ARSES ARUENSIS, Sharpe.
Little Frilled-necked Flycatcher.
Arses telescophthabnus, Salvad. & D’Albert. (nec Gam.), Ann. Mus. Civ. Gen. vii. p. 819 (1876).—Salvad. op. cit.
ix. p. 24 (1 8 7 6 ).—D ’Albert. op. cit. x. p. 19 (1877).—Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. W. i. p. 391
(18 7 7 ).—Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soc. xiii. pp. 316, 497 (18 7 8 ).
Arses aruensis, Sharpe, Notes Leyden Mus. i. No. 5, p. 21 (1879).—Id. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. iv. p. 410 (1 8 7 9 ).__
Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genov, xiv. p. 59 (18 7 9 ).
At the time that I made my drawings of the different species of Arses, which was towards the end of the
year 1 8 7 8 ,1 had occasion to examiue closely the series o f these birds in my collection; and I came to the
conclusion that five species o f the genus could he recognized. On communicating my impressions to
Count Salvadori, I received a note from him to the effect th at his opinion entirely coincided with mine, and
that, in the MS. o f his forthcoming work on the Birds of New Guinea, he had conferred new titles upon two
o f the species, which were not previously named. Mr. Bowdler Sharpe, who' was at that time absent from
England on a visit to Leyden, w hither he had gone for the purpose of examining the collection o f Flycatchers
in the Museum, brought me back word that he had become convinced from a study of the splendid series
o f Arses \n that institution th at there were two species still undescribed, and that he had bestowed the names
o f A . batantce aud A . aruensis upon them, and had left the descriptions in Professor Schlegel’s hands for
publication. A full account o f the two birds appeared in the ‘ Notes from the Leyden Museum ’ in January
of the present year ; and on receiving notice, Count Salvadori very properly suppressed the MS. names which
he had given to the species. Mr. Sharpe’s title o f aruensis can scarcely be called well chosen, as the bird
is by no means confined to the Aru Islands, but extends apparently along the entire coast o f Southern
New Guinea. Signor D’Albertis has met with it on the Fly R iv e r; and it has been procured near Port
Moresby by Mr. O. C. Stone and Mr. Kendal Broadbent. The present bird is distinguished by the smaller
size o f the male and the less-extended black spot on the throat. The female is to be recognized by its brown
back and tail, contrasting strongly with the orange collar round the hind n eck ; the head also is jet-black, and
the loral spot orange. The following descriptions are extracted from M r. Sharpe’s ‘ Catalogue,’ the synonymy
of which has been here corrected so as to include the references to the bird’s occurrence in South-eastern
New Guinea, which that author forgot by some accident to place under the heading o f the present species.
“ Adult male. Crown of head, ear-coverts, and sides o f face, fore part o f cheeks, chin, and extreme upper
edge o f throat blue-black; round the hind neck a broad white collar, joining the sides o f the neck, which,
with the hinder cheeks and the rest o f the under surface o f the body, are pure white, excepting the tibial
plumes, which are black; mantle, scapulars, and upper back blue-black; wing-coverts also blue-black, the
terminal half o f the inner greater coverts and the ends o f the scapulars w h ite ; primary-coverts and
quills black, edged with blue-black ; lower back and rump w h ite; upper tail-coverts blue-black; tail-feathers
black, washed with blue-black on their margins; under wing-coverts and axillaries white; quills blackish
below, ashy aloug the inner edge o f the primaries, white on the secondaries. Total length 6 5 inches,
culmen 0*6, wing 3*1, tail 2*9, tarsus 0 -7.
“ Adult female. General colour above dusky orange-brown, the tail also dull brown, with dusky-rufous
edges to the feathers ; least wing-coverts like the back, the median and greater series dusky brown with
orange-brown edges, and tips o f lighter o ran g e ; primary-coverts and quills brown with dull orange-rufous
margins, broader on the secondaries; crown o f head, feathers below the eye, and ear-coverts glossy black;
a loral spot of orange ; round the hind neck a collar o f bright orange rufou.s, contrasting strongly with the
back ; cheeks, throat, and breast b right orange-rufous, deepening almost to chestnut on the l a tte r ; remainder
of under surface white, the flanks washed with ashy, the sides o f the upper breast orange-rufous; thighs
dusky brown ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white, the edge o f the wing orange ; quills dull brown, ru-
fescent along the edge of the inner web. Total length 6 inches, culmen 0*55, wing 2-95, tail 2-75, tarsus 0 -7.”
Signor D’Albertis says th at the bill and feet are dull ashy, the eyes black, and that the bird feeds on
insects. The figures in the Plate represent a pair of birds o f the size o f life, and are taken from specimens
in my own collection. They were collected by the late Dr. James in South-eastern New Gu in ea; and
according to the latter gentleman the soft parts are as follows:— “ eyes very dark brown surrounded by a
disk o f blue ; bill pale blue a t base, lighter at tip ; feet and tarsi dark leaden colour.”