Part 4

_Geospiza dentirostris_ Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1837, p. 6; Rothschild & Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1899 p. 163, 1902 p. 396.

This curious form differs from _G. fortis fortis_ (Charles Island!) in its bill, which is bowed in towards the end of the upper mandible, and slightly "toothed" on its cutting edge. The one specimen in the British Museum certainly came from Charles Island, and we may, therefore, conclude that the other also came from there, and there is certainly no reason to think that it came from Chatham Island. As the skins in the British Museum slightly differ from each other, there is some reason to suspect that they are both aberrations of _G. fortis fortis_. Otherwise it must have become extinct, as, in spite of special attention being paid to it, none of the recent collectors met with _G. dentirostris_.

{13}

POMAREA NIGRA (SPARRM.)

_Muscicapa nigra Sparrmann_, Mus. Carlson. I, pl. 23 and text (1786--Society Islands).

_Pomarea nigra_ Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. IV, p. 434 (1879--Full synonymy, description, etc., Society Islands, Marquesas group).

In the list of birds now fully extinct, in the Proceedings of the Fourth Intern. Orn. Congress, I enumerated _Pomarea nigra_, on the strength of E. L. Layard's statement, P.Z.S. 1876, p. 501, who says: "This bird has undoubtedly become extinct. Large sums have been offered by Messrs. Godeffroy's collectors for the acquisition of a single specimen, but in vain! The very old natives say they remember the bird and call it "Moho."

I, however, overlooked the fact that this note of Layard's referred to the Friendly Islands only, and that this bird has afterwards been obtained in numbers on the Marquesas group. It would, nevertheless, be very interesting to compare specimens from the various islands, viz.: the Society group, Marquesas and Tongatabu, to see if they are perfectly similar.

{15}

MIRO TRAVERSI BULLER.

(PLATE 5, FIG. 1.)

_Miro traversi_ Buller, B. New Zealand, Ed. I p. 123 (1873--Chatham Islands).

_Petroeca traversi_ Hutton, Ibis 1872, p. 245.

_Myiomoira traversi_ Finsch, Journ.-f.-Orn. 1874, p. 189.

_Miro traversi_ Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. IV p. 236 (1879).

_Miro traversi_ (partim) Buller, Suppl. B. N. Zealand II p. 125? pl. XII (October, 1906).

The late Sir Walter Buller described, in 1873, _Miro traversi_ as follows: "Adult male. The whole of the plumage black, the base of the feathers dark plumbeous; wing-feathers and their coverts tinged with brown, the former greyish on their inner surface; tail-feathers black, very slightly tinged with brown. Irides dark brown; bill black; tarsi and toes blackish brown, the soles of the feet dull yellow. Total length 6 inches; wing, from flexure, 3.4; tail 2.6; bill 0.5, tarsus 1.1; middle toe and claw 0.1, hind toe and claw 0.8 inch."

"Female. Slightly smaller than the male, and without the brown tinge on the wings and tail."

It may be added that _Miro traversi_ is not pure black, but of a somewhat brownish slaty black.

_Miro traversi_ is only known from the Chatham Islands, where it was formerly very common, but, according to a letter from the late W. Hawkins, the cats, which have been introduced to destroy rats and rabbits, have exterminated it. It seems to have disappeared from Warekauri, the main island of the Chatham group, long ago, for H. O. Forbes (Ibis 1893, p. 524) and Henry Palmer found it, in 1890 and 1892, only on the outlying islets of Mangare and Little Mangare.

The bird from the Snares is quite different, being deep glossy black and having a shorter and narrower first primary. I named it _M. dannefaerdi_. It is to be feared that a similar fate will one day befall it as has, apparently, already befallen its congener from the Chatham Islands.

Sir Walter Buller (Suppl. B.N.Z. II, p. 125) has confounded _M. traversi_ and _dannefaerdi_, and the figure he gave on his plate looks so black, that I do not doubt it represents rather the latter than the former. Of course _M. dannefaerdi_ alone occurs on the Snares, and Buller's _traversi_ from the Snares were all dannefaerdi. Dr. Finsch's statement (Ibis 1888, p. 308) that Reischek's specimen from the Snares "agreed in every respect with specimens from the Chatham Islands" is entirely wrong, for, even if {16} one prefers unscientifically to lump allied forms, one cannot say that a _Miro_ from the Chathams agrees in every respect with one from the Snares. Buller's doubts about the distinctness of the latter might easily have been removed, if he had taken the trouble to compare them, for it does not require any genius to see the differences. I admit that with my present views on geographical forms I would regard the two _Miro_ as sub-species, and call them _M. traversi traversi_ and _M. traversi dannefaerdi_, but most ornithologists would still consider them to be "good species."

