13, 1927

(Nov. ZooL., xxxiv, July 1928, p. 314).

In Majorca both Homeyer and Barcelo have recorded it — the former noting

it as a probable breeding-species, which is not in the least likely.

Ponseti has recorded it from Minorca.

209. BAR-TAILED GODWIT. Liinosa lapponica lapponica.

Has occurred rarely on migration m Majorca.

I saw two birds of this species on September 5, 1922, on one of the lagoons

near Alcudia, and three more on August 24, 1925, which were feeding at the edge

of a ditch, just over a wall, and not five yards from where I was standing ; for

some time they were quite undisturbed by my presence.

210. COMMON CURLEW. Numenius arquatus arquatus.— Xibelli de Prat.

Occurs in small numbers, generally singly, or in two or threes, in the marshes

and on the seashore, throughout the winter, in most of the islands. Only once

have I seen a flock, of about twenty birds, in January 1928, on the sandbanks

of Alcudia Bay.

In the neighbourhood of Alcudia, Majorca, a few remain throughout the

year, but certainly do not breed, as I have thoroughly searched all likely locahties ;

and though there is country near, eminently suited for their nesting, they have

never shown any signs of breeding, and their behaviour would be unmistakable

if they were.

211. WHIMBREL. Numenius phaeopus phaeopus.

A straggler, only on migration in autumn and during the winter, recorded

from Majorca and Minorca only.

I saw a pair in the marshes near Alcudia, Majorca, on September 19, 1922,

and a single bird on the seashore, near the same place, in September 17, 1923.

212. SLENDER-BILLED CURLEW. Numenius tenuii'ostris.

The only reliable evidence of the occurrence of this species in the Balearic

Isles is from Minorca, where it has occurred rarely in winter (Ponseti).

Homeyer has stated that he observed it diu'ing the summer in the Prat,

near Palma, Majorca, where it bred (he visited the islands from the middle of

April until the middle of May 1861). Barcelo (1866) has also stated that it

bred in other marshes in the same island. (But Barcelo appears m many cases

to have quoted v. Homeyer.)

118 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

It is not in the least likely ever to have bred in Majorca ; its breeding-

grounds now having been established in W. Siberia, and it only visits the Mediter-

ranean in winter.

213. BLACK-WINGED STILT. Himantopus himantopus himantopus.—

Avisador.

A Slimmer visitor to Majorca, where it breeds in increasing numbers ; but

only occurs in the othei' islands on migration, sparingly in spring.

They usually arrive in April ; but I have seen a single bird near Alcudia,

Majorca, on March 28, 1925; and a soHtary bird on the south coast of that

island on May 13, 1926, flying in from the sea, high overhead towards the

north.

In 1913 V. Jordans (Falco, Aug. 1914, p. 130) found a colony nesting in the

Porassa near Santa Ponsa, and since 1922 it has bred in varying, but generally

increasing, numbers in the Albufera of Alcudia, where there were three nesting-

colonies in 1925. On May 8 I watched the birds building their nests, some

had eggs on May 19, and on June 10 all had eggs considerably incubated.

The nests are fairly large structures, not unlike Moorhens, built up on the

mud in shallow water, among short, thin reeds, on a foundation of wet water-

weeds, surmounted by dry grass and reeds, with a shallow depression for the

eggs ; the dry. bleached material in the nest showing conspicuously among

the green reeds. In some cases the water penetrated to the eggs, and in one

instance a nest was floating on the surface, but on the evaporation of the water

later the nests were considerably above the surface. Three or four eggs are laid.

In some colonies the birds are very demonstrative and noisy, flying overhead

and crying continually, but in others they are quite quiet, wading about un-

concernedly not far off, and I have noticed a bird, when its nest was approached,

raising one wing several times above its back, as if to attract attention from

the nest.

On April 16, 1926, the birds in the Albufera were mating, but had not yet

commenced their nests ; and on May 19, 1927, they had forsaken one colony,

having been driven away by a foreign collector, and though a few pairs had

returned there on June 20, they did not nest.

By the middle of July, old birds may be seen, accompanied by their nearly

full-grown young, in the marshes adjoining the Albufera.

The varying quantity of water in the marshes also affects their nesting, and

a sudden rain in summer will flood the nests, and drive the birds away.

214. AVOCET. Recurvirostra avocetta avocetta.

There is no recent record of this species in the islands. It is a rare visitor

on migration to Minorca, and Barcelo has recorded it in Majorca in former years,

likewise on migration.

215, GOLDEN PLOVER. Charadrius apricarius.

Occiu's only in winter in small numbers, more commonly in Minorca. In

the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, .small flocks associated with the Peewits during

the winter.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGIOAB XXXVII. 1931. HQ

216. GREY PLOVER. Squatarola squatarola squatarola.

Occurs throughout the islands in small numbers in the winter, and more

pass through on migration in spring and autumn.

The earliest autumn date on which I have noticed it in Majorca was on

September 5, 1926, when one of a pair was shot ; and in spring, when they are

in full breeding-plumage, the latest date was May 30, 1925.

Three specimens I saw on the south coast of Minorca on May 21, 1924, I

believe to have been the same party I had seen a few days earlier on the opposite

coast of Majorca.

217. RINGED PLOVER. Charadrius hiaticula hiaticula.— Tiu-illo.

In some years this species occurs in some numbers on migration in May,

m most of the islands, and, m favourable seasons, lingers for some time ; it occurs

also very rarely in autumn and winter — I saw a small party in Majorca on

September 20, 1928. A female I obtained on May 15, 1922, m Majorca, had

very small eggs inside.

After the unusually dry and cold winter of 1928-29, and the drought of the

following spring, when the marshes in the neighbourhood of Alcudia were as

dry as at the end of summer, a pair of these birds remained after the others had

left, and I was certain they were nesting ; on June 15, 1929, I found their nest,

with four half-incubated eggs, among a patch of stones on tlie dried mud, and

identified the hen bird as she ran from the nest and joined the male some little

distance away.

They are usually very tame, and when observed, prefer to remain motionless,

rather than running away or taking quickly to flight, like the Kentish and

Little-Ringed Plovers.

218. LITTLE RINGED PLOVER. Charadrius dubius curonicus.— Tmillo.

A summer visitor ; in Majorca, plentiful on the north-east coast, where it is

rapidly displacing the Kentish Plover, less common in other parts ; it is not

very plentiful in Mmorca, where it has almost entirely replaced the Kentish

Plover, but there are fewer suitable localities there for it ; it also occurs in

Iviza and Formentera.

Until March 1921 this species had been recorded from Majorca only by

Homeyer in 1861, as " the rarest plover," but early in that month I noted a few

small parties passing through the district of Alcudia, and on March 16 took a

nest there with three eggs, and two other nests later in the year.

In Minorca it had not been recorded at all until May 12, 1923, when I

observed two pairs of birds, and found a nest with four eggs on a sandbank in

a small estuary on the north coast ; and later, others in other parts of the island.

Since then it has increased amazmgly in Majorca, and, during the years I

have been in the island, I have been able to watch the gradual ousting of the

Kentish Plover by this species. Possibly the same had aheady happened in

Minorca, where the Kentish Plover is now almost entirely absent.

They arrive early in March, and remain until the beginning of September,

very rarely into October.

The earliest eggs I have found were on March 16, 1921, and from this month

1^0 KOVITATES SioOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

onwards until the middle of July their eggs may be found. Indeed, in the

neighbo\irhood of Alcudia, and in Alcudia and PoUensa Bays, they now nest

more abundantly than the Kentish Plover, and I have often found tlieir eggs in

exactly the same spots where formerly Kentish Plovers had laid. And rarely do

I find Kentish Plovers nesting near Little Ringed, though on July 21, 1925, I

found four Little-Ringed Plovers' nests with eggs, near each other on a patch of

bare, dry mufl near tlie seashore ; and one Kentish Plover's nest four yards from

one of the Little Ringed, but the eggs from both tliese nests were scattered around,

probably by the rival birds.

They make their nests in a variety of situations, and often exactly the same

spot is chosen every j'ear, and they nest further inland than the Kentish Plovers ;

the most usual sites are on the loose sand of the seashore, on the dried mud of

lagoons and pools in the marshes — frequently without any shelter at all, or at

other times beneath a scrubby plant, or against a stone or large shell ; they

especially favour bare, flat rocks outcropping from the sand or mud, and on one

such outcrop, on June 11, 1924, I found tliree nests with eggs not far from each

other ; and on another rock four eggs were laid in a shallow, narrow crevice, so

narrow that the eggs could not be arranged in the usual way, and when the bird

had managed to squeeze herself upon them, only her head appeared above the

edges of the crack.

Another ])air, in May 1925, nested on an open threshing-floor near the

marshes, a position formerly occupied by Kentish Plovers.

The sandy banks of .streams, and among scrubby plants in the sand of small

estuaries, as well as cultivated fields, and sand-dunes, are also closen. even sand-

dunes, with thick cover of pines and scrub edging them closely.

The nests are often mere scrapes, sometimes made long before the eggs are

laid, without any lining ; but at other times a considerable heap of small

stones, shells, bits of coral, etc., is made ; or bits of dry mud or herbage line the

depression.

Both sexes incubate, and they are usually somewhat demonstrative at the

nest, flying wildly round, twisting and doubling, and uttering a wild whistle, or

running frantically about on the ground, whistling plaintively. More rarely the

bird will run off the eggs at some distance, and take to flight noiselessly.

It is an aggressive and quarrelsome bird, so different from the peaceful

Kentish Plover, and they frequently quarrel and show off, chasing each other

with extended side feathers and puffed-out black gorgets, and piping shriDy.

Any Kentish Plovers near such a gathering are quickly driven away. In the

early spring the male serenades the female m the air with a swaUow-like flight

and continual twittering.

The eggs — usually four in number — are light greyish stone-colour, covered

with small s])ots of brown and ash-grey, chiefly towards the larger end ; after

blowing, the ground colour changes to light buff ; they vary a good deal both in

size and colouring.

219. KENTISH PLOVER. Charadrius alexandrinus alexandrinus.— Turillo.

Resident in all the islands, but their numbers are increased in spring by

immigrants arriving to breed.

It is plentiful in all the islands, except in Minorca, where it is very scarce.

NOVITATES ZoOLOGICAE XXXVII. lil.'il. 121

and in parts of Majorca is decreasing rapidly owing to the invasion of the Little

Ringed Plover.

They are tame and confiding Ijirds, and, when disturbed on the seashore,

prefer to run swiftly along, just above the reach of the waves, for some distance

before taking flight. In the winter they assemble in small flocks, separating

into pairs in February.

They are inveterate scrape-makers before deciding where the eggs shall be

laid, and early in February commence their excavations, but the eggs are not

usually laid before the end of March. Near one nest containing eggs on July 14,

1925, I found seven complete scrapes, two of them being side by side. Nests

with eggs may be found up to the end of July.

Their nests are often made at no great distance from each other, and usually

not far from the seashore, or from the surroundings of lagoons and marshes ;

they may be found on the bare sand, and among patches of " sea-eggs " (balls of

sea-weed fibre formed by wave-action) on the shore ; on the dried mud of lagoons ;

in marshes, on the fields, on sandy cart-tracks leading to the shore, as well as

actually on roads near the shore ; and many nests are destroyed by carts loading

up sand and sea-weed to be put on the fields ; sometimes a bare slab of rock

outcropping the soil is chosen. On the bare sand the footprints of the birds

show the whereabouts of a nest.

One pair nested on a threshing-floor near the marshes of Alcudia, Majorca,

but this site was occupied later by a pair of Little Ringed Plovers ; and another

pair laid their eggs on the top of a low wall bounding the seashore.

If shelter is sought for the nest, it is generally a stalk of Inula critJmioides,

rarely the middle of a clump of this plant ; scrubby growth of Crucianella

maritima and Phtntago maritima in the sand is a favourite place, and I have

found a nest in a beet-root field, under the shelter of a young plant. Ground

with spear-grass in it is always avoided, the growing grass would have a disturbing

effect on the eggs, and they dislike sea-weed in the nest.

Unless driven away by Little Ringed Plovers, they are more likely to nest

on exactly the same spot every year, than is that bird.

On the seashore the eggs are always difficult to find, being often more than

haU-buried in the sand, but nests made on the dried mud, or on dry patches in

the marshes generally have some small stones, shells, or pieces of dry mud

arranged around and beneath the eggs, sometimes a considerable heap. A very

beautiful nest I found on June 9, 1922, was made by scraping a cup among the

dry, white wool-like weed on the bed of a dry lagoon, against which the dark-

coloured eggs made a strong contrast.

The birds are seldom demonstrative at their nest, usually running silently

away from the eggs, and watching quietly from some distance off, or hidden

behind a stone, occasionally uttering a sharp " twit " ; but when the young are

hatched they are most excitable, fluttering round and shamming disablement in

every po.ssible way ; their call is then the usual '" twit," and a "■ chirrup," in

addition they make a sort of croaking, somewhat like a frog, uttered by the bird

when lying extended, and seemingly dying, on the ground.

The young, on being disturbed and warned by the jmrents, rush for the

nearest shelter, aTid crouch down closely among it, and are extremely difficult

to find ; on being caught they utter a feeble chatter.

They swim well and fearlessly shortly after leaving the nest.

122 NoVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

The eggs are generally three in number, rarely foui'. and vary a good deal

m coloration, but are commonly dark stone-colour, greenish ^hen fresh, and

yellowish after blowmg, spotted and scrawled with black or dark brown ; others

.so closely resemble eggs of the Little Ringed Plover that doubt has been cast

on the correct identification of this type {Ibis, Jan. 1922. pp. 214-216, and

April 1922, pp. 388-390).

220. LAPWING. Vanellus vanellus.

A common winter visitor to the marshes of all the islands, arriving m October,

and departing in March or the beginnmg of April. I have seen Common Curlew,

Snipe, Kentish Plover, and Woodcock associatmg with Lapwmgs together on

the rich mud of the rice-fields around the Albufera of Alcudia, in Majorca.

221. OYSTERCATCHER. Haematopus ostralegus ostralegus.

Visits all the ii^lands in small numbers on migration in sjsring and autumn.

In the spring they almost invariably occur in April, and only remain a few

days, though once some remained near Alcudia, Majorca, until the beginning

of May.

In the autumn they may be seen from the beginning of September until the

end of November.

They frequent sandbanks and sandy seashores where they extract shell-fish

(TeUinacea) from their holes in the sand, open the shells, and eat the animal

inside.

222. TURNSTONE. Arenaria interpres interpres.

There is no modern record of the occiuTence of this species in the islands,

and its inclusion m this Ust rests on Homej'er's authority as having seen it near

Palma ; Barcelo has also recorded it as occurring in spring in Majorca, and the

Arch-Duke Ludwig Salvator in Iviza.

223. COMMON GULL. Lanis canus.

If this Gull occurs at all in the islands, it is only as a rare straggler. Barcelo

and Ponseti have recorded it from Majorca and Minorca in autumn and wmter ;

but I have never yet met with it.

224. YELLOW-LEGGED HERRING-GULL. Lams argentatus cachinnans.—

Gaviota.

This is the only resident species of Gull in these islands, but is nowhere very

abundant ; the larger harbours and marshes at times attract a number of them,

but during the breeding-sea.son the long extent of suitable coast-line is only

inhabited sparingly by small colonies, and scattered pairs. At this season they

are most numerous on the dreary coast and islets of Minorca, but even there do

not breed in large colonies. In the Pityusae Ticehurst and Whistler noted one

colony of from 50 to 7.5 pairs (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 672).

Judguig from the flocks of old and young birds seen after the nesting-season,

the percentage of birds of the year is very small, not amounting to 10 per cent.

They are not infrequently caught on a baited hook, in the sea, or on the

mud of the marshes, and, needless to say, such captives are killed and eaten.

NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1931. 123

A young bird I had, reared from the nest, used to absent itself during the

day, and retiu-n at night to the house to roost, and be fed ; it did this for some

time, but eventually remained away altogether.

I saw one caught in a waterspout on November 7, 1929, in the Bay of

Alcudia, that was whisked about like a piece of paper in the whirl, and tlien

cast out on to the sea.

22.5. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. Laxus marinus.

Occurs in winter, but very sparingly, and generally innnature birds. I

saw an adult near Puerto Alcudia, Majorca, on April 3, 1923.

226. ICELAND GULL. Larus leucopterus.

For several days in March 1922 there was a .single bird of this species among

the Herring-gulls in the harbour of Palma, Majorca.

227. LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. Larus fuscus.

A lesser black-backed gull occurs sj^aringly in winter througliout the islands ;

it is uncertain to which race it belongs, but probably is Larus fusciis affinis.

I .saw an adult in Alcudia Bay as late as May 26 and 27, 1928.

228. MEDITERRANEAN BLACK-HEADED GULL. Lams melanocephalus.

A rare straggler, recorded only from Majorca and Minorca.

I have seen examples at Alcudia, Majorca ; on December 16, 1920, a wounded

bird that was associating with Black-headed Gulls ; others on April II, 1921 ;

and a single bird in the Albufera on Ajaril 16, 1927. which \^•as among a colony

of Black-winged Stilts.

Ponseti says it is common in Minorca, but it is there also only a straggler,

as a Majorca.

229. BLACK-HEADED GULL. Larus ridibundus ridibundus.

A winter visitor, and the commonest guU during that season m all the

islands. They arrive during the end of October, and remain until the end of

March or the middle of April, when they have completely assumed their brown

hoods.

On August 9, 1929, a few occurred in the marshes near Alcudia, Majorca,

evidently driven in by a furious gale.

One was shot at Puerto Alcudia, on January 18, 1929, with a ring

No. A 1037 — on its leg, which was ringed as young on Lake Takern in

Ostergotland, E. Sweden, on June 26, 1927.

230. LITTLE GULL. Larus minutus.

An occasional straggler on migration, in spring and autumn and recorded

only from Majorca and Minorca.

I have the following records of its occurrence at Puerto Alcudia, Majorca :

1921. End of March and beginning of April, an immature bird.

1921. October 27, one adult.

1923. November 27, one adult.

1924. October 2, one adult.

124 N'nvITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. IflSl.

In Minorca a specimen was obtained in January 1914.

They alwaj's occur singly, and are remarkably tame, flying up and down

the quays, or over the adjacent lagoons.

231. AUDOUm'S GULL. Larus audouini.

There is no recent record of the occurrence of this species in the islands,

but as its known breeding-places in the Mediterranean are not very far off, it is

quite to be expected that it may occur.

V. Jordans (Journ.Jiir Ornith., Oct. 1924, p. 534) quotes : " Bonaparte, Con-

spectus Avium, P. 11, 1857, p. 222. Larus Audouinii. Ins. Balearic."

Homeyer noted it on the coast of Majorca in 1861, and Howard Saunders

(1871) affirmed that it might breed on some of the smaller islands.

232. SLENDER-BILLED GULL. Larus gelastes.

A rare straggler only recorded from Majorca and Minorca. I saw a bird of

this species near Puerto Alcudia, Majorca, on May 21, 1921, with some Herring-

Gulls on a lagoon ; and two others — an adult and an immature bird — near the

same place on April 14, 1925.

In Minorca its occurrences have been infrequent (Ponseti).

(I omit the Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla Iridactyla) as the early records of this

species are not reliable, and there are no modern ones).

233. GULL-BILLED TERN. Sterna nilotica nilotica.

Has occurred very rarely on migration. Barcelo has recorded it from

Majorca, and Ponseti from Minorca.

234. COMMON TERN. Sterna hinmdo hirundo.

Occurs sparingly singly, or in small jaarties, on migration, in Majorca, but

there are no records of it from any other island.

Barcelo has recorded it as a common resident ; but it certainly does not now

breed in any of the islands.

It usually occurs in April and May, and I have only noted it twice in the

autumn on October 18, 1927, and October 14, 1928.

235. ROSEATE TERN. Sterna dougallii dougallii.

There is only one record of the occurrence of this species in the islands.

In a Catalogue of a Collection of Birds belonging to H. B. Tristam, 1889, p. 9,

an example is recorded — '" o off Minorca, 24.5.58, H. B. Tri-stam. Flew into

my breast while steering yacht ' Gondola ' at midnight."

This specimen is now in the Liverpool Museum.

231). LITTLE TERN. Sterna minuta minuta.

A rare straggler on migration. Three of these Ijirds frequented the harbour

of Alcudia, Majorca, on April 30. 1926, in wild stormy weather, with a heavy sea

running from the south-east.

A very immature specimen was killed by a cat on the quay of Puerto Alcudia

on August 27, 1930 — it was so young that it was possibly bred not far off.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. UKjl. 125

Homeyer in 1861 recorded it as a breeding-species, and Barcelo's note to the

same effect is probably copied from Homeyer.

237. CASPIAN TERN. Sterna caspia caspia.

An occasional visitor on migration to Majorca.

On April 28, 1920, I saw one flying northwards over the Albufera of Alcudia.

On June 14, 1922, a pair passed over Puerto Alcudia towards the north-north-

east.

On June 15 and 20, 1927, 1 saw a single bird in different jiarts of the Albufera,

but j)robabIy the same bird.

238. SANDWICH TERN. Sterna sandvicencis sandviceiicis.

Barcelo has recorded this species as a rare visitor to Majorca.

I obtained an adult in Puerto Alcudia, Majorca, on November 29, 1928,

which is the only modern record.

239. BLACK TERN. Hydrochelidon nigra nigra.

Now occurs pretty regularly in Majorca on migration, and but rarely in

Minorca, and occasionally in the Pityusae.

It appears that the condition of the marshes influences their visits, and their

duration, but the close time for birds, which has lately been more strictly enforced,

contributes greatly to the more frequent occurrence, of the Marsh Terns in parti-

cular, in those parts that they may have frequented in former years.

I saw one in the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, on September 10, 1923,

and another a few days later. At the end of August, 1 925, a large flock frequented

the partially-dried marshes near Alcudia for some time, and in August 24 I

obtained an injured bird that had flown against the electric wires. On August

8 and 9, 1929, a large flock of adults, still in breeding plumage, visited these

marshes after a heavy gale, and one in winter plumage was seen m the Albufera

on August 12, 1930.

Henrici (Beitr. ziir Forlpfianzuiujftb. der Vogel, May 1927, p. 102) records

an example from the Albuferete of Pollensa on May 9, 1924.

Jourdain, on nearing Iviza on May 6, 1930, saw two small parties migrating

towards Majorca, and Ticehurst and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 673) record a

marked migration of this species towards the north-east on May 15, 1930, passing

between the islands of Iviza and Formentera.

240. WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN. Hydrochelidon leueoptera.

This species now occurs in Majorca in increasing numbers on migration in

spring, but I have not noticed it in autumn.

I saw a flock of eleven in the Albufera of Alcudia on May 7, 1924, and larger

numbers were seen there on May 6 and 7, 1926 ; a pair also occurred on April 15,

1930, and a single bird, associatmg with small waders, on May 20, 1930.

Ticehurst and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 673) noted one in Formentera

on May 17, 1930.

Homeyer and Barcelo have both recorded it as a breeding-species in Majorca,

126 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

which it may have been formerly ; and Howard Saunders obtained a specimen

in the Prat, near Pahna. in Maj^ (Ibis. 1871).

241. WHISKERED TERN. Hydrochelidon leucopareia leucopareia.

This is also an increasing species on migration in JIajorca.

I noticed a small party in the Albufera of Alcudia on September 9, 1924,

and a single bird there on May 19, 1925. Several were frequenting a large lagoon

in the south of the island on May 26, 1925, and many in the Albufera on May 7,

1926.

V. Jordans saw some in the Estanque de sas Gambas on May 27, 1927

(Nov. ZooL., vol. xxxiv, July 1928. p. 324).

A pair were frequenting the Albufera in June 1928, and it looked as if

they might breed there.

A single bird was seen at Cala Ratjada on Oct. 9, 1930. In Minorca it has

been obtained only once, in April 1912.

242. GREAT SKUA. Catharacta skua skua.

A rare straggler.

Homeyer noticed it at sea between Barcelona and the Balearic Isles in

1861. I saw one on March 29, 1920 ; half-way between Majorca and Minorca,

among some Herring-gulls.

243. RAZORBILL. AIca torda.

Occurs sparuigly, generally m the winter, in the seas off the islands.

One that had been injured by a fish-spear was caught in a hand-net in Alcudia

harbour on January 10. 1923, and another killed in the Bay on January 3, 1927 ;

other sjiecimens have also been obtained.

In July 1921 1 saw a party of five several times off the Cabo de Menorca

and the Cabo del Pinar, Majorca, and fishermen also had noticed a pair in the

same place during that summer.

V. Jordans noticed a bird oS the Porassa on May 16, 1913, that he thought

was of this species {Falco, Aug. 1914, j). 143).

244. COMMON GUILLEMOT. Una troUle troille.

Occurs very rarely in winter off the islands.

245. PUFFIN. Fratercula arctica arctica.

( = Fratercula arctica meridionalis v. Jordans). — Cagafet.

Common throughout the winter in the seas off all the islands, up to the

end of March and beginning of April ; but none breed in any of the islands.

V. Jordans considers these Puffins to be a smaller form, which he has named

as above, with the type specimens from Alcudia, Majorca, and he gives a long

article on them in Falco, Aug. 1914, pp. 144-153 ; his subsi)ecies is not a good

form, and is unrecognizable.

j\Iany of the Puffins here moult their primaries in January and February,

and are unable to fiy untU the new ones have grown.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. HIiU. 127

246. STORM PETREL. Thalassidroma pelagica.— Bruja.

Not uncommon off all the Islands, and breeds in small numljers.

A pair frequented the Bay between the Cabos de Menorca and del Pinar all

the summer of 1921, and I noticed them there also on April 11, 1922.

Ticehur.st and Whistler (Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 673) found a breeding-colony of

these bird.s on one of the smaller islands of the Pityusae group, and obtained

eggs there in May 1 930 — the first time that its nesting has been definitely recorded

from the Balearic Isles.

I obtained a young bird of the year, on August 3, 1930, that had been caught

at night on a fishing-boat in Alcudia Bay, having been attracted by a light.

247. LEACH'S FORK-TAILED PETREL. Oceanodioma leucorrhoa leucorrhoa.

— Bruja.

Not very common, and probably resident.

I saw a single bird on June 11, 192-4, and another on August 28, 1925, while

crossing the Bay of Alcudia, Majorca.

Dr. Cushman Murphy obtained a specimen on July 16, 1926, when on the

yacht Wawaloam, — '' fifty-three nautical miles west-north-west of Minorca,"

which showed by its internal condition that it was close to the height of its

breeding-season (" Natural History," Journal of the American Museum of Natural

History, vol. xxvi. No. 6, p. 5.54).

The fishermen tell me that small petrels (Brujas = witches) often jjerch

on the corks of their fishing-nets, when they are set in the sea, and it is considered

a sign of bad luck for the net that is patronized by these birds.

248. EASTERN-MEDITERRANEAN SHEARWATER. Puffinus puflanus

yelkouan. — Capellan.

This form occurs in winter. I obtained a specimen near Alcudia, Majorca,

on February 19, 1928, which has been identified kindly by Dr. Hartert.

249. WESTERN-MEDITERRANEAN SHEARWATER. Puflanus puflfinus

mauretanicus. — CapeUan.

A common resident in all the islands, but not quite so plentiful as the next,

with which it commonly associates at sea.

It certamly breeds in the islands, and Barcelo states that it does on

Dragonera, Cabrera, C'onejera, Formentera, and the island of Aiie, off Minorca ;

but in spite of diligent search, I have not yet discovered a breeding-place in

Majorca or Minorca, nor have I been able to obtain information of any.

However, Ticehurst and Whistler {Ibis, Oct. 1930, p. 674) discovered

breeding-colonies in Formentera, in May 1930, and obtained adults and yoimg.

Dr. Ticehurst described a chick in down at a meeting of the B.O.C. {Bull.

B.O.C., No. cccxhii, p. 83) as having the upper parts dark sooty grey, underparts

paler grey, whitish grey on chin and centre of breast ; the down long and

plentiful, covermg the whole body.

V. Jordans also obtained a young bird on May 4, 1927, from C'onejera (Nov.

ZoOL., July 1928, vol. xxxiv, p. 325).

128 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

I obtained a female with a large sitting-spot on May 1, 1927, and a fully-

grown young bird on July 21, 1927, from Majorca.

As yet, however, the eggs are unknown.

The birds are by no means nocturnal in their habits, as they — as well as the

great Shearwaters — one often encountered by the fishing-boats, in the early

mornuig, asleep on the water with the head tucked under the wing, and are

frequently run into by a boat, or struck by an oar when rowing.

Great flocks, with Great Shearwaters, assemble wlien attracted by a quantity

of food, the larger birds " shearmg " over the sea and picking up their food, the

smaller usually swimming when feeding on the water. But they will eat anything,

and food thrown overboard will attract them, and both species are caught on

baited hooks, and in the nets.

They dive, and swim actively under water, using the wmgs to aid them,

and are generally tame and unwary birds.

Dr. P. R. Lowe, in 1921, first distinguished this form from that inhabiting

the Eastern Mediterranean {P. p. yelkovan), and it appears to be P. p. maure-

tanicus that occurs occasionally m the British Isles. It differs in having the

" imder tail-coverts, feathers of the crissom, flanks and axillaries entirely and

uniformly smoky -brown. In the cervical region the smoky greyish-brown

coloration extends well forward from the sides towards the mid-line in front, and

also from the flanks across the lower abdomen." Measurements — bill 38, wing

245, tarsus 48, middle toe with claw 57 mm. {Bull. B.O.C., No. cclxi, p. 141).

There is a more detailed description of this subspecies by H. F. Witherby

in British Birds, Dec. 1921, p. 151.

However, in a winter flock of these smaller Shearwaters the extent of brown

and white of the underparts varies a good deal, and it appears that the browner

ones are P. p. mauretanicus and the whiter yelkotian.

250. MEDITERRANEAN GREAT SHEARWATER. Puffinus kuhli kuhli.—

Virotje.

Resident, and quite the most abundant sea-bird of all the islands. They

assemble in great flocks, associating with P. p. mauretanicus, though the larger

birds remain more on the wmg than the smaller, and both species are often

caught on the hooks of fishing-lines, and in the nets, for they are usually tame

and unwary birds.

A fishing-boat will sometimes bring back half a dozen of these birds, to be

given to the children, who make them fight, which they do fiercely, and also bite

viciously at anything near, if the beak is not tied up.

They nest in large colonies in burrows and beneath rocks at the base of the

cliffs. I fomid a big nesting-colony on May 19, 1924, on the northern coast of

Minorca — at the base of a series of cliff's, on a rough slope of loose boulders and

friable rocks, were hundreds of the birds busily constructing their nests by scrap-

ing hollows close together in the light soil beneath the locks or in shallow burrows,

and lining them with considerable quantities of dry sea-weed, herbage, and bits

of stick. The birds were perfectly tame, and never attempted to get out of the

way, so engrossed were they m their occupation. Numbers of the birds were

sitting on their nests, and had to be lifted off to see if eggs were beneath them ;

but on this date only two nests contained a single fresh egg each, which had to

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 12'.)

be drawn with a stick from beneath the sitting bird, at the same time the bird

endeavoured to draw it back again with its beak. At the beginning of July

1925 the eggs in this colony were just ready to hatch. On May 27, 1926, at the

same nesting-place the birds were breeding in deeper bui'rows among the rocks,

and very few in the ojaen ; most of the nests had fi'esh eggs, and many of the

nests were garnished around the edges with any objects within reach, such as

shells, stones, and flowers of a camomile that grows in abundance about the

nestmg-sites.

