POMAREA RUFOCASTANEA.
Rufous-and-Chestnut Flycatcher.
Monarcha rufocastanea, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. SfcS. Wales, iv. pp. 79, 313 (18 7 9 ).—Salvad. Ibis, 1880,
p. 129.
Monarcha rufocastaneus, Salvad. Aun. Mus. Civiú Genov. xiv. p. 508 (18 7 9 ).
Pomarea castaneiventris, Salvad. Om. Papuasia, etc. ii. p. 11 (1881, pt.).
T his species resembles very closely Pomarea castaneiventris o f the Solomon group of islands, and to the latter
bird it has been united by Count Salvador!. Our own idea was also that these two species were identical,
judging from Mr. Ramsay’s description; b u t the latter gentleman, during his visit to England as Commissioner
for New South Wales to the International Fisheries Exhibition, brought over the types o f his
Monarcha rufocastanea, and we are enabled to say th at they are not the same species.
On comparing males it is evident that P . rufocastanea is a smaller bird, is duller and more slaty black
above and lighter chestnut below. The axillaries aipfeentirely bay-coloured like the breast, whereas in
P . castaneiventris the axillaries have distinct blackish bases and are rufous for not quite the terminal half.
The females o f the two species differ much more than the males. Th a t o f M. rufocastanea, besides being
a much paler bird, is distinguished a t once by its light grey throat, this being black in P . castaneiventris.
The following are the descriptions o f the typical specimens
Adult male, (type of species). General colour above slaty black with a purplish-blue gloss, the hinder
neck and mantle more ashy; lesser and median wing-coverts like the back; greater coverts, bastard wing,
primary-coverts, and quills blackish brown, with slight remains of lighter brown edgings; tail-feathers blue-
black ; lores and crown o f head like the back ; ear-coverts also slaty black, surmounted by a faint indication
of an iron-grey streak from above the fore part of the eye to about the end o f the ear-coverts; feathers
below the eye and cheeks, deeper black, with a slight wash of ashy g re y ; sides of neck and entire throat
dull cindery g r e y ; fore neck and rest o f underparts clear chestnut o r bay, including the thighs and under
tail-coverts; axillaries also hay-coloured like the b r e a s t; the under wing-coverts bay, except near the edge
o f the wing, where they are either dull ashy or are bay with ashy bases. Total length 5*3 inches, culmen
0-65, wing 2 7 5 , tail 2 '5 , tarsus 0 7 . (Mus. Austr.)
Adult female. Different from the male. Above slaty grey, rath er lighter on the crown o f the head ; lesser
and median: wing-coverts like the back ; greater coverts, bastard wing, primary-coverts, and quills brown, with
narrow reddish-brown margins ; tail-feathers dingy blackish brown ; sides of crown paler grey than the top
of the head, which is like the back ; eyelid dusky slate-colour ; feathers below the eye hoary whitish ; ear-
coverts, sides of face, and cheeks ashy grey, as also the sides o f the neck, which are somewhat washed with
ru fo u s; throat slaty grey, the lower p art and the fore neck washed with rufous, and gradually deepening into
the rich bay of the breast and u n d erp arts; thighs ashy, washed with ru fo u s; axillaries and under wing-
coverts slaty grey, the former edged with rufous near the ends. Total length 5 5 inches, culmen 0 65, wing
3 0, tail 2 7 , tarsus 0 7 .
The two sexes are figured o f the natural sire, the birds being drawn from the typical examples, for the
loan o f which we are indebted to Mr. E. P . Ramsay.