MONARCHA KDBBEH'SIS, M<yer.
MONARCHA KORDENS I S , Meyer.
Mysore Yellow Flycatcher.
Monarcha kordemis, Meyer, Sitzungsberichte der k. Akad. "Wissensch. Wien, Band lxix. p. 202 (1874).
In introducing this fine new bird to my readers, I cannot do better than quote Dr. Meyer’s own words
on th e subject, as the differences between this bird and M . melanonota are very clearly expressed by him.
In the above-mentioned paper, published in the ‘ Proceedings ’ of the Vienna Academy, he writes as
follows :—“ I procured near the village o f Kordo on the island o f Mysore, in the north o f Geelvink’s Bay,
eight specimens of a Monarcha which is closely related to M. chrysomela (i. e. M. melanonota, Scl.) o f New
Guinea, a species o f which I also got nine specimens from different localities (Nappau, Passim, Andai, and
Pu ta on the Arfak Mount ains) j but nevertheless the Kordo specimen is easily to be distinguished.
“M . Icordemis is not yellow as is M. chrysomela auct., but is orange-coloured; and the head, which in M.
chrysomela has an orange hue only, has a very distinct fiery tinge in the species from the neighbouring island.
F urther, only the upper back is black, and not the whole back, as in M. chrysomela; so that it might.be
described as follows— ‘ upper parts orange, with a black patch on the uppper mantle.’ Otherwise the
colours are distributed as in M . chrysomela.
“ T he female o f M . kordensis differs in a similar conspicuous way from the female o f M. chrysomela, the
underparts being orange, nearly as bright as in the male, and not brownish yellow as in M. chrysomela.
“ The throat is whitish, the region o f the throat deep orange ; the head is darker orange, with a brownish
hue, not olive-coloured as in M . chrysomela; upper parts olive-coloured with an orange gloss ; wing-coverts
with broad yellow tips. Total length 6-4 inches ; culmen 0*5, wing 3 ‘3, tail 2*75. A young male differs
from the female only in having some feathers o f the throat deep black.”
But if M . kordensis differs from M . melanonota, as I freely confess it does, it is so closely allied to the true
M . chrysomela from New Ireland th at Dr. Cabanis and Reichenow considered the two species to be identical
(cf. J . f. O. 1876, p. 3 2 0 ). Dr. Selater, however, informs me th at a comparison of the birds from these
two localities induces him to consider them distinct, as M . kordensis has the black colour more circumscribed
on the back and extending further down the th ro a t; the black colour also narrowly surrounds the eye, which
is not the case in M. chrysomela.
I an indebted to the kindness o f my friend Dr. Meyer for the loan of one o f the typical specimens o f his
M . kordensis, of which the following is a description :—
Adult male. Similar to M. melanonota, but distinguished a t a glance by its more yellow back, the scapulars
being yellow like the wing-coverts; the black patch in the middle o f the back is confined to the m an tle;
the secondaries are much more broadly bordered with yellow, the latter colour being much richer and inclining
to fiery orange on the head and n e ck ; the white spot below the front o f the eye very small.
Total length 5*9 in ch e s; culmen 0 -6, wing 2 ’9, tail 2 ‘5, tarsus 0 ‘T5.
The figures in the Plate represent a pair of this species o f the natural size.