On July 24, 1921, a fully -grown young bird was caught in some fishing-nets

off the Cabo del Pinar in Majorca, which croaked loudly, but the old birds make

a harsher and shriller note.

251. GREAT CRESTED GREBE. Podiceps eristatus cristatus.

A rather uncommon visitor in winter to the island.s, frequenting the sea-coast

as well as the lagoons ; I think some may possibly breed in the Albufera of

Alcudia, Majorca, for I saw an adult on August 8, 1924, in Alcudia harbour that

may have strayed thence.

Marsh-Harriers often attack the Grebes, which dive hurriedly, splashing the

water high in the air, possibly with the idea of di'iving oft' their pursuer.

252. RED-NECKED GREBE. Podiceps griseigena griseigena.

Only recorded from Majorca, where it sometimes occurs in small nimibers

in winter on the lagoons near Alcudia. One was in Alcudia Bay for several days

at the beginning of December 1930.

(HORNED OR SCLAVONIAN GREBE. Podiceps auritus.

I omit this species. Barcelo has stated it to be a breeding-species in the

Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, which is not the least likely ; perhajss he meant

the next species.)

253. BLACK-NECKED OR EARED GREBE. Podiceps nigTicollis nigricollis

Not uncommon on migration, and in the winter, m Majorca and Minorca.

One was shot in Alcudia Bay on November 8, 1927.

Some remam all the year in the Albufera of Alcudia, and undoubtedly

breed there.

254. LITTLE GREBE. Podiceps raficollis raficollis.

A resident, not uncommon in Majorca, but somewhat rare in Minorca ; and

not recorded from the other islands.

Throughout the year there are numbers in the Albufera of Alcudia, which

stray on to the adjacent lagoons in the winter, but nest in the recesses of the

Albufera.

255. GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. Colymbus immer.

One was obtained off Minorca in January 1917 — the only record in the

islands.

9

130 NoviTATES Zoological XXXVII. 1931.

256. BLACK-THROATED DIVER. Colymbus arctieus arcticus.

Henrici has recorded an example of this species, '' on May -0, 192-t, in the

harbour of San Francisco in Formentera " (Beitr. zur Fort pfinnzungsh. der Vogel,

May 1927, p. 102).

Two were shot in the Bay of Alcudia, Majorca, on December 21, 1928, and

some others seen at the same time.

257. RED-THROATED DIVER. Colymbus stellatus.

Has occurred rarely in hard winters, off the coast of Minorca (Ponseti).

258. WATER-RAIL. Rallus aquaticus aquaticus.

A fairly plentiful resident in suitable localities in Majorca and Minorca.

In the larger marshes they are abundant, and nest in May, among the reeds

and thick herbage — in the side of a clump of " spear-grass " being a favourite

position — usually when growing m water ; but Jourdain found a nest, in May

1930, in the Albufera of Alcudia, in a clump of " spear-grass " on absolutely

dry land.

259. SPOTTED CRAKE. Porzana porzana.

Nearly as common a resident as the last-named, in Majorca and Minorca,

and frequenting the same localities.

260. BAILLON'S CRAKE. Porzana pusilla intermedia.

261. LITTLE CRAKE. Porzana parva.

Neither of these small Crakes has come imder my notice in the islands, though

recorded by earlier writers as resident in Majorca, and Ponseti has noted the

former also in Minorca.

It is probable that both occur, but rarely.

262. CORN-CRAKE. Crex crex.

Is said by Barcelo to have occurred in Majorca in autumn and whiter, but

there is no modern record of it ; and Ponseti says the same of it in Minorca.

263. MOORHEN. Gallinula chloropus chloropus.— Polla d'aigo.

A rather uncommon resident in all the islands, but one of the very shyest

of birds. Its cry is more often heard, than the bird is seen, and its nests found

near the edges of the reed-beds. It is not nearly as plentiful as the Water-Rail

and Spotted Crake.

264. COOT. Fulica afcra atra.— Fotje.

Great quantities visit the marshes and lagoons of all the islands in the

winter, when great battues take place.

A fair number remain to breed, and are irregular as to season of nesting,

being influenced by the quantity of water, and the growth of the reeds, in the

marshes.

In the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, I have found, on June 2, 1923, a nest

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 131

with four hard-set eggs ; on June 15, 1927, a brood of young, four or five days

old ; and broods of young in April 1929, and in May 1930.

A battue is a most amusing, not so say dangerous, affair, when some 150-

200 guns of every make and age assemble to slaughter the birds, with nearly as

many " sportsmen " without guns, who manage to pick up as many birds as

the gunners do.

Some birds, at other times, are shot over wooden decoys, moored in the

lagoons that the Coots frequent.

265. RED-LOBED COOT. Fulica cristata.

Homeyer has recorded this species — i£ it ever was a species ? — as breeding

in the Prat, near Palma, Majorca ; but does not mention the foregoing.

Among the hundreds of F. atra that I have handled, I have never come

across F. cristata, nor is there any record of it from the other islands.

266. PURPLE GALLINULE. Porphyrio coemleus.

It does not appear that this bird is now found at all in any of the islands.

In the Albufera of Alcudia, Majorca, which is the most likely jslace for it, it does

not occur ; nor does it in any of the marshes of Mmorca.

Homeyer and Barcelo have recorded it formerly from Majorca ; and Ponseti

has stated that it is sufficiently common in Minorca, particularly in the Albufera

near Mahon — though to my certain knowledge it is not now found there. The

Arch-Duke Ludwig Salvator has noted it from Iviza — a most unlikely sjDot.

267. STOCK-DOVE. Columba oenas oenas.

Occurs only as a straggler, on migration in autumn and winter.

I obtained one of a pair near Alcudia, Majorca, on October 18, 1927.

268. WOOD-PIGEON. Columba palumbus palumbus.— Tudon.

This species is not common, but appears to be mcreasmg slightly in the

larger islands.

It is only found in the quietest and most remote pine -woods, where the trees

are of good size, from sea-level to among the highest mountains.

Strictly it is a summer visitor, but some remain throughout the year ; and

on May 1, 1928, I observed some on migration.

Usually they nest rather late, but a nest with two eggs was found on April 4,

1924, in Majorca. I had a young one from the nest, near Alcudia, at the Ijeginning

of July 1925, that Uved in my aviary for two years ; and on August 7, 1925,

another nest was foimd near the same place with two young ones.

Two nests, each with two half-incubated eggs, were found in a wood of big

pine-trees, near the shore of Alcudia Bay, on June 20, 1927.

269. ROCK-DOVE. Columba livia livia.— C'olom sauvatje.

A common resident in all the islands, chiefly around the coast, but also

frequentmg inland cliffs.

They nest usually in the caves and caverns of the cUffs, but niches and

crevices in the open cliffs are often occupied. They nest in May, and the young

are easUy reared from the nests.

132 KOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

270. TURTLE-DOVE. Streptopelia turtur turtur.— Tortora.

( = Streptopelia turtur loei v. Jordans.)

A common summer visitor to all the islands.

The majority arrive late in April, but I have seen one as early as April 4,

1924 ; and leave again at the end of the hot weather, usually in September.

They more commonly frequent the low country for nesting, in the woods,

among bushes and bramble-thickets, and in small pines, and other trees. The

eggs are generally laid in May ; but on June 16, 1924, I found a nest with two

half-grown young, and on the same day another with two fresh eggs.

The young are easily reared, and will stand the winter in captivity.

(FRANCOLIN. Francolinus francolinus francolinus.

There is a suigle unnamed specimen in the Museum at Mahon, Minorca, not

included in Ponseti's catalogue, about which no information is obtainable,

beyond the fact that it is said to have been obtained in Minorca.)

271. RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. Alectoris rufa rufa.— Perdiu.

(=Alectoris rufa laubmanni v. Jordans.)

The Partridge is said to have been introduced into Majorca from Valencia

by King Sancho, 1311-1.'524.

It is the typical A. rufa rufa, and is neither of the subspecies — A. rufa

liisjianica nor A. rufa intercedens — found on the Spanish mainland.

It is resident, and common in all the islands, and particularly so in Minorca,

and in some of the open parts of the country in Majorca ; but from constant

persecution is generally wild and shy.

They frequent chiefly rocky hillsides, and rock-strewn scrub-covered open

ground, from a low elevation up to the highest hiUs ; and are not averse to perch-

ing in trees, generally wild olives. The crop of one examined in winter was

crammed with seeds of Asphodelus microcarpus, and a few lentisk berries and

grass seeds.

Tame decoy birds are kept in cages so small that there is hardly room for

the bird to turn round, and the '" sportsman " taking them out into the country,

and placing them in likely spots, waits concealed near by, until the decoys have

called up wild birds, which are then shot at, usually on the ground. A good

decoy bird fetches a high price.

They lay in May some twelve to sixteen eggs in a scant nest made in a scrape

beneath scrub or among thick tufts of grass ; the young are about in June, and

are able to fly when about as big as thrushes.

272. QUAIL. Cotumix cotumix cotumix. — Guallera.

A resident in all the islands, but not very plentiful. Very few pass through

the islands on migration, and there is no sign of any large autumn or spring influx.

Casually they might appear to be more plentiful in the spring, when their

famihar call is heard, as well as at the end of summer when the young broods are

about, but there is really very little difference in their numbers.

They frequent chiefly the low-lands, and not always among cultivation, for

on the wet ground around the marshes they are equally found, and occasionally

among the lower hills.

NOVITATES ZoOLOaiCAE XXXVII. 1H31. 133

THREE NEW CUBAN LARENTIINAE (FAMILY GEOMETRIDAE).

By LOUIS B. PROUT.

rpHE species described in this paper were kindly presented to the Tring

•*■ Museum by Father H. F. Clement and were collected at Loma del Gate,

2,500 feet, Sierra Maestra, July-August 1929.

1. Xanthorhoe herbicolor sp.n.

(J$, 23 mm. Intermediate between j)erviridis Warr. (1897) and pictkolor

Warr. (1896), both from Jamaica. The palpus, which in jmrticolor is long-haired

beneath, resembhng that of a Notoreas, is normal, as in perviridis. Size, shape,

and general effect more as in picticolor, but the ground-coloiu- of the forewing

grey-green, a little paler than in perviridis ; hindwing greyish, with slightly

darker borders. — — Forewing with nearly the markings of picticolor, but the

antemedian only straightish from costa to fold, then somewhat oblique outward,

the pair of lines wliich bound the basal area rather more sharply expressed than

the band between these and the antemedian. Underside with the scheme of

markings nearly as in perviridis, but the dark border more strongly developed,

the subterminal line almost obsolete.

2. Spargania dementi sp.n.

(J, 32-35 mm. ; $, 30-32 mm.

$ scarcely distinguishable from those forms of dulciferata Walk. (1862, as

Larentia [Jamaica]) in which the orange tint dommates the rufous or vinaceous,

particularly on the forewing beneath ; forewing above with the markings on

an average less distinct.

(J with the forewing above as in the $, beneath with nearly the same dark

olive-buff tinge as the ^ of dulciferata ; hindwing quite different from that of

dulciferata, not amygdaloid (vide Warr., Nov. Zool., iv 251), moderately elong-

ate, termen roxmded, colour ochraceous buff (not grey), with the sex-scaling of

the posterior part rather more orange, much less rough than that of dulciferata,

beneath somewhat stronger than above, but again less extreme than in dulciferata.

3. Scordylia lymnadoides sp.n.

$, 28 mm. Face black, with a fine white line down the middle, a cream-

white line surrounding the eye. Palpus with 2nd joint more appressed-scaled

than in most of the allies, 3rd joint more elongate ; black, the first and second

joints mixed with white, especially beneath. Body black, pale-mixed beneath ;

tympanal orifice very ample. Legs black, rmged with white (hind pair lost).

Forewing with costa shouldered at base, then straight, apex not very acute,

termen rounded, shape nearly as in ochrozona (Feld., 1875) ; black, costally with

a few white dots ; an irregular Brazil-red band near base between liindmargin

and SC, shghtly obUque, sending out a red line from its proximal side almost to

costa ; a cream-white band from midcosta obliquely in the direction of hinder

end of termen, its jiroximal edge almost straight, almost reacliing SM-, its distal

134 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

slightly more irregular, so that the band measures 2 mm. but widens to nearly

3 in middle, then tapering to a blunt point near termen. Hindwing black.

Forewing beneath with the same markings ; also with blue-white terminal

dots, connected anteriorly by a very fine blue-white line, which becomes obsolete

posteriorly. Hindwing beneath with blue-white terminal dots and subterminal

spots and with irregular irroration of the same colour on a great part of the wing.

Very distinct from all known species, suggesting some mimetic association

with a yet unknown Riodinid of the genus Lymnas ; in general scheme (though

smaller and shorter-winged) nearest L. aegates leticojjhlegma Stich., which occurs

in Venezuela, but the group (Hke Scordylia) has not hitherto been found in the

West Indies proper, i.e. excluding Trinidad.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 135

FURTHER RECORDS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF FLEAS

FROM ECUADOR.

By dr. KARL JORDAN.

(With 12 text-figures.)

\\ /"E are very much indebted to Dr. F. SpiUmann for a further consignment of

Siphonaptera, collected by him in the highlands of Ecuador during April

1931. The collection extends our knowledge of the range of several genera and

renders it also possible to clear up some points in taxonomy which had to be

left in abeyance for lack of adequate material. It is especially worthy of note

that the collection contains no less than 5 species of Helmed Fleas, allied to

the Australian genus Stephanocircus Skuse 1893.

1. Pulex irritans L. 1758.

Iliniza, off Coenolestes spec, I S \ ^^'^ accidental occurrence, the flea probably

having been derived from the native who handled the mammal.

Tetrapsyllus gen. no v.

Panipsyllus sect. E., .lord. & Roths., Ectoparasites I, p. 365 (1923).

J$. The receipt of a further species convinces me that section E of om-

Revision, I.e., should be regarded as constituting a genus separate from

Parapsyllu-s Enderl. 1903. Labial palpus with four instead of five segments.

Gena with a ventral marginal row of bristles from below the eye to the posterior

angle. Hindcoxa only about one-fifth longer than broad, being broader than in

Parapsyllus. Abdominal sternite VI (not VII) of $ with a small lateral sinus ;

spermatheca with the orifice on a more or less prominent cone. Genotype :

Parapsyllus cocyti Roths. 1904.

2. Tetrapsyllus comis spec. nov. (text-fig. 1).

?. Near to T. tanlillus J. & R., I.e., p. 367 no. 16 text-fig. 382 (1923)

(Argentina) ; distinguished by the much shorter bristles of the antennal segment

II, the shorter and stouter bristles of the legs, the smaller sinus of sternite VI, etc.

Genal margin with a roAv of about 9 bristles ; 3 large eye-bristles, with small

hairs in between. Bristles of segment II of antenna reaching about to middle

of club, not beyond club as in T. tantillus. First and second row of occiput

represented by one bristle each ; subapical row with 7 bristles each side and one

or two additional bristles at lower angle of occiput.

Anterior row of pronotum with 10 bristles on the two sides together, of

mesonotum 7. Bristles on abdominal tergites : III 21, 20, IV 22, 18 ; and on

sternite VII 9, 7, on sternite III about 31, on the two sides together.

On outside of liindfemur 4 bristles in posterior half, on inside a row of 5

posteriorly and a single lateral bristle forward. On outside of hind tibia 6 or 7

dorsolateral and 4 or 5 ventrolateral bristles ; six dorsal notches inclusive of

apical one, in foiu-th notch 3 heavy bristles, in fifth 2, stouter than in T. tantillii-s.

