ARSES INSULARIS.
Orange-collared Flycatcher.
Monarcha insularis, Meyer, Sitzungsb. k. Akad. Wien, box, p. 395.
Arses insularis, Sclater, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 579.—Sharpe, Notes from Leyden Mus. i. no. 5, p. 20.
T h is beautiful species o f Arses was discovered by Dr. Meyer in the island of Jobi, in the Bay of Geelvink,
North-west New Guinea, and would appear to be by no means uncommon in that locality, as he collected
a considerable number o f specimens. I t was also met with by the Italian traveller Beccari in the
same island. More recently it has been obtained during the voyage of H.M.S. ‘ Challenger,’ at Humboldt
Bay in New Guinea, where the ship touched for half an hour on the 23rd o f February, 1875. Mr.
Bowdler Sharpe, in the first volume of ‘ Notes from the Leyden Museum,’ has described two new
species o f Arses, and has given a list o f the species now known to belong to this genus. They a re :—
A . telescophthalmus (Garnot), from New Guinea and Mysol; A . batantce (Sharpe), from the islands of
Waigiou and B a ta n ta ; A . aruensis (Sharpe), from the Aru Islands and South-eastern New Guinea; A .
kaupi (Gould), from North-eastern Au stralia; and A . insularis (Meyer), from North-eastern Australia.
All these species, which a re known to me personally, seem to be well founded; but perhaps the handsomest’
o f all is the subject o f the present article, the male o f which may be distinguished from all the other
species o f the genus Arses by the orange collar round the hind neck and the light orange o r Naples-
yellow colour o f the lower throat and breast. The female is more closely allied to those o f the other
kinds o f Arses, but has the back of an olive-brown, which contrasts strongly with the orange collar round
the hind neck. I t has a grey head like the females o f A . telescophthalmus and A . batantce, and also a white
loral spot. These last characters distinguish it from the hen o f A . aruensis, which has a black head and an
orange loral spot.
The following descriptions of A . insularis are taken from Mr. Sharpe’s ‘ Catalogue o f Birds :’—
“ A dult male. General colour above glossy blue-black, the feathers o f the crown o f a velvety and somewhat
scaly n a tu r e ; feathers of lower mantle tipped with white where they adjoin the scapulars, which, as
well as the lower back, are also white with black b ases; rump ashy grey, some of the feathers white a t the
ends ; upper tail-coverts and tail jet-b lack ; wings entirely black ; lores, feathers, round the eye, ear-coverts,
and chin black; cheeks, throat, breast, and sides o f neck pale orange, extending in a collar round the hind
n e ck ; rest o f under surface, as well as the under wing-coverts and axillaries, pure w h ite; small coverts along
the edge of the wing black; thighs black. Total length 6-4 inches, culmen 0 -65, wing 3'25, tail 2 -75,
tarsus 0 7 . ”
T he following note of the soft parts is from the ‘ Proceedings ’ as above cited :— “ Eyes la rg e ; ring
surrounding the eye large, and o f a sky-blue ; bill and legs of a darker blue or violet.”
T h e figures in the accompanying Plate represent the two sexes, kindly lent to me by Dr. Meyer, o f the
size o f life.