MERULA MAREEU S IS .
M E R U L A MA R E E N S I S , Layard Sf Tristr.
NEW-HEBRIDEAN OUZEL.
Turdus mareensis, Layard & Tristram, Ibis, 1879, p. 472 ; Layard, Ibis, 1880, pp. 221, 226.
Merula mareensis, Seebohm, Cat. Birds Brit. Mns. v. p. 249 (1881); Sbarpe, Ibis, 1900, p. 346.
Merula vanikorensis, pt. (nec Q. & G.), Wigleswortb, Ayes Polyn. p. 38 (1891).
M. minor, nigricans : rostro et pedibus flavis : subcaudalibus albo lat6 striatis.,
T h is species was sent to Mr. E. L. Layard from the Island of Mare in the Loyalty group, where it is
known by the name of “ Wassasse.” I t is like M. samoensis in colour, but has the under tail-coverts
broadly streaked with white. Messrs. E. L. & L. C. Layard state that it is a very shy and wary bird,
and their correspondent in Mare found it difficult to procure. More recently Capt. A. M. Farquhar
has found the species on Mallicolo and Espiritu Santo. He writes :—“ Very wild, but not uncommon
near Hoy Head, Espiritu Santo. I obtained three clutches of eggs, two incubated, two fresh, one
just laid; also a nest with two young birds. The nest was of fine roots, lined with dead blades of
grass and dead leaves. Dimensions 5 X 3^ X 2 in. The eggs like those of Turdus iliacus : 2*5 X 1 6.
This Thrush breeds in August and September.”
Mr. "Wiglesworth, in his most useful memoir on the Birds of Polynesia, considers that M. mareensis
is identical with the Turdus vanikorensis of Quoy and Gaimard, a species procured during the voyage
of the ‘ Astrolabe | on Vanikoro Island in the Santa Cruz group. This may probably be the case,
but it is impossible to say for certain until the type of T. vanikorensis, in the Paris Museum, has
been compared.
A du lt male. General colour above black, including the tail-feathers; the wings slightly browner;
under surface of body entirely sooty-black, with a little white on the v en t; under tail-coverts black,
with shaft-streaks and terminal spots of white; under wing-coverts and axillaries sooty-black: “ bill
and feet orange; iris drab-brown ” (E. L. Layard). Total length 7*8 inches, culmen 0*9, wing 4*25,
tail 2*8, tarsus 1*35.
A dult female. Similar to the male, but browner, especially underneath, the breast being decidedly
browner than the back, and inclining to grey on the abdomen; under tail-coverts black, with the
same white shaft-streaks and tips as in the male: “ bill and feet bright orange; iris drab-brown
(E. L. Layard) ; “ eyelid yellow55 (A. M. Farquhar). Total length 7-5 inches, culmen 0*8, wing 4T,
tail 3*0, tarsus 1*25.
The pair of adult birds. described are in the Seebohm Collection and were obtained on the
Island of Mare by Mr. E. L. Layard, the male in October 1879 and the female in June 1882.
The specimen figured in the Plate is a breeding male obtained by Mr. Layard in November
1881, and also in the Seebohm Collection. [R- R* S.]