136

NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1931

longest dorsal apical bristle of liindtibia reaching to siibapical notch of hindtarsal

segment I, longest of tliis segment close to apex of II, and longest of II to near

apex of IV, these bristles shorter than in T. taniillus.

Modified Segments. Sternite VI witli a very small roimded lateral sinus

(text-fig. 1) ; VII obliquelj^ truncate, the margin sliglitly wavy. On each side

of tergite VIII 0 or 7 bristles above stigma, 15 or IG from stigma downwards,

and a row of 11 or 12 along ventral and apical margins, the upper marginal ones

shorter and straighter than the lower ones and more nmnerous than in T. fantillus ;

on inside at and near apical margin

about 20 bristles, most of them short

and spiniform. Some of the bristles of

VIII. t., double in this specimen.

Sternite VIII with 5 apical bristles,

which are larger than in T. tantillus.

Spermatheca much larger, especially

its head, tlian in T. tantillus.

Length 2 mm., hindfemur 0-4 mm.

Chimborazo,on Sigtnn/Inn spec, 1$.

3. Ceratophyllus dolens quitanus

subspcc. nov. (text-figs. 2, 3, -1).

About two years ago Dr. Carroll

Fox submitted to me a male of a species

of Ceratophyllus from Ecuador, which I identified as belonging to C. dolens

J. & R. 1914, known only from Costa Rica. I pointed out (in litt.) a small

difference between this unique Ecuadorian male and the likewise unique Costa

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

137

Kicaii one, a difference which I considered at the time as being perhaps purely

individual. Dr. F. SpiUmann has sent a male and several females, and these

sf)ecimens prove that there are geographical differences between the Ecuadorian

and Costa Rican examples, especially in the female.

(J$. As a rule, the frons bears three rows of bristles, but in one $ the middle

row is missing, the numbers being : (J 4, 4, 3, or 6, 3, 3 ; $4 to 6, 0 to 3, 3. As

D.o

Vlll.st.

in C. clolens dolens and C. apollinaris J. & R. 1921, the ridges on the lower two-

thirds of the basal abdominal sternite are very close together and, in the middle

of the segment, are strongly curved backwards.

cJ. Median lobe of ventral arm of IX. st. with 4 or 5 long bristles instead of

3 (text-fig. 2), on right side the .second distal bristle much thinner and shorter

than the four others.

$. Upper and lower ante-

pygidial bristles more than one-

third the length of the middle

one. Lateral lobe of st. VII more

rounded than in C. d. dolens ; on

this sternite the posterior row-

contains on the two sides together

10 to 12 bristles, there being in

front of the row 8 to 11. The

spermatheca of C.d. dolens was in

a bad position for drawing ; the

outline of the organ is most prob-

ably the same as in the new sub-

species, in which the head of the

spermatheca is somewhat longer

than broad and slightly widened

towards the tail, which latter

bears a small hooked appendage

(text-fig. 4). The duct of the organ is rather wide, and the blind duct branches

off from it at about one-fifth, not emanating directly from the bursa copulatrix.

Cerro de Puntas, off Oryzomijs spec, 1 ^ (type), 1 $, and off Thomasomys

spec. 2 $$ ; Chimborazo, off Thomasomys spec, 1 $. Also a J in coll. Carroll Fox,

with 4 bristles on st. IX, from near Quito (text-fig. 3, more enlarged than fig. 2).

VII. St.

138 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXV II. 1931.

4. Neotyphloceras rosenbergi Roths. 1904.

Iliniza, off Thomasomys spec, 1 ^ ; C'himborazo, off the same host and

Sigmodon spec, 2 $9- I" ^ former consignment Professor SpiUmann sent a ^

and several 9? taken off Didelphys azarae at Quito and on Mt. Pichincha.

5. Cleopsylla townsendi J. & R. 1914.

Iliniza, off Thomasomys spec, 1 ^ ; Ghimborazo, off Sigmodon spec, 1 ^,

1 $. — This interesting flea, which forms a transition towards the Helmed Fleas

following hereafter, was only knowai from a pair obtained by To\^•nsend in the

Andes of Peru. On re-examining this original paii' and comparing with it the

specimens sent by Dr. Spillmann, I find that there are a few slight inaccuracies

in the description of the species. The lower antepygidial bristle is drawn a little

too long, being in all 5 specimens more decidedly shorter than the bristle above

it ; the third bristle, which we thought was absent, is represented by a minute

bristle. The tail of the spermatheca is almost concealed by an air-bubble in

the original female and is much too narrow in the figure. The present two males

show that the sternite IX has a sort of joint near the base of the horizontal aim,

this sclerite being flexible at the jjoint where the upper large bristle of st. VIII

is placed in our figure (cf. Nov. Zool. xxi, p. 247 fig. 10).

On p. 314 of Nov. Zool. xxxvi, I said under Craneopsylla lolmera that one

might be in doubt as to whether the various forms of Craneopfiylla represented

three genera, each with several species, or three species, each with several sub-

species. The present collection decidedly favours the first alternative, and I

therefore propose two new genera for the species whicli come into Sections A

and B.d. of oiu- key on p. 250 of Nov. Zool. xxi (1914).

Plocopsylla gen. no v.

(J$. The two long bristles of the gena placed near the suture which separates

the helmet from the gena. Segment I of maxillary palpus about one-fourth (or

less) longer than II. Sixth spine of frontal comb (counted from above) longer

than the others and widened towards apex. Upper spine of genal comb very

much smaller than the others and well separated from them, or absent ; genal

process longer than the spines, rounded at apex. Spines of pronotal comb not

sharply pointed. Some of the long bristles of abdominal sternite VII and tergite

VIII of $ arched downwards. Incrassation of basal abdominal sternite very

distinct, resembling a squat Y with broad ^ foot. Clasper ending as a sole-

shaped tia,p, rounded at apex and bearing a close-set marginal row of long bristles.

$, Head of spermatheca almost evenly convex dorsally and concave ventraUy,

or its dorsal surface slightly concave in middle, no such hump dorsally towards

tail as in CraneopsyUa Roths. 1911. Genotype; Craneopsylla acUlles Roths.

1911.

The Helmed Fleas were originally parasites of Marsupials and have gone

over to Rodents. Their range in America embraces the Andesian countries

from Southern Argentina to Ecuador (probably extending farther north) and

includes Paraguay. They are evidently absent from Brazil. Their distribution

agrees with that of Parapsyllus and Tetrapsyllus, and they have, like these

genera, a close affinity with the Australian fauna.

NOVTTATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVTT. 1931.

13(1

6. Plocopsylla achilles Roths. 1911.

Iliniza, Cerro de Puntas and Chimborazo, off Thomasomys spec, 3 (J J,

4$$ ; Cerro de Puntas, off Oryzomys spec, 1 $ ; Iliniza, off Coenolestes spec,

1 ?. The species was described from a single male obtained at Chota, Ecuador,

on Oryzomys alhigularis, and no further specimens had come to hand until

Professor iSpillniann sent the series here recorded. The males agree very well

with the type, which is in the British Museum and the female agrees in chaetotaxy

closely with the male. The two antepygidial bristles are, in the female, twice the

length of hindtarsal segment IV ; the helmet is as narrow as in the male. The

first tliree notches of the hindtibia bear as in (J a pair of stout bristles, the other

four notches three bristles, the outer dorsal bristles not forming a comb. On

the outer surface of hindtibia a dozen bristles or more. Spermatheca as in

P. wolffsohm Roths. 1909, but its head widened towards tail. In one female the

small genal spine is missing on the left side.

The

7. Plocopsylla phobos spec nov. (text-figs. 5, fi).

(J$. Similar to P. achilles, but the spines of the genal comb shorter and the

short upper spine absent. The pronotal comb contains only 14 spines,

antepygidial bristles shorter than hind-

tarsal segment IV in ^, about one-third

longer than that segment in $. Bristles

on abdominal tergite VI in (;J 2, 14, in

8, 12, on VII in S 2, 13, in $ 8, 9.

cJ. The dorsal apical bristle of IX.

t., thinner than in P. achilles ; the second

stout spiniform of IX. st. closer to the

first (rod-Uke) one, the latter shorter

than in P. achilles, and the sole-like

end-portion of the clasper narrower.

Apical maigin of exopodite F excised,

the angle below the sinus appearing

double and the upper angle very sharp ;

the large spiniform of F broader than in

P. achilles and its wide apical portion

longer.

$. Abdominal sternite with fewer

bristles than in P. achilles : on the two

sides together of III 6, IV 6, V 4, VI 4, VII 13 ; on each side of IX. t. 19. Stylet

somewhat broader and head of spermatheca narrower than in P. achilles. The

genal spines shorter than in <J.

Chimborazo, off Thomasomys spec, 1 (J (type) ; Cerro de Puntas, off the

same host, 1 $.

IX.st.

VIM. St.

8. Plocopsylla hector spec. nov. (text-figs. 7, 8, 9).

cJ$. Likewise similar to P. achilles, but at recognised by the outer dorsal

bristles of the tibiae forming a regular comb. Helmet slightly wider than in the

previous two species. Upper spine of genal comb absent, the other four as in

140

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

P. achilles, but the genal process broader than in that species. Apart from the

legs, the chaetotaxy almost the same as in P. achilles : on mesonotum some

additional bristles representing an anterior third row, in female such additional

bristles also on pronotum ; antepygidial bristles somewhat longer than in

P. achilles, being in ,^ nearly twice as long as segment IV of hindtarsus and in $

more than twice. Apical spines on abdominal tergites {the two sides together),

in cJ 1 9, II 8, III 5, IV 1, in ? I 10-12, II 0-10, III 6, IV 0-4. The outer dorsal

bristles of the tibiae

form a comb ; they are

the same in length and

thickness (practically) as

the dorsal bristles ad-

joining the long inner

ones and these dorsal

marginal bristles are

moved distad to a position

in between the notches

(text-fig. 7).

cj. IX. st. with three

spinif orms, which are close

together, the first small,

toucliing second, this the

longest, pointed, the third

about half the length of

second, somewhat curved, obtusely pointed ; beyond this group of spiniforms

the sclerite moderately rounded-dilated ventrally, and then gradually

narrowed, the apical section being triangular and bearing two short slender

bristles at the posterior margin. Manubrium of clasper narrower than in

P. achilles and strongly curved upwards. Sole-like apical portion of clasper

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 141

somewhat broader and apically less evenly rounded than in tlie preceding two

species, with only 9 long marginal bristles. Exopodite F claw-like, its apical

half dorsally concave, curved upwards, pointed ; the spiniform of F with

asymmetrically globular apex, from which projects a small sharp curved claw

(text-fig. 8).

$. The two straight apical bristles of VIII. t. (text-fig. 9) rather farther

apart, and the lower one longer, than in P. achilles. Stylet slenderer, very little

broader at base than near apex, four times as long as broad. Spermatheca not

distinctly widened towards tail.

lUniza, off Thonmsomys spec, 1 (J*, 2 $$.

Sphinctopsylla gen. nov.

cJ?. The lower genal bristle much farther back than the upper one. Upper

spine of genal comb nearly as long as the others and contiguous with its neigh-

bour, but triangular ; genal process short, obliquely truncate. .Sixth spine of

frontal comb (counted from above) in shape like those near it, not distinctly

widened apicad, the spines of this comb shorter than in Plocopsylla. Segment I

of maxillary palpus nearly twice the length of II. Pi-onotg.1 comb with, more than

20 spines, the dorsal ones drawn out into a long thin point. Thoracic tergites

with three rows of bristles, meso- and metanotum often with additional bristles.

Longest antepygidial bristle of male nearly twice as long as hindtarsal IV, in

female thrice. Do\wiward projection (median) of meso- and metasternum

longer than in Plocopsylla . Hindcoxa nearly as broad as long. Incrassa-

tion of the basal abdominal sternite restricted to the area of the anterior

ventral angle, longer than broad, convex above, semilunar. Outer apical

bristles of tibiae nearly like the outer dorsal ones, close-set, forming a

comb.

(J. Clasper distaUy truncate, without the marginal row of long bristles of

Plocopy.slla, exopodite F and IX. st. without heavy spinitorms.

$. Head of spermatheca divided by a deep constriction into a posterior

globular portion bearing the duct and a longer and narrower anterior one bearing

the tail. Genotype : CraneopisyUa tolmera Jord. 1931.

Here also belong C. mars Roths. 1898, C. ares Roths. 1911, and C. inca

J. &. R. 1914.

9. Sphinctopsylla tolmera Jord. 1931 (text-fig. 10).

Cerro de Puntas, ofi Thonmsomys and Oryzomys spec, \ ^, 'i $$. 1

described this species in Nov. Zool. xxxvi, p. 314 text-fig. 5 (1931), from a single

male discovered by Dr. Spillmann on Mt. Pinchincha. The male now received

agrees well with the type. The female, as was to be expected, is very close to

8. inca, but is not difficult to recognise by the smaller number of bristles on the

abdominal tergites and on the outer side of the hindfemur. Number of apical

spines on abdominal tergites, on the two sides together : I 6 to 8, II 7 to 9,

III 4 or 6, IV 2 or 6, V 1 or 2 ; number of bristles : I 12 or 14, 10 or 11, II 15 to

18, 19 to 22, III 13 or 16, 21 to 25, IV 8 to 12, 21 or 25, V 4 to 8, 19, to 21

VI 3 to 5, 16 to 19, VII 3 to 5, 11 to 13. On VII. t. 23 to 26 bristles, besides

5 or 6 short spiniform ones on inside at margin. On VI. st. 8 or 9 on the two

142

No\nTATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1931.

-VIII St.

sides together, on VII. st. 12 to 15, with a small bristles in front of the row, at

least on one side, the row not interrupted. Two antepygidial bristles of equal

lengths. Posteriorly on outside of hindfemur a subventral row of 3 or 4 bristles,

above which there are 2

or 3 lateral ones, farther

forward no lateral bristles

or only one far forward.

Globular portion of sper-

matheca larger than in

.S'. i)Ka, the second par-

tition a little longer than

in that species and less

elliptical, tail not much

longer than this partition,

conspicuously shorter than

in S. inca.

l(». Sphinctopsylla inca

J. & R. 1914 (text -fig. 11).

Cerro de Puntas, oS

Oryzomyssjiec., 3(J(J,3$$;

Chimborazo, off Thoma-

somys spec, 1 ?. Only

one female was known of

this species, as is still the

case with 8. ares and S. mars. The male differs from that sex of S. tolmera

conspicuously in the genital armature (text-fig. 11). Clasper (CI) truncate, very

broadly rounded ventrally, the upper angle somewhat projecting, but this lobe

rounded, at upper angle a row of 4 bristles, of which the lowest is the longest ;

between this row and the ventral end of the anterior margin of exopodite F 3 or

4 long marginal bristles, on the

side 5 or 6, which are shorter

than the marginal ones, at and

near dorsal margin proximally of

the row 3 to 6 bristles. The

tubercle on clasper proximally

of apex of F conical, somewhat

variable, like all detail. Exo-

podite F much narrower than

in S. tolmera, sickle-shaped, its

posterior margin more than

eight times as long as F is

broad in middle. IX. st. at

apex with o long bristle and a

very minute one.

I append here the description of another flea from Ecuador, which has

been in the collection for some time.

VII. St.

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVIT. r.l.'Jl.

143

11. Ceratophyllus canipaniger spec. nov. (text-fig. 12).

$. Close to C. graphic Roths. 1909. As in that species the froiis and occiput

with three rows of bristles ; the proboscis reaching to the end of the forecoxa •

the bristles of antennal segment II short ; on mesonotum numerous small bristles

from the posterior row to the base ; bristles above stigma of VIII. t. numerous ;

those of anal sternite long and slender. Differs in the apical margin of VII. st.

being much less slanting (text-fig. 12), in VIII. t. bearing 4 large bristles below

the stigma and in the sexual organs : while the spermatheca is practically the

same as in C. graphis, its duct begins with a large, beU-shaped, thick-walled

swelling, which is longer than broad, being longer than the head of the

spermatheca.