I may add that Buller, l.c., p. 125, has not quoted my description correctly, for in his rendering are several disturbing misprints, and in the fourth line from the bottom occurs a "not" which ought not to be there, and which makes the sentence incomprehensible. Also the name itself is spelt incorrectly.

I have a series from Mangare and Little Mangare, taken by Henry Palmer in 1890. The egg seems to be unknown.

Habitat: Chatham Islands.

{17}

TURDUS TERRESTRIS KITTL.

_Turdus terrestris_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Sc. Pétersburg I p. 245, pl. 17 (1830--Boninsima).

_Geocichla terrestris_ Bonaparte, Consp. Av. I, p. 268 (1850); Seebohm, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. V, p. 183 (1881); Hartert, Kat. Vogels. Senckenb, p. 6 (1891); Sharpe, Monograph Turdidae, I p. 107, pl. 33 (1902).

_Cichlopasser terrestris_ Bonaparte, C.R. XXXVIII, p. 6 (1854).

The following is Dr. Sharpe's description from a specimen in the Leyden Museum: "General colour of the upper parts olive-brown, shading into chestnut-brown on the rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail; the inside web of each feather much darker, approaching black on the back; lores dark brown; eye-stripe very obscure; lesser wing-coverts brown, darkest on the inside web; median coverts dark brown, with large olive-brown tips; greater coverts nearly black, broadly tipped, and narrowly margined towards the base with olive-brown; primary coverts black, with a broad olive-brown patch on the outer webs; tertials dark brown on the inner web, and olive-brown on the outer web; secondaries brown, margined with olive-brown on the outer webs; primaries brown, with the basal half of the outer webs, and a spot where the emargination begins, olive-brown; tail-feathers chestnut-brown; ear-coverts brown; underparts olive-brown, shading into white on the chin, throat, and centre of belly; under tail-coverts dark brown, with irregular diamond-shaped white tips; axillaries brown; under wing-coverts brown. Geocichline markings on inner webs of quills dirty white. Wing 3.8 inches, tail 2.6, culmen 0.85, tarsus 1.07, bastard primary 0.8."

The only person who ever collected this short-tailed Ground-Thrush was Kittlitz, who obtained four specimens, one of which is in St. Petersburg, one in Frankfurt, one in Vienna, and one in Leyden. Neither Holst, nor Alan Owston's Japanese collectors obtained specimens, though their special attention was called to it. Therefore, unless these recent collectors left unvisited the most important island of the group, we must suppose that it became extinct.

Habitat: Bonin Islands, south-east of Japan.

{19}

PHAEORNIS OAHENSIS WILSON & EVANS.

_Phaeornis oahensis_ Wilson & Evans, Aves Hawaiienses, Introd. p. XIII (1899--Based on _Turdus sandwichensis_ var. Bloxam, Voy. "Blonde" App. p. 250 (1826--Oahu) and _Turdus woahensis_ Bloxam M.S.)

Nothing is known about this evidently extinct bird, which formerly existed on the island of Oahu, except Bloxam's short description, which is as follows:--"Length 7½ inches; upper parts olive-brown, extremities of the feathers much lighter colour; tail and wings brown; bill bristled at the base."

The corresponding description of _Phaeornis obscura_ in Bloxam's M.S. notes is:--"Length 8 inches; belly light ash; back, tail and wings an ash-brown; bill slender, ¾-in. long, bristled at the base. A beautiful songster."

It is thus evident that Bloxam considered both forms to be distinct, and Messrs. Wilson and Evans were perfectly justified in naming the extinct Oahu form.

We are not aware of any specimens being preserved in any Museum, though Bloxam obtained a skin. Messrs. Wilson and Evans (l.c.) write:--"All the specimens obtained by Mr. Andrew Bloxam, properly prepared and labelled, were placed at the disposal of the Lords of the Admiralty, as shewn by a copy of the letter he wrote to their Secretary, and probably all were sent, as some certainly were, to the British Museum; but no other trace of this unique specimen of a vanished species, which may be properly called _Phaeornis oahensis_, is now forthcoming."

{21}

BOWDLERIA RUFESCENS (BULLER).

(PLATE 5, FIG. 3.)

_Sphenoeacus rufescens_ Buller, Ibis 1869, p. 38.

_Megalurus rufescens_ Gray Hand-l. B. I, p. 206. No. 2913. (1869.)

