J E L I : ' R O I B I J S MELAT>? O C E P H A L U S Jímmmv.
IV. ¡laH M rí hÜ, .
^LURCEDUS MELANOCEPHALUS, Ra>„sa,j.
B l a c k - n a p e d Cat-bird.
JElurains melatiocephalus, Ramsay, Proc. Limi. Soc. N. S. W. TÍÜ. ji. 25 (1883).—Salvad. Ibis, 1884, p, XM.
Finscli u. Meyer, Zeitsclir. ges. Orn. ii. p. .S!)4 (1885).—lid. Ibis, 1886, p. 208.—D'llamoiiv. Bull. Soc.
Zool. France, 1888, p. ñll.—Sharpe, iii Gould's Birds of New Guinea, i. pi. 4 2 (1888).—Salvad. Ag;;.
Orn. Papnasia, il. p. IGli (18!)0).—Sharpe, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, iv. p. xiv (18i)4).—Salvad. Arm.
Mus. CÍT. Genov. (2) xvi. p. 114 (1890).
T H I S is flie representative of JElurathis mc/anotis in Soutii-eastern New Guinea, wliere it inhabits the Owen
Stanley Mountains. It has oecurreil in Mr. Goldie's collections from tlie Astrolabe liange, and the late
Carl Hunstein procnrcd S|iecim<Mis in the Horse-shoe Range, while Dr. II. 0 . Forbes met with it in the
Sogeri District, and Dr. Loria at Morolia.
yE. mehnocephalus belongs to the same section of the genus /Elurmhs as /E. mdlmmUs and /E. nrfakiarm,
and is very closely allied to the former, from which it diifers in the greater amount of black on the sides of
the liice, and in tlie chin, lores, and the fore part of cheeks being black. The crown of the head is blacker, and
the ovate spots of buff are fewer in number and consequently much more distinct. The breast and abdomen
are of a deeper ochre colour, and the dusky margins to the feathers are mueh less pronounced. The light spots
on the wing-coverts are apparently variable in extent, and are sometimes absent altogether. Thus Dr. Meyer
described the wing-coverts as uniform, and Count Salvadori has drawn attention to this apparent discre|)ancy
between Dr. Meyer's statement and the bird figured by me in Gould's 'Birds of New Guinea." He has,
however, recently found the same differences in sjiecimens sent by Dr. Loria, and irj the two examples in
the British Museum the size of the spots on the wing-coverls varies considerably. The fact that my
descrijition and figure given in the above-mentioned work did not cnlirely correspond, as Count Salvadori
has pointed out, is due to the fact that the specimen figured (from Dr. Forhes's collection) is not the one
described in tlic text, which is from Hunstciri's collection.
Adult male. General colour above grass-green, the upper tail-coverts slightly washed with lighter green ;
the upper mantle varied with ovate spots of ochreous buff in the centre of the feathers; wing-coverts like
the back, the median and greater coverts and the bastard-wing faintly tijiped with ashy ochreous buff;
primary-coverts and quills externally greeTi like the back, the jirimaries washed with bluish on the outer web;
the secondaries tipped with ochreous white, less distinct on the primaries; tail-feathers dark green on
the outer web, black internally, all the feathers tipjied with white, increasing in extent towards the outer
ones; crown of head black, with ovate spots of ochreous buff, smaller on the forehead and nape, the latter
being almost entirely black ; hind-neck ochreous buff, the feathers margined with black ; lores black,
surmounted by a line of oclireous-buff-spotted feathers; feathers round eye and car-coverts black, with a line
of buff-spotted feathers below the eye ; behind the ear-coverts a line of whitish down the sides of the neck ;
fore part of cheeks black, as well as the chin ; throat and sides of neck ochreous buff, mottled wilh black
edges to the feathers; fore-neck and remainder of under surface of body rufescent ochre, with greenish
edges on the feathers of the chest; the breast and abdomen more uniform ; all the feathers with more or less
distinct white shaft-lines ; sides of body and flanks like the breast, and washed with greenish ; thighs dull
greenish ; under tail-covcrts like the abdomen, with white shaft-lines ; under wing-coverts and axillaries ashy
tipped with whitish ; quills below dusky, ashy along the inner edge : " bill greenish white ; feet greyish
green ; iris hazel " {L. Loria). Total length Il'o inches, culmcn I'S, wing 5'7, tail 4-C, tarsus 17.
The figure in the Plate represents an adult male of the natural size, drawn from a specimen collected by
Dr. H. O. Forbes.
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