Ecuador (no more precise locality given), 1 $ found by the late Oldfield

Thomas on a spirit specimen of Uesperomys (coll. Frazer) in the British Museum.

144

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

THREE NEW OLD WORLD FLEAS.

By dr. KARL JORDAN.

(With () text-figiires.)

1. Ceratophyllus infestus duratus subsp. nov. (text-figs, l, 2).

J$. Larger than C. infestus infestus Roths, 1908 from Kenia, and differing in the

tail ends.

(J. Clasper shorter, ventrally more strongly convex and bearing two long

acetabular bristles instead of one long and one short one (text-fig. 1). Manubrium

a little less curved and the bay above it larger. Apex of exopodite F less curved.

Vertical arm of IX. st. less excised on the posterior side above the elbow.

Paramere (Par) more strongly convex dorsally, broader, and its apical hook

more curved.

$. Upper lobe of VII. st, shorter and narrower (text-fig, 2), the lower lobe

more or less sharply pointed, the segment more strongly incrassate around the

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 11)31.

145

sinus. The two long distal bristles of VIII. t. close together. Stylet longer than

in C. i. injeatus, three times as long as broad, or even longer.

Length of hindfemur : ^ 0-07 — 0-69 mm. (in C. i. infe.stus 0-45— O-tii).

$ 0-71 — 0-83 mm. (in C. i. injestus 0-Gl— 0-71).

Tanganyika Territory : Jlodehani, Ukinga, off Aelhosciurus byalti subsp.,

14. ii. 1930, a series (type ^J) ; Igale, off Heliosciurus spectabilis shirensis,

25. iv. 1930, 1 ?; Rungwe Mt., off Cricetomys fjambianu-s viator, 17.iii.l930

1 $. All collected by

Mr. A. Loveridge, to ^ ..^^ ^

whom we are much ^^^^^''^ ,^-3='?'W\^'

indebted for this new

subspecies.

2. Neopsylla kopsteini

spec. nov. (text-figs.

3, 4, 5).

(J$. Though closely

related to the species

described in Nov. Zool.

xxxvi, p. 220 and ff.,

the new species presents

some striking differ-

ences : the chitin is

much thicker, especially

dorsally, the dorsal area of the abdominal tergites being so strongly chitinised

that the segments appear to bear, in a lateral aspect, a heavy incrassation

extending from the base to the row of long bristles (text-fig. 3, IV. t. and base

of V. t., 5). Moreover, the metanotum and tergites I to VI are dorsally

excised, the apical spines not standing in a vertical row, but the dorsal spine

10

146

NoVITATES ZOOLOGR'AK XXXVI. 1!I31.

being more proximal than the others (or other) ; the two rows of bristles are

likewise curved forward above. On the anterior abdominal tergites there arc

from 4 to 6 apical spines on the two sides together, on tergite V 2 to 4 and on

VI 1 or 2. The sternites bear a posterior row of 5 to 7 long and strong bristles

on each side and about 6 smaller ones, most of the latter being ventral and many

of them stout, on VII of $ the bristles are slightly more numerous than on the

preceding sternites ; the row is not vertical as in other species, but strongly

oblique (text-figs. 4, 5). Behind the bristles, between the foiu'th long one and the

ventral margin, sternites III to VIII (in cJ also VIII) are less chitinised than else-

where, there being in cleared specimens a transparent space behind the row, as

indicated in the figures.

Modified Segments. — j (text-fig. 4) : on each side of VIII. st. an oblique

row of large bristles and a mnnber of smaller ones, about 15 altogether, farther

upwards a row of 3 large marginal ones, proximally of which there is a single

bristle, above the 3 the segment obtusely angulate, the marginal apical area from

the 3 downward very feebly chitinised. Manubrium M. of clasper long and

narrow, not much curved. Process P' of clasper with two long bristles and a

few small ones ; the thin marginal areas along the bay between P' and P- both

of P' and P^ broad ; P- broader than in N. avida and N. tricata Jord. 1931,

with about a dozen thin marginal bristles. Exopodite F angulate on frontal

side about middle. Ventral area of IX. st. long and narrow, slightly widened in

middle and at apex, the upper apical angle acute, projecting upwards, ventrally

NOVITATES ZooLOOIfAK XXXVII. 1!)31.

147

at apex a row of 4, somewhat si)iniform, bristles, coiitinucil by 3 smaller bristles,

farther proximad 2 ventral and 3 lateral thin hairs.

$. Sternite VII. laterally long and almost evenly rounded, the deep sinus of

A', sondaica and allies (cf. I.e., p. 22(») absent or at most slightly indicated. At

and near apex of tergite VIII there are 7 to 9 bristles on outside and 1(3 to 20

on inside. Spermatheca as

in N. sondaica (text-fig. 2,

I.e., p. 221), its head dorsally

a little straighter.

Length of hindfemur :

0-34 to 0-42 mm.

2 (^(J, 4 ?$ from Java :

Rantjabah, 1650 m., off

Rattiis leptm-us, February

1931 (Dr. F. Kopstein).

A most interesting dis-

covery.

3. Ischnopsyllus indicus

spec. nov. (text-fig. fi).

$. We have had in the

collection for a long time a

female specimen close to, but

not identical with, Ischno-

psyllus octactenm Kolen. 18.56, which we did not venture to describe as

representing a new species. We have now received for determination another

specimen, unfortunately also a female, which shows the same differences and

renders it certain that the specimens belong to a new species.

In several species of Ischnopsyllus the females exliibit no, or quantitatively

very small, differences from the nearest aUies ; therefore the taxonomic value of

the distinctions found in the two Indian examples must

6, be estimated from that point of view. In /. indicus the

internal incrassation behind the oral spines (text-fig. 6)

is longer and the horizontal portion of it narrower than

in I. octactenus. The pronotal comb contains only 25

(type) or 27 spines, and that of the metanotum 25

or 26. The spines on the abdominal tergites are in

type 26, 22, 20, 15, 10, 9, and in paratype 15, 22, 18,

15, 10, 8. There are no small bristles in front of the

postmedian row on tergites II to VII. Sternite VII, which is not quite so

strongly rounded in upper half as in /. octactenus, bears 7 bristles and 2 minute

ones in type and 11 in paratyjje, on the two sides together. The rest as in

/. octactenus.

North India : " Dimja Gali," off Synotus darjelimjensis, 1 $, received from

Oldfield Thomas, type ; Kasauli, off " small black bat," 27.vi.30, 1 $ submitted

by Dr. M. Sharif and returned to him.

148 NOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXV'll. I'JIil.

DESCRIPTION OF THE UNKNOWN ? OF PARAPHliYGIA

RECTANGULATA KENRK'K AND A NEW SPECIES OF

PHRYGANOPTERYX (LEPID., ARCTIIDAE).

By lord ROTHSCHILD, Ph.D., F.R.8.

l'hriiiiiinoi}lera rectanrjuhlti Kenric--k, Tran-i. Enlom. <S'oc. Loud. 1913, p. 600, pi. ',i\, i. 1 (Xalam-

gaotana, Central Madagascar).

Paraphrygia reclanr/iilata, Hamps., Lcp. Phal. Suppl. II, p. 493, fig. lUO ^ (1920).

$ differs from ^ in having both fore- and hindwing shaped normally as in $

of Phryganopteryx ; pectus and forepart of thora.x below grey, hind part of

thorax with 4 yellow spots, legs dark grey, abdomen below with 2 lateral rows

of lilack spots ; antennae filiform, black ; palpi black, head pale grey with

black dot on vertex and a red spot each side of black dot ; patagia pale grey with

central black spots ; tegulae whitish grey, with black dash on iimer side ; meta-

and mesothorax whitish grey, with 4 paired black spots : abdomen above crimson,

with median row of black spots, last segment with anterior yellow margin.

Forewing greyish white, not yellowish grey as in the i^, spots, streaks,

and bands similar but larger and more pronounced ; hindwing brown-grej', not

buffy yellow, greyish yellow near basal ^ of costal area and abdominal margin,

a black central stigma, vein 4 absent as in ,^.

Length of forewing, 25 mm. Expanse 5G mm.

,, ,, (J 23 mm. ,, 52 mm.

Hab. — Station Perinet, 140 km. = 87i miles east of Tananarivo, Madagascar,

October-November l!»:5(t (Mme. N. d'Olsoufieff coll.).

Phryganopteryx inexpectata sp. nov.

$ (Type) : Similar to strigiUata Saalni. below, but abdomen imbanded and

entirely yellow, with two submedian bands of black spots. Above, body similar

to stngillata, but thorax and basal segments of abdomen browner, less sooty ;

forewing paler, with more distinct buffy grey and wood-bro^^'n ground colour,

black streaks deeper, purer in colour, and larger, more pronounced. Hindwing

brownish wood-grey, not black as in strigilluta.

(5 similar, but has apex of hindwing strongly produced, making wing

narrower and more triangular, forewing narrower and longer in proportion.

Length of forewing $ 26 mm. Expanse 57 mm.

,, ,, (J 24 mm. ,, 52 mm.

Hab. — 1 cJ, 1 $ Station Perinet, 149 km. = 87 J miles east of Tananarivo,

Madagascar, October-November 1930 (Mme. N. d'Olsoufieff coll.).

No\^TATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 149

NOTES ON SYNTOMIDAE (AMATIDAE) WITH DESCRIPTIONS

OF NEW SPECIES.

By lord ROTHSCHILD, P.R.S., Ph.D.

T^7"HEN I first arranged the Si/ntomidae in tlie Tring Museum I confined

myself to the description of the large number of new species in the

collection and did not publish any critical observations. In this paper, written

while incorporating the large accessions received since 1912, I propose to draw

attention to a few errors in nomenclatiu'e, etc., as well as describe some new

forms. I will begin with the American groups.

1. Orcynia calcarata (Walk.).

The Rev. A. Miles Moss has captured and brought home several specimens of

a large burrowing wasp which is evidently the model for this fine mimetic insect.

The resemblance is most apparent when both the moth and the wasp have

the wing two-thiids folded.

2. Pseudosphex ichneumonea Herr.-Sch.

In volume I of the Catalogue of Lepidoptera Phalaenae Sir George Hampson

has put as synonyms of P. ichneumonea, P. crabronis Druce and P. pohjbioides

Burm., and the .series in the British Museum when I was working on this group

from 1009 to 1912 consisted of a number of exam])les of an insect agreeing with

Druce"s type of crahronis, also in the collection. When working on PsemJosphe.v

lately I was puzzled by finding another species with yellow legs among my Tring

series and also a third species near to noverca Schaus. I then looked up Herrich-

Schaffer's drawing and I found a figure agreeing in appearance with noverca

Schaus and novercida Kaye and not in the remotest resembling crabronis Druce.

I then looked up the British MiLseum series once more and found that Sir George

Hampson had separated in the collection polybioides Burm. from the series

placed under ichneumonea. Through the coiu-tesy of Professor Kuntzen of the

Berlin Museum I obtained excellent photographs of the type (or rather what

was left of it) of Herrich-Schaffer's P. ichneumonea. Fortmiately the wings are

perfectly preserved. It was evident that this species was identical vnih either

noverca or ■novercida. Mr. Kaye, when describing novercida, points out that

vein 2 of the forewing arises just before the angle of the cell while in noverca this

vein arises much before the angle of the cell. Tliis is clearly visible on the

photograph and proves that ichneumonea is the same as novercida Kaye. On

examining crabronis Druce it is at once apparent that, besides its much larger size

and different coloration, vein 2 of the forewing arises further from the angle

of the cell than in ichneumonea — novercida and therefore is not only a different

species from ichneumonea, but is the connecting link between the two sections.

The correct nomenclature of the 4 species of Psewlo.'iphe.r which come in question

as regards Herrich-Schaffer's ichneumonea therefore is as follows : novercida

Kaye = ichneumonea Herr.-Sh. ; polybioides Burm. and noverca. Schaus are two

150 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

quite distinct species both from true ichneumonea H.-S. and rrahronis Druce and

ichneumonea Hmpsn. must stand as crabronis Druce.

Dr. Draudt. in Seitz, Qrossschmetterlinge der Erde. has followed Hampson

in calling rrabwiris Druce and polybioides Burm. ichneumonea. and he figures

what he calls the typical form, but if the figure is exact he has figured a fifth quite

distinct species. In his text he says that " ichneumonea (= polybioides Biu-m.),"

whereas Burmeister distinctly states his polybioides has yellow legs, whereas

ichneumonea, crabronis, and noverca have black legs. The model of novercu,

polybioides, and ichneumonea is the wasp Polybia nigra Sauss.

3. Pseudosphex parallela sp. nov.

(J. Similar in coloiu- and markings to ichneumonea and noverca, but vein 2

of forewing arises about halfway between the origin of this vein in the first and

second of these species ; forecoxae white ; male valve edged with white ; imder-

side of fiist segment whitish ; legs black, tarsi greyish rufous ; antenna>, thorax,

and abdomen above black ; forewing yellowish vitreous, in basal two-thirds

whitish ; costal two-fifths densely clothed with smoky grey-l)rown scales ; hind-

wing yellowish vitreous.

Expanse 29 mm.

Hab. — Santa Catherina, 2 ^JcJ.

4. Pseudosphex polistes uniformis subsp. nov.

(J. Differs from p. polistes in being much darker on the body, less white

beneath and the abdomen above being uniform dark brown without the light

edges to the segments.

Hab. — 1 ^ Cuyaba, Matto-Grosso, received from Paul Zobrys.

"). Pseudosphex caurensis paraensis su))sp. nov.

(J. Differs from C. cauren.ns below in the coxae being less white and the

white band beyond the white border of the (J valve being absent ; the legs are

paler yellow ; above the wings are paler, more uniform and yellowish ; abdomen

more uniform, basal half darker chestnut, outer half more extended Ijlack.

Hab. — 1 (5 Para, ex coll. Miles Moss.

0. Pseudosphex crabronis venezuelensis subsp. nov.

Differs from C. crabronis in the strong rosy wash of the wings and in having

a white dot on the ^J valve below.

Hab,—l,n Vtielta. f'aura River, May 1003 (S. Klages coll.).

7. Sphecosoma trinitatis Rotlisdi.

The wasp model of this species is a species of Polybia near P. fa.sciata Sauss.

collected by S. Klages with the mimic.

8. Sphecosoma curta sp. nov.

5. Whole insect short and rounded.

Pectus and head yellow ; legs orange-red, hind tibia black behind ; patagia

yellow ; thorax black, witli 4 yellow spots : antennae crimson, tipped with black ;

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 151

abdomen, basal segment yellow, rest crimson, second and third segments edged

with black, rest edged with dull blue ; wings hyaUne, bases yellow, narrow costal,

terminal, and inner margins black, a subcostal band of crimson occupying

central five-sixths of length of wing.

Expanse 28 mm. ; forewing 12-5 mm.

i/a6.— Yahuarmayo, S.E. Peru, 1,200 feet, February-March 1912 (H. and

C. Watkins coll.).

9. Sphecosoma deceptrix Hmpsn.

The wasp model of this species is Pohjbia fasciata Sauss. (M. G. Palmer

coll.).

10. Sphecosoma flaveolum sp. nov.

cj. Palpi, forehead, legs below, and underside of abdomen bright yellow ;

legs above pale orange ; antennae brown-black, apical one-third chocolate

brown ; basal half of patagia yellow, apical half black ; tegulae and thorax

yellow streaked with black ; abdomen, first 2 segments dusky yellow, rest black

edged with yellow ; wings hyaline yellowish, dusky yellow at base and along inner

margin of forewing, also between costa and subcosta of forewing.