Buller's original description is as follows: "Upper parts, sides, and tail dark rufous brown, brightest on the crown and hind-neck; the feathers of the shoulders and sides centred with black. Quills dusky black, margined with rufous brown. Streak over the eye, throat, breast and abdomen pale fawn colour; sides of the head and ear-coverts marked with black. Bill light brown with the ridge black, feet dark brown." Buller's type probably had been preserved in spirit, as the colouration of fresh specimens is very different to his description. The general colour above and on the flanks chestnut rufous, most feathers with darker or black centres; chin, throat, breast and abdomen pure white; crissum and under tail-coverts whity buff or buffy brown. Wing 2.6 inches, tail 3.9 inches, culmen 0.65 inch.

Habitat: Chatham Islands.

Cats, rats and weasels have exterminated this fine species, which is now quite extinct. Messrs. Travers and Dannefaerd have supplied the specimens in most colonial museums, while Henry Palmer collected the 14 at Tring. A few in Liverpool and two in the British Museum are all known to me in Europe, in addition to those at Tring.

{23}

TRAVERSIA ROTHSCH.

See description below. Only one species known.

TRAVERSIA LYALLI ROTHSCH.

(PLATE 5, FIG. 3.)

_Traversia lyalli_ Rothschild, Bull. B.O.C. IV p. X (December 29th, 1894); Nov. Zool. 1895, p. 81.

_Xenicus insularis_ Buller, Ibis 1895, p. 236, pl.

_Traversia insularis_ Buller, Suppl. B.N.Z. II p. 109, pl. X (1906).

In 1894 I described this remarkable little bird as follows: "_Traversia_, gen. nov. _Xenicidarum_. Differs in several important points both from _Xenicus_ and _Acanthidositta_. Bill much larger and stouter, very little shorter, if at all, than the tarsus; the latter about as long as middle toe without claw, or the hind toe and claw, while in _Xenicus_ and _Acanthidositta_ it is about twice as long as the hind toe. The principal difference, however, is the weakness of the wing, which suggests flightlessness, as does also the very soft and loose character of the entire plumage, and the very Ralline aspect of the bird. There are only ten tail-feathers, and the scutellation of the tarsus is like that of _Xenicus_. These two points determine its position in the _Xenicidae_ at once (cf. Sclater, Cat. B. XIV, p. 450).

"The type is: _Traversia lyalli_, sp. nov.

"Male. Above dark brownish olive-yellow, each feather with a brownish-black border. A narrow distinct yellow superciliary line. Wings and tail umber-brown, the inner webs darker; wing-coverts like back. Chin, throat, and breast chrome-yellow, each feather slightly edged with greyish brown. Flanks, abdomen, and vent pale brown, centre of feathers paler.

"Female. Upper surface umber-brown, each feather bordered with very dark brown; wings and tail similar. Under surface buffy grey, the feathers edged with pale brown. Total length about 4 inches, culmen 0.6, wing 1.8 to 1.9, tail 0.8, but much concealed, tarens 0.75, middle toe 0.65, hind toe without claw 0.5. {24}

"Habitat: Stephens Island, New Zealand. Discovered by Mr. Dr. Lyall, lighthouse-keeper, and sent to me by Mr. Henry H. Travers."

I received nine specimens of this new bird, and was not aware that any others had been taken at that time. As I was unable to attend the December meeting, 1894, of the British Ornithologists Club, I asked Dr. Hartert to exhibit the birds in my name. When he had done so and had read the description, the Chairman, Dr. P. L. Sclater, said that the bird had also been received for illustration and description in the Ibis, from Sir Walter Buller, and he asked Dr. Hartert if I would not withdraw my description. Dr. Hartert said that this was unfortunate, but he had no authority to withdraw my description, and he and Dr. Sharpe thought that the proceedings of the meeting should be printed without consideration of any manuscripts which might refer to the same bird. No doubt this was hard luck on Sir Walter Buller, but it would have been equally hard luck for me if he had forestalled me with the new bird. He had only one specimen, I had nine, of both sexes, and I had paid a high price for them, as types of a new bird. My type is in Tring, and, as everybody knows, available for study by any competent ornithologist, while Buller's type was not in any museum, and it was uncertain to whom he would sell it afterwards. I suppose it is now in the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, to which Buller's third collection, 625 specimens, was sold for a thousand pounds, as Buller himself tells us in his Supplement II, p. 167, under the heading of _Glaucopis wilsoni_! On the same page Sir Walter Buller also tells us that his "second collection" was sold to me, but he makes a mistake about the price, as I certainly did not pay a thousand pounds for it.

