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B l P H T l l O D E S C M B T S O P T E m Gould.
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D I PHY L LO D E S CHRYSOP T E RA, Em,i.
G o l d e n - v v i n g - e d B i r d o f P a r a d i s e .
sjji-ciosrt, pt . , S di l . Nede r l . Ti jds chr . Dierk. iv. pp. 17, tiO ( 1 S 7 1 ) .—Ro s e i i l ) . Rt'ist. na a r Geelviiikb.
p. 66 ( 1 8 7 5 ) .—I d . Ma l ay. Ar ch. p. 537 ( 1 8 7 ! ) ) .—I d . Mittli. orn. Ver . Wi cn, 1885, p. : i l .
D'tphjUodas chysoptcra, Gould, MSS.
Diphjllodes speciosus, var. chrysoptmis, Elliot, Monogr. Varad. pi. i:i (187:i, ex Gould).
D'lpliyllocks chri/soptera, Meye r , Mitth. Zool. Mus . Dr e sden, 1. p. (i, note ( 1 8 7 5 ) .—Be c c a r i , Ann. Ma s , Genov. vii.
p. 710 ( 1 8 7 3 ) .—S aWa d . t. c. p. 971 ( 1 8 7 5 ) .—I d . op. cit. ix. p. l!)-2 ( 1 8 7 ( i ) .—Go u l d , li. New Guinea, i.
pi. 23 ( 1 8 7 ( i ) .—Sha r p e , Cat . l i . Br i t . Mu s . iii. p. 173 ( 1 8 7 7 ) .—E u d e s -De s l o n s c h . Ann. Mns . Caen, i.
p. 3 3 ( 1 8 8 0 ) .—S a l v a d . Orn. Papua s i a , ii. p. (¡41 (188-2) ,—Gui l lem. 1'. Z. S . 1885, p. (3.54.—Sharpe, Bull.
B. O. C, iv. p. iii ( 1 8 0 4 ) .
Paradam chrysoptera, Musscllenbr. Dagboek, pp. 190, 222 (1883).
Diphjllodes joUemis, Meye r , Zeitsclir. ges . Orn. ii. p. 388 ( 1 8 8 . 5 ) .—Id. Ibi s , 188(), p. 2 5 0 .—D' l l amo n v . liull.
Soc . Zool. France, 188(), p. 5 1 0 .—S a l v a d. Ag g . Orn. Tapua s i a , ii. p. Ki l ( 1 8 9 0 ) .—Me y e r , J . f. O. 1892,
p. 202.
Ti i r s .species u'lis de s c r i bed f rom two skins , o f na l ive | ) repa r i i f ion, in (lie col lect ion of tlie l a t e Mr . Go u l d . N o
c lue to thei r c x a c t habi t a t was r e c e ived witii tiiein, and Mr . El l i o t de. scr ibed tiieni a s a new s p e c i e s , us ing
Mr . Go u l d ' s MS S . n ame of D. clinjsoptcra. S i n c e that t ime l l ic u tmo s t confus ion lias pr eva i l ed with r e g a r d
to thi s s j j e c i e s , and to thi s r e sul t , in c ommo n with othe r o rni tho l o g i s t s , I have mys e l f c ont r i but ed.
T l i c ] ) r c s enc e of a g o lden wing in s p e c ini eus of Diph\jlhile& f rom S o u th- e a s t e rn New Gu i n e a led me to
he l i eve that in the c. \ai ) iples front the s outh- e a s t e rn pa r t of that g r e a t I sland wa s found a f o rm o f
D'tph^l/oihs ident ical with the s k ins in tlie Go u l d col l e c t ion, and I the r e f o r e ident i f ied s p e c ime n s f rom the
As t r o l a b e l i a n g e a s D. divijmptera. T h i s pr o v e s to have Ijeeu a mi s t a k e , ami 1 have now not the l e a s t
doubt tha t the t_v|)ical s p e c ime n s c ame f r om the i s l and o f J o b i , a s they a g r e e absolut e ly with a s p e c imen in
the col lec t ion o f the [ I o n . AV;dter l i o ths chi l d, obt a ined on that i s land by Di ' . Gu i l l ema r d . In thi s conc lus ion
I am s u p p o r t e d by Co unt S a l v a do r i , who e.vamiued with me the s p e c ime n s in the Uot i i s chi ld col lec t ion.
The cliief characters of D. chrf/aoptera, distinguished from D. apcciosfi, iwit the golden wing and the
dc e j i c r imson colour o f the mant l e , wliich is of s o de e j ) a c r ims on a s to be a lmo s t bl a cki sh or deej } c l a r e t - colour .
T h e bird f rom S outh- e a s t e rn New Gu i n e a p o s s e s s e s the g o l den wing, but ha s the mant l e of a mucli mo r e fiery
hue , s o tha t it is a very c ons p i c u o u s f e a t u r e in the s p e c i e s . S p e c ime n s f r om the F i n i s t e r r e Mo u n t a i n s and
f rom Ka i s e r AVilhehn's L a n d mav, and (loid)tless do, I jelong to a s l ight ly int e rme di a t e r a c e , but the da rk -
niant led J o b i r a c e is the t rue D. chnjaoptcra. Of this f a c t , the comj ) a r i son of the type s with the J o b i s j )ecinieu
in (he Ro ths chi l i l col lec t ion l e ave s no [nat ter of a dotd)t.
D r . Me y e r d e s c r i b e d his D.joliieims a s having bronzy rene. \ ions on the a h d ome u . T h i s is a cha r a c t e r
which I be l i eve to be d u e to the abr a s ion of the j i luni age, or , in many c a s e s , to the me t h o d o f dr y ing the
skins by na t ive hunt e r s . In a s e r i e s of skins D'lphjlludcs recent ly e x ami n e d by tne thi s bronzy color a t ion
wa s very a| ) j )arent in many individua l s , and wi thout doubt wa s d u e to the way in whi ch the s k ins had been
dr i ed by ar t i f icial he a t , or by e x p o s u r e to d amp . T h e fine s | i e c imen obt a ined by D r . Gu i l l ema r d shows tha t
in pe r f e c l ly p r e s e r v e d s k ins thi s bronzy s h a d e is ent i rely a bs ent .
D. chrysoptera may the r e f o r e b e de s c r i b e d a s s imi l a r to D. magnifica, but di s t ingui shed by the g o l den
wing . T o t a l l ength (j-8 inche s , c idmen O'S, wing 4 - 4 , tail l oo, t a r sus 1-3.
T h e a b o v e me a s u r eme n t s have been taken f rom Dr . Gu i l l ema r d ' s J o b i s p e c ime n in the Ro t l i s chi ld
INluseuni.
T h e P l a t e r e j j r e s eut s a tnale in two pos i t ions , drawn f rom the or igina l types o f D. dtnjsoplera.