SU BA IjAK IS . Sharpe,.
AMBLYORNIS SUBALARIS, Sharpe.
Orange-crested. Bower-bird.
Amblyomis subalaris, Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soc., Zool. xvii. p. 408 (1884).—Finsch u. Meyer, Zeitschr. ges.
Orn. ii. p. 390, pi. xxii. (1885).
M r . G o l d ie first discovered this species in the Astrolabe Mountains, in South-eastern New Guinea, and his
specimen remained with us for a long time in the British Museum before we ventured to describe it as new.
It was, however, so evidently distinct from the Amblyomis inornata of North-western New Guinea that we
described it at last, and events have proved that we were correct in judging from the female bird alone.
The male, which is recognized at a glance by its splendid orange crest, was first found by Mr. C. Hunstein
in the Horseshoe range o f the Owen Stanley Mountains, and a capital figure of it is given by Dr. von
Madarasz in the ‘ Zeitschrift ’ (/. c.). We were somewhat surprised to find that the male of this dull-
looking species turned out to be such a fine bird, and it seems reasonable to doubt whether we really yet
know the full-plumaged male o f A . inornata. It is true that the nest and breeding-habits o f the latter species
have been described by Dr. Beccari, and the sexes are supposed to be alike in colour; but it is just possible
that a crest is donned during the nesting-season by the male.
Adult male. General colour above uniform dark olive-brown, rather more olive on the back, rump, and
upper tail-coverts ; wing-coverts like the back, bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills olive-brown externally,
internally dark brown; tail-feathers dark brown, washed with olive-brown externally; crown o f head
with an immense crest o f orange, the lateral and frontal feathers edged and tipped with blackish brown; base
o f forehead dusky olive-brown; hind neck lighter olive-brown ; lores ashy, sides of face, eyebrow, and ear-
coverts dark olive-brown ; cheeks and entire under surface of body light olive-brown, streaked down the
centre o f the feathers with oehreous buff, the sides of body and flanks rather browner; thighs dusky brown ;
under tail-coverts fulvous, with ochreous-buff centres to the feathers, the long ones edged with dark brown;
under wing-coverts and axillaries orange-buif or tawny; quills below dusky, oehreous along the inner edge.
Total length 8'3 inches, culmen TO, wing 5 0, tail 3 ‘4, tarsus T3.
A dult female. Differs from the male in having no orange crest, the head being like the back. Total
length 8'3 inches, culmen 0*9, wing 4 ‘8, tail 3 -3, tarsus T4.
Mr. Forbes has sent specimens of both sexes, killed in the rainy seaso||j| The whole of the colours are
paler and more olive, and the oehreous tints of the under surface are much paler, especially on the under
wing-coverts. The male is only distinguished from the female at this season o f the year by the greater
amount o f clear oehreous on the underparts.
The figures in the Plate represent an adult male and female, drawn from a pair procured by Mr. Hunstein
in the Horseshoe range.
[R. B. S.]