Expanse 30 mm. ; length of forewing 13 mm.

Hah. — San Esteban, Venezuela, June 1909, Corosita, Caura River, June

1904, 3 SS (S. M. Klages coll.).

The (J from Corosita has the half of forewing above the median nervure

much infuscated.

11. Homoeocera multipuncta sp. nov.

cJ. Pectus white ; legs black, tibiae with indistinct white dots ; abdomen

and (J valve black, valve underneath filled with a white flocky substance,

abdomen with G white dots below ; antennae black ; head and thorax velvety

black with some metallic blue dots ; white spots on the patagia, abdomen black

with blue dots and thi-ee rows of white patches, one row has four white spots,

other two three.

Wings hyaline with black bases, and black margins expanded at tornus of

forewing and from tornus to vein 2 in hindwing.

Length of forewing 20 mm. Expanse 4(1 mm.

Hab. — Cuyaba, Matto Grosso (bought from Paul Zoljrys), type ; 2 (J^J

Valencia, Venezuela; 1 ,5' Buenavista, East Bolivia, 750 m., August lOOO-April

1907 ; 1 ,j^ Santiago del Estero, East Bolivia, 1905-^G (J. Steinbaeh coll.).

12. Homoeocera aflBnis sp. nov.

$. Very similar to crassa Feld., but differs in the edges of the abdominal

segments being narrower and white, not yellow, also the forewing has a triangular

black apex which is entirely absent in crassa.

Length of forewing 17 mm. Expanse 39 mm.

Hab. — Merida, Venezuela (Briceno coll.).

13. Autochloris consociata Walk.

Sir George Hampson has placed this as a synonym of bijuncta Walk, but it

is quite distinct, having no signs of the lateral white spots on the first abdominal

152 NOVITATES ZoOLOaiCAE XXXVII. 1931.

segment and having the last thbee segments of the abdomen yellow (?) or red ((^),

while bijnnda has only the last two so coloured.

14. Autochloris flavosignata sp. nov.

$. Nearest allied to caunuv Cram., Ijut diifeis in having white spots on the

patagia and a large patch of dark buff with a sooty spot in it each side of the

first abdominal segment.

Length of forewing 22 mm. Expanse 5(» mm.

Hab. — British Guiana.

15. Autochloris nigridior sp. nov.

(J. Allied to bijuncta, but smaller and the black borders to the wings wider ;

differs also in having white shoulder-spots and a yellow frons ; abdomen black

with lateral white spots on first segment and blue ones on the .second and third

segments ; the rest of abdomen black except the outer edges of abdominal tuft

which are red.

Length of forewing 18 mm. Expanse 40") mm.

7/«6.— Arouary (17/6/1887).

10. Autochloris cuma Druce.

Sir George Hampson, Dr. Draudt, and others have united with cunia a

fairly common and widespread insect ^^•hich has nothing to do with it. The

latter when seen side by side with true cmna is strikingly larger, the black margins

of the wings are much wider and the red patches of the abdomen in two of the

three subspecies are much more conspicuous. This species has no name :

17. Autochloris magnifica sp. nov.

<^. Allied closely to A. cuma, but much larger ; differs from cuma in the very

much wider l)lack margins to the wings and in the other black markings being

larger, in the underside of abdomen being entirely black except the anal valves,

in the hindlegs being brown outside and golden yellow inside, in the two subdorsal

patches on the first and second abdominal segments being buff not white, and in

there being on the third to the seventh abdominal segments a row of dorsolateral

large wedge-shaped crimson patches, wliile in cuma the underside of the abdomen

is crimson from the fourth to the seventh segments, the red coloiu- running half up

the side ; in both species the anal segment is red in the male.

$ differs in the liindlegs being black and the centre of the anal segment being

black.

Length of forewing, $ cuma, 22 mm. ; (J magnifica, 27 mm. Expanse

$ cuma, .50 mm. ; magnifica ^J C2 mm., $ 66 mm.

Hab. — Santa Cruz de la Sierra, East Bolivia, 1005-6 (J. Steinbach coll.).

18. Autochloris magiiifica reducta subsp. nov.

$. Differs from m. magnifica in the dorso-lateral buff patches on the first two

abdominal segments being reduced to two buff dots and the red dorso-lateral

patches on the third to seventh segments being reduced to lunulate spots. The

anal valves are black with lateral red patches.

Hab. — BoUvia (Garlepp coll.).

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931. 153

19. Autochloris magD.ifica rufipes subsp. nov.

(J. Differs from in. magnifica m the liindleg having the whole tibia above

scarlet, the tarsus pale brown and the femur black ; it has the red df)rso-lateral

j)atches much larger and they run down on to the underside of the abdomen.

Hab. — Chanchamayo, Peru (A. Miles Moss coll.).

20. Autochloris ectomelaena Hamps.

(J. Similar to enugrn-'i Gram., but wings have narrower l)laek borders ; the

underside has broad white margin to the ,^ valve and three bright orange bands

to the last last three segments and laterally some indications of crimson inter-

segmental lines.

Length of forewing 20 mm. Expanse 46 mm.

Hah. — 1 (^ Itamarity, Narrows, Amazon (A. Miles Moss coll.), 2 ,^r^ Amazon

(Felder coll.).

21. Autochloris flavicosta sp. nov.

$. Pectus black ; antennae black ; head and thorax black with metaUic

blue spots ; first segment of abdomen above whitish buff, rest black, outer half

of seventh and anal segments and the margin of the preceding one deep orange,

abdomen below black, edge of first segment white, anal segment orange ; legs

black ; wings hyaline yellow, hyahne wliite below median vein of hindwing ;

costal area, and half inner area of forewing orange, apex broadly black, a narrow

black terminal border from vein 4 to tornus, hindwing with narrow black liorder

expanded in tornal area.

Length of forewing 18 mm. Expanse 41 mm.

Hnb. — 1 $ Paramba, Ecuador, January-May 1S!)7 (W. Rosenberg coll.)

22. Autochloris buchwaldi sp. nov.

cJ. Pectus white ; legs black with white spots on coxae ; ^ valve edged

with a blue followed by a white line, abdomen black, anus yellow ; head metallic

blue ; thorax black ; first abdominal segment orange buff, rest of abdomen black

with blue intersegmental lines ; anal segment and tuft orange buff with basal

blue line ; forewing hyaline yellow, with black borders widely expanded at apex

and tornus ; subcostal area dirty yellow, two streaks at base of inner margin

oiange ; hindwing hyaline white, with black borders widely expanded at tornus.

Length of forewing 18 mm. Expanse 41 mm.

Hnb. — Quevedo, Ecuador (v. Buchwald coll.).

23. Sarosa pseudohelotes sp. nov.

<^. Differs from helote>i in having the o valve on undei'side of base of abdomen

black with white patch on each side of it, while this valve in helolM is entirely

gli.stening white, in the tarsi being uniformly deep brown, not orange, and the

patagia wholly black.

Length of forewing, ^ 22 mm., $ 20 ram. Expanse, <^ 50 mm., $ 58 mm.

Hob. — 1 ^ type, 2 ?$, Sto. Domingo, Carabaya, 6,000 feet, July and

December 1902 (dry and wet season) ; 2 .^(J La Oroya, Rio Inambari, S.E. Peru,

3,100 feet, March 1905 (wet season) (G. Ockenden coll.) ; 1 (J Paramba, Ecuador,

3,500 feet, May 1897 (dry season) (W. Rosenberg coll.).

154 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1931.

24. Sarosa pseudohelotes intensior suhsp. nov.

(J$. Differ from p. heloles in tlie colour of the thorax and botly being orange

scarlet, not daik yellow, and in the dark borders of the wings being much wider,

and the legs uniformly dark umber-brown.

Hah. — 1 (J, 1 $ Las Quiguas, near San Esteban, Venezuela (S. M. Klages coll.).

25. Gymnelia flavicapilla sp. nov.

(J. Antennae black ; pectus white ; palpi yellow ; frons yellow with blue

spot ; coxae inside buff, outside Islue, tibiae inside creamy wliite, outside black,

tarsi browTi, inside golden ; (J valve buff edged with white, rest of underside of

abdomen buff ; patagia black ringed with yeUow and blue in centre ; tegulae

black, inner one-third orange : thorax black with four blue spots ; abdomen black

with blue spots and segments narrowly edged with dull orange, a wider buff edging

on second segment ; wings hyaline, apex on forewing and tornus on liindwdng

black, basal half of subcostal area vitreous ; a blue dot at base of forewing.

Length of forewing 14 mm. Expanse 32 mm.

Hab.—l ^ San Esteban, Venezuela, June 19(K) (S. M. Klages coll.) ; 1 ^

Venezuela (Mocquerys coll.).

2(i. Gymnelia felderi sp. nov.

Q. Frons, palpi and antennae black ; pectus white, legs black with l)lue

patches ; ^ valve basal half black, ajiical half white ; underside of abdomen

black ; vertex and patagia metaUic greenish blue ; thorax and tegulae black,

with elongated greenish blue metallic spots ; abdomen black with metallic

greenish blue lateral spots, first tlu'ee segments with yellow interspaces ; wings

hyaline yellow, apex and tornus black, basal half of costi-subcostal area orange

yellow, apical half l)lack.

Length of forewing IS mm. Expanse 42 mm.

Hah. — Amazon (Felder coll.).

27. Gymnelia peeuliaris sp. nov.

?. This species is unlike any other of the genus, but in coloration is nearest

ethodaea Druce. Pectus, legs and underside of legs yellow ; frons buff, palpi

yellow Mith black tips ; hindlegs with outer side of tibia and most of tarsus

black ; head black ; patagia black with blue spots ; thorax black with blue spot

and some orange marks ; abdomen brick red, with black bands and subdorsal

rows of metallic silvery blue spots ; apical half of anal segment black ; wings

long and narrow, liyaline yellow, base orange, a black border all round, apex of

forewing broadly black, an oval discocellular black patch ; antennae black.

Length of forewing 15 mm. Breadth of forewing G mm. Expanse 33 mm.

Wfl/j.— Mapiri, Bolivia.

28. Gymnelia abdominalis sp. nov.

?. Pectus, legs, head, antennae, thorax, and first four segments of abdomen

black ; tibiae marked with metallic blue ; patagia, base of tegulae, base of

forewing and lateral spots in basal half of abdomen metallic blue, outer half of

abdomen bright orange-yellow ; wings hyaline white, broadly bordered with

NOVITATES ZoOLOttlCAE XXXVII. 1031. 155

black ; apex of forewing (about outer fourth of wing) black ; tornal area of

hindwing largely black, with a vitreous spot.

Length of forewing 20 mm. Expanse 45 mm.

Hah. — Pebas, Amazon (M. de Mathan coll.).

There is in the Tring Museum a ^J out of the Felder collection labelled

" Cuba, Gundlach " ! ! ! which only differs in the legs and underside being

sooty brown and the (^ valve having a whitish border.

29. Mallodeta simplex sp. nov.

(J. Pectus white ; legs, antennae, head, thorax, and abdomen black ; wings

hyaline white ; forewing with narrow black margins expanded at apex and apex

of vein 2, subcostal area yellowish between costa and subcosta from base of wing

to origin of vein 7, base of both pairs of wings and narrow margin of hind wings

black.

Length of forewing 17 mm. Expanse 39 mm.

Hah. — Villarica, Paraguay, April 1923 (F. Shade coll.).

30. Pheia pseudelegans sp. nov.

(J. Nearest to elegans Druce, but patagia and tegulae entirely orange and the

abdominal central spots are much smaller, basal fifth of subcostal area entirely

orange, tarsi of fore and middle pairs of legs black, hind pair with tiljiae black

and tarsi white.

$. Similar but larger.

Length of forewing ^ (type) 14 mm. Expanse 31 mm.

,, ,, ? 10 mm. ,, 3.') mm.

Hab.—S S<S, 2 ?? (cJ type) Alto de Serra, Sao Paulo, February 1023-

April 192fi (Pv. Spitz coll.) ; 1 $ Ypiranga, Sao Paulo, April 1924 (R. Spitz coll.).

31. Pheia insigiiis sp. nov.

rj. This is a very distinct species. Head and palpi black ; pectus white,

legs black, with a considerable quantity of white on inside of tarsi and tibiae ;

(J valve pure white ; abdomen below black, frons and vertex with paired bluish

white dots ; antennae black, apical two-fifths white, with black tip ; thorax,

patagia, and tegulae brilliant orange ; abdomen brilliant orange, with median

row of black dots, last two segments blackish steel blue ; wings hyaliiie, forewing

base bright orange, rest of wing edged with black, expanding largely at apex

and slightly at tornus, nervures black ; hindwing with black margins and

nervures.

Length of forewing 14 mm. Expanse 31 mm.

Hab.—\ S Alto de Serra, Sao Paulo, March 1928 (R. Spitz coll.).

32. Pheia ftiscicorpus sp. nov.

?. Closely allied to (ktjihaena Hmpsn. and haemapleura Hmpsn. but differs

at first sight by the entire lack of red colour. The body is entirely black ; the

patagia and a streak on the tegulae orange and some orange hairs at anus.

Size same as haemapleiira.

Hah.— Minas Geraes, November 1929 (R. Spitz coll.).

156 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXX\ai. 1931.

3:?. Pheia simillima sp. nnv.

Q. Differs from fiavipicta Schaus in lacking the yellow streak in centre of

inner margin of the forewing and in the absence of the central black and blue

patch on the abdomen.

Size as in fiavipicta.

Hab. — Cananche, Cundinamarca, July 10(i3 {M. de Mathan coll.), 3 (J^J.

34. Loxophlebia semiaurantia sp. nov.

(J. Below head black ; pectus, coxae, two spots on lower thorax, and ^

valve white ; legs black ; abdomen black. Above frons white, vertex l)lack ;

patagia and shoulders orange ; rest of thorax black ; abdomen brown-black, first

three segments orange, with brown-black patch on second and third ; antennae

browii-black. Wings hyaline, margins of forewing brown-black, wdely expanded

at apex and tornus ; a discocellular brown-black patch joined to costa ; hind-

wing with very narrow black border expanded at apex.

Length of forewing 10 mm. Expanse 23 mm.

Hah. — Para (Rev. A. Miles Moss coll.).

35. Loxophlebia asmodeoides sp. nov.

(J. Differs from a.'imodeus Druce in the whole undersurface being yellow ;

the antennae, thorax, and abdomen being deep olive-brown ; an orange belt

narrowly interrupted in the centre on third segment of abdomen ; anal segment

of abdomen orange ; the dark margin of forewings not enlarged between veins

5 and 6 but from apex to vein 5.

Length of forewing 1 1 mm. Expanse 2(1 mm.

Hah. — Bogota (Felder coll.).

3C. Loxophlebia roseipectus sp. nov.

(J. Pectus and forecoxae rose-coloured ; legs pale brown ; ^ valve white ;

abdomen sooty brown ; head and antennae black.

Above : patagia and tegulae golden yellow ; thorax black ; abdomen black,

t^\■o orange dorso-lateral spots on first segment of abdomen, and broad lateral

yellow laands on rest of abdomen ; anal tuft of abdomen yellow. Wings hyaline,

basal three-fifths of subcosta and basal two-thirds of inner margin of forewing

yellow ; margins of forewing black, widely expanded at apex and less so at

tornus ; hindwing with black border expanded at apex and reaching to tornus

abdominal margin very narrowly yellow.

Length of forewing 12 mm. Expanse 30 mm.

Hah. — Lower Amazons, junction with Rio Madeira, February-March 1926

(Rev. A. Miles Moss coll.).

