MICE. ODTRAMIS PARVA,
■
%
J ss^ Ê S S g S S ^
2Mlg
P*-
MICRODYNAMI S PARVA.
Dwarf Koel.
Eudymmis parva, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov, vii. p. 986 (1875).
MkraipmmUparva, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov, xiii. p. 461 (1878).—Id. Ora. Papuasia e delle Molucche,
i. p. 371 (1880).
Rhamphomantis rollesi, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S.-Wales, viii. p. 24 (1884).—Salvad. Ibis, 1884, p. 354.
W e regret greatly that we have not been able to obtain a specimen o f the adult male o f this very interesting
species of Cuckoo, but recognizing the importance of figuring in the present work as many peculiar
Papuan genera as possible, we have deemed it better to figure the immature birds than to omit the
species altogether.
The male has the head glossy black, and the general aspect o f the bird, as well as the colour of
its plumage, proclaims its relationship with the Koels or Black Cuckoos of the genus Eudynamis. Its
short curved bill, however, distinguishes it from the typical Koels, while its small size is a striking
peculiarity.
The history of Microdynamis is somewhat involved, for the original specimen was sent by D r. Beccari,
along with a number o f others, from the island o f Tidore in the Moluccas ; but with the consignment
were one o r two New Guinea species, which led Count Salvadori to suspect, th at the type of Microdynamis
parva might also have come from New Guinea rather than from Tidore. In this surmise we
expect him to be correct, as there can be little doubt th at the specimens figured in our Plate are of
the same species as the bird described by Count Salvadori. There is no question also that they are
the same as the Rhamphomantis rollesi described by Mr. Ramsay from Mount Astrolabe. Although closely
allied to, and in appearance much resembling, Rhamphomantis megarhynchus, the latter has a differently
formed bill, and belongs to another section o f the family Cuculidoe.
Mr. H. O. Forbes has procured two specimens in the Sogeri district o f the Astrolabe Mouutains,
viz. a female (which we presume to be adult) and a young bird, o f which the following are descriptions
Adult female. General colour above brown, glossed with ''greenish bronze, with indistinct traces of
rufous margins to the fea th e rs; wing-coverts like th e back, but a little more rufous, with the rufous
margins more pronounced ; bastard-wing dusky brown, edged with rufous ; primary-coyerts and quills
brown, edged with rufous and glossed with greenish bronze, especially on the secondaries ; upper tail-
coverts and tail-feathers brown, glossed with greenish bronze and edged with rufous, the outer feathers
slightly freckled with rufous on the inner web ; crown o f head like the back, and spotted with
rufous, with a band o f glossy black across the nape ; lores dusky ; below the eye a streak of
white from the base o f the bill across the ear-coverts, which are otherwise like the crown ; cheeks
black, forming a broad band bordering the throat, which is tawny rufous; remainder o f under surface
o f body ashy brown, washed with rufous, with faint indications of dusky cross bars ; thighs dusky
brown ; under tail-coverts pale ashy, washed with rufous and faintly barred with dusky ; under wing-
coverts and axiliaries pale rufous, the latter with indistinct dusky bars ; quills below dusky, rufous
on the inner edge : “ bill blue-black ; legs and feet lavender-blue ; iris with a red ring ” (H. 0. F . f
Total length 7*2 inches, culmen 0*65, wing 3*85, tail 3*4, tarsus 0*7.
The young bird differs in having scarcely any black on the nape or cheeks ; the upper surface is
more distinctly washed with rufous, especially on the head, which is also plainly barred with dusky ;
the wings are more rufous, and the mottlings on the inner webs o f the tail-feathers are more marked ;
the throat is ashy, with faint dusky cross bars.
T h e type specimen, described by Count Salvadori, is probably an adult male, and has the whole
o f the head and hind neck black. Mr. Ramsay’s description also agrees with this ; but in his account
of the female, which appears to be immature, there seem to be some misprints, as we cannot
understand the description as it stands.
T h e figures in the Plate represent the female and young bird o f the natural size; they are
drawn from the specimens obtained by Mr. Forbes, and described above.
[R. B. S.]