CHAI C IT E S MEYERI.
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CHALCITES MEYERI.
Meyer’s Golden Cuckoo.
CJwysococcya sphraMlus, Meyer, Sitz. k. Akad. der Wissenschaften zu Wieu, btix. p. 81 (1874).
Chrysococcyie meyeri, Salvad. Aun. Mus. Civic. Genova, vii. pp. 82, 762 (1875).
Lamprecocnyx meyerii, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic."Genova, vii. p. 912 (1875).
T he little Golden Cuckoos form a natural section of tlie CuculidiB, and are found all over Africa, India, the
Malayan archipelago, Australia, and New Zealand. The African species are certainly the most brilliant;
and none o f the eastern ones can approach the Emerald Cuckoo {Chalcites smaragdinens) for beauty of
plumage. In the plate I have endeavoured to illustrate a very common scene in the life of the Australian
Golden C uckoos; and I have no doubt th at this New-Guinea species is parasitic on some o f the small Warblers
which are found in the same country, such as the M a lm alboscapulatus, which is the species I have ventured
to introduce into my Plate. Dr. Buller, in the ' Birds o f New Zealand,’ gives a very interesting
account of the little Ctickoo: o f th at country (Chalates lucidus) and its breeding-habits; and other notes
on these birds will be found in my own and other authors’ works.
T h e peculiar fiery bronze colour o f the present species is one o f its special characteristics. I t was discovered
by Dr. Meyer in the Arfak Mountains ; and, as the latter gentleman observes, it “ has the same
brilliant gloss as the African Chrysococcym klaasii, while the other known Golden Cuckoos of the east are not
so entirely metallic. I t is,moreover, distinguished from the other known species by the absence of any grey o r
white over the eye and on the cheeks, but is especially remarkable for the fine rust-brown colour o f the wings,
which in some degree call to mind the ‘ rufous tint o f the upper surface ’ o f Chrysococcyte rrnsata o f Gould."
Dr. Meyer named this bird C. spleniidus; ' hut as that title had already been applied by the late Mr. Gray
to a South-African species, Count Salvadori very properly changed it to C. meyeri, one o f the best and most
appropriate names which could have been selected, in my opinion, iu acknowledgment of Dr. Meyer s
services to science in his celebrated voyages to the East. I should have followed Salvadori in calling this
species a Chrysocqccyx ; but having placed all the Golden Cuckoos in my previous works under the genus
CAalcites, I am obliged, for the sake o f uniformity,, to relegate this species to the same genus.
The following is a translation o f Meyer’s original description :—
“ H ead, cheeks, ueck, back, wing-coverts, uropygium, and upper tail-coverts splendidly metallic green
and copper-red; only behind the eyes, on the sides of the neck, a large white patch ; chin, throat, breast,
belly, and under tail-coverts with bands ju st as brilliant as the upper parts ; under wing-coverts also striped,
but the stripes brownish g r e y ; wings on the upperside, a t the base and a t the ends blackish, in the
middle reddish brown, and more vividly coloured on the outer webs than on the inner ; uuderside o f the
wing a t the ends grey, elsewhere light reddish brown ; upperside o f the tail, the two middle rectrices metallic
green and copper-coloured, hut not as brilliant as the upperside o f the bod y ; the other rectrices metallic
only on the o u te r webs, the outermost very feeble, inner webs blackish with a white patch a t the e n d ;
the outermost rectrice bears on the inner web, on a black ground, five white spots, on the outer web six,
the last very n a rrow ; underside o f the tail greyish black, with whitish tips, the outermost rectrices on the
inner web black, with five white spots, on the outer web lighter, with six white spots.
Total length 160 millims.; bill from the front 12, wings 91, tail 70.
The Plate represents, o f the natural size, the type specimen o f this species, kindly lent to me by my
friend Dr. Meyer.