37. Mesothen tigrina sp. nov.

9- Underside of thorax, abdomen, and legs bright orange ; head black,

frons white ; antennae black ; large black spot on thorax above ; abdomen

orange, regularly ringed with black. Wing shyaline, base of forewing orange,

margins and veins black, the margins expanded at apex widely and tornus less

NoviTATiss Zoological XXXVII. Ill.'Jl. 157

widely ; hindwing with margins very slightly expanded at apex, and at abdo-

minal margin fringed with yeUow hau's.

Length of forewing 14 mm. Expanse 31 mm.

Hah. — Caracas, Venezuela.

38. Mesothen ockendeni restricta subsp. nov.

cj$. Differ from o. ockendeni Dnice in having the body paler, more yellowish,

and the black of the last two segments of the abdomen much reduced, being

restricted to the anal segment alone dorsally and laterally.

Hab. — Merida, Venezuela (Briceno coll.).

Chrostosoma . In this genus considera))le confusion exists owing to a number

of authors having wrongly identified species figured by Cramer, Herrich-SchiifEer,

and Perty.

In the Catalogue, vol. i, p. 215, Sir George Hamjison figures a female of

fenestrina Butler as the male of decisa Walker and he imites under the name of

Jiaematiea Perty zantes Herr.-Sch., fenestrina Butl., and chahonitis Druce ; and

under the name of echemus Stoll. dole.ns Walk, and stnUa Herr.-Sch.

As regards these names, Jiaematica Perty and zantes Herr.-Sch. are certainly

synonymous, but not with fenestrina Butl., for they are identical with decisa

Walk., which species must henceforth be known under the name of haematiea

Perty. Now with regard to the names echemus Stoll., dolens Walk., and stidla

Herr.-Sch., the figures given by these three authors represent three widely different

insects ; echemus StoU I consider um'ecognisable, but it is certainly not dolens

Walk. ; and stidta Herr.-Sch., of which there are 9 specimens at Tring agreeing

absolutely with the figure, is an entirely different insect. When I pointed out

some of these facts to Sir George Hampson he saw at once that some of the

names had been \vi-ongly applied ; but in the collection of the British Museum

he applied the name of liaematica Perty to an insect standing under the name of

Saiirila medioruhra Kaye, but here again I cannot agree, as the latter is a much

duskier insect with a narrow dark border, whereas the figme of Imeirmtica Perty

shows an insect with much paler and more translucent wings and a wider dark

border exactly as in Chrostosoma decisa Walk. Beyond transferring haenuitica

Perty to Saurita medioruhra Kaye in the drawers of the Museum, Sir George

Hampson has not published anything correcting the nomenclature of these

Chrostosoma , and Dr. Draudt, in Seitz Mttcrolepidoptera of the World, has followed

Hampson's catalogue. The correct nomenclature is as follows :

Chrostosoma haematica Perty.

= zantes Herr.-Sch.

= decisa Walk.

Chrostosoma fenestrina Butl. \

Chrostosoma dolens V^aXk. \ ,• i. .

^, , TT r, , /M'e distmct species.

Chrostosoma stulta Herr.-Sch. j

Chrostosoma^ chakonitis Druce;

and echemus Stoll I consider at least for the present unrecognisable.

39. Chrostosoma infuscatum sp. nov.

(J. Nearest to haematica Perty (decisa Walk.), differs in the entire absence

of the blue metallic spots and the red basal spot on the abdomen. The wings

158 NoVITATES ZOOLOLIICAE XXXVII. 1SI31.

are more vitreous, Ijiit tlie margins arc much wider and more irregular and

diffuse, giving the insect a smolder, dustier appearance ; a[)ical half of tegulae

crimson.

Length of forewing 12 mm. E.xpanse 27 mm.

Hab. — 5 0(J Muzo, Rio Cantinero, Columbia, 400 m. = 1,300 feet (A. H.

Fassl coll.) (type) ; 1 q C'ananche, Cundinamarca, July 1903 (M. de Malha:i

coll.) ; 1 J Lita, Ecuador, 3,000 feet (Flemming coll.).

■10. Hyda (Chrysostola) excelsa sj). no v.

$. Nearest to pelopia Druce, but unlike any other species of the genus.

Below : pectus, thorax, and basal three-fifths of abdomen orange ; apical two-

fifths of abdomen black ; coxae and tibiae of foreleg orange, basal half of tarsus

whitish, outer half deep brown ; middle leg, coxae, and tibiae orange, latter

washed with brown, tarsi deep brown ; hindleg, coxae, and femora orange,

tibiae black, tarsi and end of tibiae white ; head and antennae black. Above :

thorax orange ; abdomen, basal half orange, anal half black, both sections ])ow-

dered slightly with uidescent silvery scales. Wings hyaline, with shght yellowish

gloss, nervures on basal half of forewing orange, on outer half black ; a white

dot at base of wing ; base of wing, basal half of costal area, discocellular patch,

and basal tluee-fifths of inner area deep orange ; outer half of costal area, a very

large apical patch, and a large tornal patch sooty black ; hindwing has an apical

black tip, a fringe of black hair round wing ; all veins excejjt outer three-quarters

of 3, 4, 5, and 6 orange.

Length of forewing 15-5 mm. Expanse 34 mm.

Hab.— Alio da Serra, Sao Paulo, March 1920 (R. Spitz coll.), 2 $$.

^V.-

LEPIDOPTERA

COLLECTED BY THE

British Ornitholog^ists' Union and Wollaston Expeditions in

the Snow IVIountains, Southern Dutch New Guinea

WITH TWO COLOURED PLATES

By the Hon. WALTER ROTHSCHILD, Ph.D.

(LORD ROTHSCHILD)

PRICE : £1 5s. (less 20% to BooksellerB).

A REVISION OF THE LEPIDOPTEROUS FAMILY

SPHINGIDAE

By the Hon. WALTER ROTHSCHILD, Ph.D.,

AND

KARL JORDAN, M.A.L., Ph.D.

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PHihTVO BY BAXXU., WAIBON AND VOIKT, LTD., LOMDOH AMD lYLBSbUBT.

NOVITATES mOGICAE.

H Journal of Zooloo^.

EDITED BY

LORD ROTHSCHILD, P.R.S., Ph.D.,

Dr. ERNST HARTERT, and Dr. K. JORDAN, F.R.S.

Vol. XXXVIL

No. 2.

Pages 159^06.

Issued Jttne 20th, 1932, at thb Zoological Museum, Trino.

FEINTED BY HAZELL, WATSON & VINEY, Ltd., LONDON AND AYLESBURY.

1932.

Vol. XXXVII.

N0VITATE8 ZOOLOGICAE.

BDITED BT

LORD ROTHSCHILD, ESNST HARTERT, and KARL JORDAN.

CONTENTS OF NO. II.

PAQBS

1. NEW AFRICAN AND INDO-AUSTRALIAN

LYMANTRIIDAE (Plate I) . . . C. L. CoUeneUe . . 159—180

2. REVISIONAL NOTES ON THE GENERA

ABISARA AND SARIBIA (LEP. RIO-

DINIDAE), WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW

SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES (Plate II) . N. D. Riley . . 181—188

3. AN ATTEMPT TO DETERMINE THE TRUE

DATES OF PUBLICATION OF HBWITSON

(W. C), ILLUSTR. NEW SPEC. EXOT.

BUTTERFLIES, 5 VOLS. [1852-] (1856-)

1876 . . Francis J. Griffin . 189-206

4. FURTHER DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW

SPECIES OF JAPANESE, FORMOSAN AND

PHILIPPINE HETEROCERA . . . R. J. West . . 207—228

5. NEW GENERA AND SPECIES OF STER-

RHINAE (FAM. GEOMETRIDAE) . . Louis B. Prout . . 229—251

6. BIRDS OF KENYA AND UGANDA, BEING

ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA TO MY

PREVIOUS PAPER IN " NOVITATES

ZOOLOGICAE," XXIX, 1922 (Plates III

and IV) y. G. L. Van Someren . 252—380

7. PARNASSIER DER KELLEY-ROOSEVELT

EXPEDITION, 1929 Fdix Bryk . . . 381—383

8. A REVISION OF THE TYPES OF BIRDS

DESCRIBED BY JAPANESE AUTHORS

DURING THE YEARS 1923-1931 . . Nagamichi Kuroda . 384—405

9. OBITUARY NOTICE: ARTHUR T. GOOD-

SON 406

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE

Vol. XXXVn. JUNE 19.32. No. 2.

NEW AFRICAN AND INDO-AUSTEALIAN LYMANTRIIDAE.

By C. L. COLLENETTE, F.E.S.

(With Plate I.)

TN the following paper Ridyway's Color Standards mid Color Nmnendature, 1912,

has been employed m the colour descriptions, and the Comstock-Needham

system for the wing-neuration.

All types, unless otherwise stated, are m the Tring Museum collection.

1. Cropera sericoptera sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 34).

rj. Palpus ochraceous buff, tijiped with fuscous. Antenna fuscous, mixed

on the shaft with pale j'ellow orange. Head, thorax, and pectus ochraceous buff,

mixed on the tegula with fuscous. Abdomen above and beneath ochraceous

buff to ochraceous orange. Fore- and midlegs with femora ochraceous buff,

tibiae and tarsi fuscous ; hindleg with femur and tibia ochraceous buff, tarsus

and the two pairs of spurs fuscous. Forewing cinnamon buff, slightly shaded with

grey towards the termen ; veins and termmal line fuscous ; fringe ochraceous

buff. Hindwing cinnamon buff, slightly shaded with grey towards the apex ;

veins on the distal half of the wmg, and terminal line, fuscous ; fringe ochraceous

buff. Underside of both wings, and fringes, as on upperside, with fuscous

shading in the apical area of the forewnig.

Expanse : 41 mm.

I (^ (holotype), Muene Jndala, Angola, 25. ix. 1903 (Ansorge).

Allied to Cropera venafn Swinh. {19()(i), from which it may be easily distin-

guished by the different ground colour of the wings and the shghtly larger size.

2. Redoa kibwezi sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 37).

^. Palpus whitish, on the outer side orange buff mixed with fuscous. There

is a short aborted proboscis. Antennal shaft fuscous mixed with white, pectina-

tions sayal brown. Head whitish, with a tuft of orange buff below the base of

the antenna. Thorax and abdomen whitish, with a small patch of orange buff

dorsally on the thorax. Legs, pectus, and venter whitish, foreleg with orange

buff on coxa, femur, and tibia, and fuscous on femur and tibia. Wings translucent.

Forewing white ; costa narrowly edged with fuscous ; a faint medial shade,

formed of a few dark scattered scales, runnmg oblique mwardly from the origin

II 159

16Q NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1932.

of vein Cifl to the inner margin ; a faint postmedial shade, formed similarly,

from the costa at three-quarters to the inner margin at three-quarters ; fringe

white. Hindwing and fringe white. Underside of both wings, and fringes,

white, the apex and vein-ends of the forewing faintly shaded with fuscous.

Expanse ; i^S 41-49 mm.

1 ^ (holotj'pe) and 12 (^o (paratypes), Kibwezi, near Uganda Railway,

Kenya Colony, March and December 1917, and January 1918 ; also, in the

British Museum ex Joicey collection, 1 ^, Kibwezi, 3,000 ft., 14.xii.l921 (R. A.

Dummer).

Nearest to Redoa kenya Collnt. (1931), but with a considerably shorter and

broader areole.

In some specimens of R. kibwezi. vein Ro rises from the same point on the

areole as the stalk of R3 and R4, and in others from considerably below that

point, the origin of R5 being as far below that of R'i and i?4 as R2 is above R3

and R4.

3. Porthesia protea sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 22).

(J. Palpus pale orange yellow, the third segment lighter. Antennal shaft

cartridge buff, pectinations cinnamon buff. Head and thorax light orange

yellow. Abdomen light orange yellow at base, the remainder cartridge buff

mixed with hair brown, anal tuft cartridge buff. Legs, pectus, and venter cart-

ridge buff, mixed on the foreleg with pale orange yellow. Forewing pale pinkish

buff to pinkish buff, irrorated with fuscous, the irroration tending to be heavier

medially in the lower half of the wing ; fringe pale pinkish buff. Hindwing and

fringe pale pinkish buff, the j)roximal three-fourths of the wing shaded with hair

brown. Underside of forewing, and fringes, pale pinkish buff, the proximal

three-fourths of the wing shaded with hair brown. Underside of hindwing, and

fringe, whitish, lightly shaded in the inner marginal area with hair brown.

$. Resembles the S> but abdomen light orange yellow at base, the remainder

fuscous ; anal tuft light orange yellow. Hindwmg and fringe, above and

beneath, entirely hair brown.

Expanse : ^S 21-25 mm., $? 31-34 mm.

1 J (holotype), 1 ? (allotype), W SS and 2 99 (paratypes), August-Septem-

ber 1924, Nissan Island, Solomon Islands (A. F. Eichhorn).

The (S<S oi this series show considerable variation, the dark irroration on the

forewing of some specimens being almost absent, and the dark shading on the

hindwing, above and beneath, entirely absent.

4. Porthesia stenoptera sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 21).

(J. Palpus and head orange buff. Antennal shaft light ochraceous buff

streaked with bone brown, pectinations wood brown. Thorax ochraceous

orange. Abdomen fuscous black, anal tuft capucine yellow. Legs orange buff,

the fore- and middlelegs fringed with capucine yellow. Pectus orange buff.

Venter orange buff mixed with capucine yellow. Forewing and fringe velvety

bone brown mixed with fuscous black ; from the apex to vein M2 there is an

admixture of capucine yellow in the fringe, and from vein Cu\ to the tornus the

fringe is entirely capucine yellow, the same colour slightly invading the wing

between these two points. Hindwing velvety bone brown mixed with fuscous

black ; fringe capucine yeUow, darker at the anal angle. Underside of fore- and

XOVITATES ZOOLOOICAE XXXVII. 1932. 161

hindwing, and fringes, as on upperside, but the colour of the wings is slightly

duller and less velvety, and at the ape.x of the forewing the capucine yellow of the

fringe slightly invades the wing.

Expanse : 23-27 mm.

1 o (holotype) and 3(JcJ (paratypes), Bougainville, Solomon Islands, April

and May 1904 (A. S. Meek).

The forewing of this species is rather long and narrow, and the coloration of

the four specimens is very uniform.

5. Porthesia potamia sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 25).

$. Palpus cinnamon buff. Antennal shaft cinnamon buff, the pectinations

slightly darker. Head cream colour, vertex cartridge buff. Thorax cartridge

buff, posteriorly ochraceous buff. Abdomen ochraceous buff to orange buff, anal

tuft fuscous black, fringed at the base with cartridge buff. Legs, pectus, and

venter ochraceous buff to cartridge buff. Forewing cartridge buff, irrorated

interneurally over the whole wing, but less strongly at the base and in the costal

area, with ochraceous tawny ; a faint antemedial fascia, indicated by a decrease

in the irroration, running oblique inwardly from the origin of vein C'u2 to the

mner margin ; a rather broad jjostmedial fascia, indicated by a decrease in the

irroration, roughly parallel with the termen from costa to anal vem, thence at

right angles to the inner margin ; fringe cartridge buff, mixed interneurally with

ochraceous tawny. Hindwing cartridge buff faintly suffused with cream colour,

the area from cell to inner margin orange buff ; fringe cartridge buff. Underside

of both wings cartridge buff faintly suffused with cream colour, and mixed over

the basal third of each wing with orange buff ; fringes cartridge buff.

Expanse : ?? 47-49 mm.

1 $ (holotype) and 3 Q? (paratypes), Angabunga River, affluent of St. Joseph

River, British New Gumea, 0,000 ft. upwards, November 1 904-February 1905

(A. S. Meek).

