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CINCLOSOMA AJAX.
Orange-sided Ground-Thrusli.
Eupetes ajax, Temm. PL Col. ii. p i. 573 (18 3 5 ).—S. Mull. N a tu u rl. Geschied. Land- en Volkenk. p. 22 ( 1839-
1844).—Gray, Gen. B. ii. p . 208 (18 4 6 ).—Bp. Consp. i. p. 252 (1 8 5 0 ).—Sclater, Proc. Linn. Soc. ii.
p . 158 (1858).—Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 191.—Id . Cat. B. New Guinea, pp. 25, 56.—Id . Proc.
Zool. Soc. 1861, p . 434.—Rosenb. Jo u rn . f. Orn. 1864, p. 119.—Finsch, Neu-Guinea, p. 167 (1 865).—
Gray, Handl. B . i. p . 267, no. 3913 (18 6 9 ).—Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. W . iv. pp. 9 0 ,9 8 (1 879).
Ajax ajax, Less. Compl. Buff., Ois. p . 422 (18 3 8 ).
Ajax eupetes, Less. Rev. Zool. 1839, p. 226.
Ajax typicus, Less, teste Bp.
Eupetes goldiei, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N . S. W . iii. p . 303 (18 7 9 ).—Salvad. Ibis, 1879, p. 324.
Cinclosoma ajax, D ’Alb. & Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, xiv. p . 85 (1 8 7 9 ).—Sharpe, P r. Linn. Soc. xiv.
p. 631 (1 8 7 9 ).—D’Albert. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879, p. 218.—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, xvi. p. 188
(1880).—Id . Orn. Papuasia &c. ii. p. 416 (1881),
T h is fine species is a native o f New Guinea, where it was discovered nearly fifty years ago by Salomon
Muller, in Lobo Bay. His specimen remained unique in the Leyden Museum until quite recently, when
Signor D ’Albertis procured four males on the Fly River in the southern part o f that great island; and I
have recently seen several individuals obtained in the interior o f South-eastern New Guinea by Mr. Goldie
and Mr. Charles Hunstein. The original specimen, still existing in the Leyden Museum, was said to be a
female; and Count Salvadori, who has examined it, also believes that it has been rightly sexed; but he
considers it to be a female in imperfect plumage. I should not hesitate myself to set it down as an
immature male, were it not that in the British Museum there appear to be the adults o f both sexes and a
young male. Unfortunately none o f the birds from South-eastern New Guinea in the above institution has
been sexed by the collectors; but I fully believe that the birds here figured by me represent the fully adult
male and female; and it will be noticed that the latter has the wing-coverts spotted with white (as in the
Australian members o f the genus), while the male has them totally black. An examination of Temminck’s
plate, which Count Salvadori states to be a poor representation of the specimen, reveals the fact that in
the bird at Leyden the wing-coverts are likewise black. In my collection a bird believed by Mr. Bowdler
Sharpe to be the immature male resembles the old female, but has the throat o f a dull brown; and this
question o f the plumage o f Cinclosoma ajax must be left until some carefully identified specimens reach us
from New Guinea.
Nothing is known o f the habits of this Cinclosoma; but Mr. Kendal Broadbent marked one of his
specimens as a new species of “ Mountain-Thrusb.” Mr. Sharpe has very kindly sent me a description of
an adult pair of birds in the national collection :—
Adult male.— General colour above dark earthy brown, the head a little lighter than the back ; wing-
coverts black, excepting the inner greater coverts, which are like the back ; primary-coverts black, the
inner ones browner; quills dusky, externally like the back, the primaries less strongly marked on the outer
w eb ; upper tail-coverts and central tail-feathers rather more olive-brown than the back, with indistinct
wavy bars under certain lights; remainder o f the tail-feathers black, those near the centre o f the tail washed
with olive-brown near the base,, the three outer feathers on each side tipped with white ; lores, eyebrow,
feathers below the eye, and ear-coverts black, extending down the sides o f the neck, getting narrower as
it joins the black throat and encloses a large white patch, which occupies the entire cheeks, widening out
behind • throat and chest glossy black; centre o f breast and abdomen white bordered with a narrow line of
black down each side, the feathers forming this being black on the inner web, white on the outer;
sides o f breast and flanks orange-rufous, browner on the lower flanks and sides o f vent; thighs
whitish, ashy-brown behind; under tail-coverts white, the lateral oues varied with black outer webs;
under wing-coverts and axillaries white, the edge of the wing black, the inner greater coverts also tipped
with black ; lower greater coverts ashy like the quills below, which are lighter grey along the edge of the
inner web; “ bill black ; feet whitish; iris yellow” (UAlbertis').
Total length 9'3 inches, culmen 1*0, wing 3 ‘9, tail 3*7, tarsus 1*3.