6. Porthesia anomoeoptena sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 30).

^. Palpus cream buff. Antennal shaft cartridge buff, pectinations sayal

brown. Head and thorax cartridge buff, tinged on frons and patagium with

cream buff. Abdomen light orange yellow. Legs and pectus cartridge buff to

cream buff. Venter orange yellow. Forewing cartridge buff, basal half of costa

narrowly edged with cream buff ; fringe cartridge buff. Hindwing light orange

yellow, in some specimens becoming lighter in the terminal area ; fringe cartridge

buff. Underside of both wings light orange yellow, grading to cartridge buff in

the terminal areas and in the inner marginal area of the forewing ; fringe cartridge

buff.

$. Resembles the (J, but the light orange yellow on the hindwing, and on the

underside of both wings, of a rather paler tint.

Expanse : cJo 20-26 mm., $9 34-35 mm.

1 J (holotype), 1 9 (allotype), 3 (^^J and 2 $$ (paratypes), November and

December 1898, Dammer Island, Moluccas (H. Kiihn).

A very distinct species, in which the colour of the forewing contrasts strongly

with that of the hindwing. It may be placed near to Porthesia biagi B.-Bak.

(1908).

162 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXX\TT. 1932.

7, Euproctis frigidior sp. nov. (Plate I. fig. 7).

cJ. Palpus deep chrome, slightly darker on the upper .side. Antennal shaft

deep chrome, pectinations cinnamon. Head and thorax deep chrome. Abdo-

men antimony yellow. Foreleg deep chrome, mid- and hindleg rather lighter.

Pectus and venter antimony yellow. Forewing light orange yellow ; an ante-

medial fascia of deep chrome, bowed (concavity basad) from costa to inner

margin ; a conspicuous orange rufous discocellular spot, about one millimetre in

diameter, onlj' faintly indicated in some of the paratypes, but never completely

absent ; a postmedial fascia of deep chrome, followed by a broader subterminal

fascia of the same colour, the space between them filled in with pale orange

yellow, both fasciae running roughly parallel with the termen to vein Cul, thence

slightly bowed (concavity terminated) to the inner margin ; a rather indistinct

deep chrome preterminal fascia, parallel with the termen, on a ground of pale

orange yellow ; fringe pale orange yellow mixed with light orange yellow. Hind-

wing pale orange yellow, slightly darker in the inner marginal area ; fringe pale

orange yellow. Underside, of both wings i)ale orange yellow, the costa in both

cases shaded with light orange yellow ; fringes pale orange yellow.

$. Resembles the j'l but with anal tuft cinnamon brown, and the fasciae on

the forewing only faintly visible.

E.xpanse : (J (J 28-37 mm., average about 35 mm. ; $$ 39-oI ram., average

about 48 mm.

1 (J (holotype), 1 $ (allotype), 294 ^^ and 58 ?$ (paratypes), Diego Suarez.

Madagascar, taken in each of the months December 1916-September 1917

(G. Melou) ; 8 ,^^, Kulau, N.E. Madagascar (G. Melon) ; I ^ and 1$, Sakaramy,

N.E. Madagascar, February 1917 (G. Melou) ; 1 $, Ambinanindrano, W. of

Mohonoro, Madagascar, September 1916 (Kestell-Cornish) ; also, in the British

Museum collection, 4 (^^ and 1 $ (jiaratypes), Diego Suarez (ex Joicey collection),

and 1 $, Brickaville, Central Madagascar, 1916 (Lamberton, ex Oberthiir collec-

tion).

This species has been confused previously with Artaxa fervida Wlkr. (1863),

An examination of the type ,;^ oi A. fervida shows that the insect is a Porlhesia,

with vein M'.i of the hindwing absent. The abdomen is dark, and contrasts

with the anal tuft, which is Mars yellow. The ground colour of fore- and hind-

wmgs is darker than in Euproctis frigidior , and there is no trace of the discocellular

spot. The type (British Museum collection) was taken near Antananarivo, and

is unique.

8. Euproctis florensis sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 8).

,J. Palpus pale orange yellow, on the outer side fuscous. Antennal shaft

cartridge buff, pectinations ochraceous buff. Head pale orange yellow, lighter on

the vertex. Thorax cartridge buff. Abdomen pale orange yellow with a broad

band of fuscous posteriorly ; anal tuft ochraceous buff. Pectus and legs cart-

ridge buff, venter pale orange yellow. Forewing and fringe cartridge buff ; a

broad conspicuous tawny streak on the discocellulars, enclosed with a broken

ring of fuscous black ; a few scattered tawny and fuscous black scales in the

inner marginal area. Hindwing and fringe whitish. Underside of both wings,

and fringes, whitish.

$. Palpus, head, thorax, and legs cartridge buff. Abdomen pale yellow

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1932. 163

orange, anal extremity olive brown. Wings as in the ^, excepting that the only

mark on the forewing is a heavy line of fuscous black surrounding the disco-

cellulars.

Expanse : cJ 43 mm., 9? 54-55 mm.

1 (^ (holotype) November 1896, 1 $ (allotype) and 1 $ (paratype) October

1896, dry season, S. Flores (Everett).

9. Euproctis fulvobrunnea sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 20).

jj. Palpus, head, and thorax cainicine yellow to orange, the tegula with some

long bushy hair-scales which reach beyond the end of the thorax. Antennal

shaft ochraceous buff, the pectinations somewhat darker. Abdomen Brussels

brown, mixed towards the base with capucine yellow ; anal tuft drab. Legs,

pectus, and abdomen pale yellow orange to capucine yellow, the latter colour

predominating on the foreleg. Forewing Brussels brown ; costa narrowly edged

with orange buff, this colour continuing round the apex on the fringe as far as

vein R5 ; remainder of fringe Brussels brown mixed with tawny olive. Hind-

wing Brussels brown, basal half of costal area pale yellow orange ; fringe Brussels

brown mixed with tawny olive. Underside of forewing snuff brown, basal half

of inner marginal area somewhat lighter ; costa edged with orange buff more

broadly than on upperside ; fringe snuff brown mixed with tawny olive. Umler-

side of hindwing snufi brown ; basal half of costal area broadly edged with orange

buff ; fringe snuff brown mixed with tawny olive.

Expanse : ^(^ 24-26 mm.

I rj (holotype), north side of Choiseul Island, Solomon Islands, December

1903 (A. S. Meek) ; S ,S<3 (paratypes), south side of Choi.seul Island, 1904 (A. S.

Meek).

In facies somewhat resembles the darker forms of Porthesia fulvonigra

Swinh. (1903), but is distinguishable at once by the presence of vein M2 in the

hindwing.

10. Euproctis petasma sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 29).

cj. Palpus Mars yellow. Antennal shaft buckthorn brown, the pectinations

lighter. Head antimony yellow. Thorax warm buff. Abdomen warm buff

mixed with antimony yellow. Legs warm buff, mixed on coxa, tibia, and tarsus

of foreleg, and tibia and tarsus of middleleg, with Mars yellow. Pectus and venter

warm buff. Forewing warm buff ; a rather broad antemedial fascia, lighter than

the ground colour, strongly bowed (concavity basad) from costa to anal vein,

thence at right angles to inner margin ; a sinuous ])ostmedial fascia, lighter than

the ground colour, from the costa at three-fourths to inner margin at three-

fourths ; a thin border of Brussels brown on the proximal side of the antemedial

fascia and also on the distal side of the postmedial fascia, in each case ending in a

patch of Brussels brown on the inner margin ; a tongue of Brussels brown between

veins 71/3 and Cul, from postmedial to termen. and a patch of the same colour

below the origin of vein i?5 ; some Sudan brown shading at the base of the wing,

medially, and along the costa and termen ; fringe Sudan brown. Hindwing light

buff, darkening to warm buff along the inner margin ; fringe light buff. Under-

side of both wings light buff ; costa and frmge of forewing Sudan brown ; fringe

of hindwing light buff.

164 NOVTTATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1932.

Expanse : ^q 23-25 mm.

1 ^ (holotyiJe) and 9 (J^J (paratypes), Biagi, Mambare River, British New

Guinea, 5,000 ft., February-April 1006 (A. S. Meek).

11. Euproctis hemigenes sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 24).

o . Palpus clay colour, on the outer side of second segment fuscous. Antenna

tawny olive, mixed on the shaft with fuscous. Head clay colour to bufiy brown.

Thorax antimony yellow. Abdomen clove brown above and beneath, anal tuft

cream colour. Pectus and legs drab to buffy brown. Forewing antimony

yellow ; the whole of the medial area, excepting above the cell and vein Ro,

irrorated interneurally with bistre, the irroration extending in the same degree

to the termen between veins R5, Ml, and M2, and very lightly over the remainder

of the terminal area ; fringe antimony yellow mixed sparsely with bistre. Hind-

wing bistre ; a band of antimony yellow along the costa, broad at the base and

narrowing towards the apex ; fringe bistre, somewhat lighter at the base. Under-

side of forewing antimony yellow, very lightly shaded with bistre between veins

iJ5, Ml. and Jl/2 ; fringe antimony yellow. Underside of hindwing, and fringe,

as on upjjerside.

Expanse : qq 39-41 mm.

1 cJ (holotype) and 1 (^ (paratype), Ninay Valley, Central Arfak Mountains,

Dutch New Guinea. 3.500 ft., November 1908-January 1909 ; also, in the British

Museum ex Kenrick collection, 1 (J (paratype). Arfak Mountains, 6,000 ft., March

1910 (C. B. and F. B. Pratt).

'Nearest to Euproctis siimhoeiH.-li&k. (1904). The light-coloured band along

the costa of the hindwing, on both ujaper- and undersides, is a distmguishing

feature.

12. Euproctis ochropleura sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 13).

cj. Palpus orange buff. Antennal shaft pale yellow orange to orange buff,

pectinations light ochraceous buff. Head pale yellow orange mixed with orange

buff. Thorax orange buff. Abdomen pale yellow orange, dorsally at the base

orange buff. Legs orange buff. Pectus and venter pale yellow orange. Fore-

wing orange buff to capucine yellow ; veins over the whole wing pale yellow

orange ; a rather broad pale yellow orange anteraedial fascia, bowed (concavity

basad) from costa to inner margin ; a faint streak of pale yeUow orange on the

discocellulars ; a postmedial fascia of pale yellow orange, commencing at the

origin of vein 7J5, bowed (concavity terminad) to vein ilf 3, and inwardly oblique

slightly bowed (concavity terminad) to the mner margm ; on the distal side of

the postmedial a broad band of Mars yellow, broken at the veins ; some Mars

yellow shading interneurally in the terminal area ; fringe pale yellow orange

mixed with capucine yellow. Hindwmg cream colour, sliaded in the inner

marginal and terminal areas with orange buff ; frmge orange buff. Underside

of forewing pale yellow orange, costal area and frmge orange buff. Underside

of hindwing and fringe pale yellow orange.

Expanse : (^cj 30-31 mm.

1 (J (holotype) and 1 cJ (paratype), Mt. Goliath, Central Dutch New Guinea,

about long. 139°, 5,000-7,000 ft., February 1911 (A. S. Meek).

NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1032. 165

13. Euproctis geometroides sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 31).

(J. Palpus warm buff. Antenna Prout's brown. Head Prout's brown,

mixed on the frons with warm buff. Thorax Prout's brown mixed dorsally with

orange. Abdomen fuscous, the base of each segment broadly edged with orange.

Legs and pectus light buff to warm buff, the tibiae of mid- and hmdlegs irrorated

with Prout's brown. Venter warm buff to orange. Forewing warm sepia ; a

patch of orange in the angle between the cell and the anal vem, reaching to the

origin of vein Cu2, mixed at the edges with warm sepia, its distal margin oblique

outwardly ; a large oval patch of orange placed medially, running from the origin

of vein Ml towards the tornus ; a smaller patch of orange midway between the

discocellulars and the apex, roughly crescent-shaped with concavity basad,

reaching from vem R5 to vein Mi ; a spot of orange subterminally on vem

Cu\, and a subterminal streak from vein Cu2 to the termen ; fringe warm sepia,

with a few orange scales near the apex. Hind wing warm sepia ; a central orange

patch occupying almost half the area of the wing, reaching from vein Ml to the

inner margin, and entering the cell only at its lower angle ; a subterminal streak

of orange mixed with ground colour, running from vein Cu2 to the mner margin ;

fringe orange, warm sepia at base. Underside of forewing with orange area much

increased, the two proximal patches joined and occupying, in addition, the whole

of the inner marginal area ; a streak of orange between the cell and the costa ;

fringe as on upperside. Underside of hindwing, and fringe, as on upperside,

but with the central orange patch somewhat increased in size.

Expanse : 45 mm.

1 J (holotype), Bangkei, Eastern Celebes.

Related to Euproctis josiata Wlkr. (1865).

In the British Museum collection is a single (J from the region between

Maros and Tjamba, near Macassar, Celebes, 1896 (W. Doherty), which is slightly

larger (48 mm.) and has the medial patch of orange on the forewing extended in

size and reaching almost from the costa to the inner margin.

14. Euproctis gilvivirgata sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 32).

$. Palpus and head ochraceous orange to ochraceous buff. Antenna light

ochraceous buff, the shaft slightly paler. Thorax clove brown, with a few long

upstanding hair -scales of light ochraceous buff ; patagium ochraceous orange.

Abdomen orange buff, the anal extremity hair brown dorsally, cartridge buff

laterally. Pectus, venter, and legs orange buff to light ochraceous buff. Fore-

wing bone brown, the veins and inner margin heavily outlined throughout with

cartridge buff, and an additional streak of the same colour above and running

parallel with the anal vein ; costa tinged with ochraceous buff ; a few long light

ochraceous buff hair-scales near the base of the inner margin ; fringe light

ochraceous buff. Hindwing ochraceous buff ; fringe light ochraceous buff.

Wings beneath ochraceous tawny, the veins of forewing outlined witli ochraceous

buff and the distal half of wing shaded interneuially with russet ; fringes

ochraceous buff.

Expanse : 63 mm.

1 ? (holotyi)e), Mt. Goliath, long. 139", Central Dutch New Guinea, 5,000-

7,000 ft., January 1911 (A. S. Meek),

166 NoVaXATES ZOOLOGICAE XXXVII. 1932.

15. Euproctis ochrocraspeda sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 4).

$. Palpus light buff mixed with fascous. Antennal shaft pinkish liuff,

pectinations fuscous. Head pinkish buff mixed with fuscou.s ; frons with a

central patch of light buff bordered with fuscous. Thorax bistre ; patagium

pinkish buff ; tegula with some long cream colour hair -scales. Abdomen bistre ;

anal tuft tawny olive mixed with bistre, lighter at its base. Legs light buff to

pinkish buff ; some fuscous scaling on tibia of foreleg ; femur and tibia of hindleg

mainly bistre. Pectus and venter bistre. Forewing cream colour ; basal portion

of wing bistre, the distal boundary of this area strongly bowed (convexity

terminad) from costa at one-foiu-th, through the point of origin of vein Cu2, to

the inner margin at one-half ; over this area and along the whole of the inner

margin some long upstanding cream colour hau--scales ; a well-defined bistre

postmedial fascia, bowed (concavity apicad) from costa at two-thirds to vein

313, thence inwardly oblique to below vein Cir2. thence to inner margin at right

angles ; on the distal side of the postmedial a band of bistre irroration, not reach-

ing the termen, narrowest at vein C'u2, densest between vein Cu2 and the inner

margin ; fringe cream colour mixed with a few bistre scales. Hindwing bistre ;

veins from the termen, for a distance of about 3 mm., cream colour ; fringe

cream colour mixed sparsely with bistre. Underside of forewing cream colour ;

basal area bistre as on upperside ; there is no postmedial fascia, but beyond the

postmedial area, from costa to vein Cul, and not reaching the termen, is an

irregular patch of dense bistre irroration ; fringe as on upperside. Vyulerside

of hindwing bistre ; a band of cream colour, irrorated sparsely with bistre and

about 3 mm. broad, bordering the termen ; fringe as on upperside.

Expanse : $$ 54—56 mm.