I mentioned these unimportant details, because Buller rather bitterly and severely complained about my describing the Stephens' Island Wren, on p. 111 of his supplement. I may only add that of course my name, being published in December, 1894, has the priority over his, which was not published before April, 1895.

The history of _Traversia lyalli_ is perhaps the most extraordinary of any bird known. All the specimens I am aware of, viz., the eight now in my collection, the type of "_Xenicus insularis_" in Buller's former collection, one in the late Canon Tristram's collection, one in the British Museum (ex Tring), and two or more offered some years ago by Mr. Travers, were brought in by the lighthouse-keeper's cat. Evidently this feline discoverer has at the same time been the exterminator of _Traversia lyalli_, and many may have been digested by that unique cat, as in letters received from Mr. Travers I {25} have been told that no more specimens could be obtained, and Buller (l.c.) says: "Very diligent search has been made on Stephen Island for further specimens of the Island Wren, but without success, and there is too much reason to fear that this species has almost immediately after its discovery become extinct."

Habitat: Stephen Island, a small, partly wooded islet, about a square mile in extent, in Cook Strait. It is almost impossible that this bird has only existed on Stephen Island. It must have been overlooked on d'Urville Island or the "mainland," where it probably became extinct--through rats and cats, and similar pests--long ago.

{27}

MOHO APICALIS GOULD.

(PLATE 4A, 1.)

_Yellow-tufted Bee-eater_ (non Latham!), Dixon, Voyage round the World, p. 357, plate (1789).

_Moho apicalis_ Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1860, p. 381 (? Hawaii).

_Acrulocercus apicalis_ Wilson & Evans, Av. Hawaii, pt. V text and plate (1894).

_Moho apicalis_ Rothschild, Avif. Laysan, etc., p. 223 and plate (1900).

This rarest species of the Mohos formerly inhabited the island of Oahu, where specimens were obtained in 1837, near Enero, by Herr Deppe. The localities of the specimens figured by Dixon and that of the type of Gould are uncertain, but they must have been obtained on Oahu. Since 1837 we have no further traces of _Moho apicalis_.

The only specimens known are those in Berlin, collected by Deppe, two in the British Museum, and one in my Museum at Tring. The latter, which I obtained in exchange from the British Museum, is the one brought home from the Sandwich Islands by Capt. Lord Byron. There is no specimen of _Moho apicalis_ in the Vienna Museum.

Habitat: Oahu.

{29}

CHAETOPTILA SCL.

_Chaetoptila_ Sclater, Ibis 1871 p. 358.

Dr. Sclater justly proposed a new generic term for the "_Entomyza_" or "_Moho_" _angustipluma_ of former authors. This bird belongs doubtless to the family of _Meliphagidae_ or Honey-eaters, and the genus is sufficiently distinct from all others. There are no fleshy wattles anywhere. The tail is long and strongly graduated; all the rectrices are obliquely pointed at their tips. The plumage of the body is very soft, that of the head, throat and chest almost fluffy; the feathers of the chin, throat and forehead end in hair-like bristles.

We know only one species.

CHAETOPTILA ANGUSTIPLUMA (PEALE).

(PLATE 4A, FIG. 2.)

_Entomiza angustipluma_ Peale, U.S. Expl. Exp., Birds p. 147 pl. XL fig. 2 (1848--Hawaii).

_Mohoa angustipluma_ Cassin, Proc. Acad. Philad. 1855 p. 440.

_Moho angustipluma_ Cassin, U.S. Expl. Exp., Mamm. & Orn. p. 148 pl. XI fig. 1 (1858--Hawaii).

Wilson & Evans, Aves. Hawai. pt. II and plate (1891--Hawaii).

Rothschild, Avif. Laysan, etc., p. 215 and plate (1900).

This remarkable bird, belonging to the family _Meliphagidae_, used to inhabit the island of Hawaii in the Sandwich Archipelago. It has been said by Mr. Dole to inhabit Molokai, but this is evidently an error. At present nobody on the island of Hawaii has any recollection of its presence, and its former native name is unknown--the name "Kiowea" erroneously quoted by Mr. Dole being that of _Numenius tahitiensis_. The bird is extinct, though we do not know the reason why it disappeared.

THE ONLY SPECIMENS WE KNOW OF ARE THE FOLLOWING:--

1. The type in the Museum at Washington, U.S.A.

2. One in the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu.

3. One in the Museum of the University at Cambridge, obtained in exchange from Honolulu by Mr. Scott Wilson.

4. One in my Museum at Tring, obtained in exchange from the Honolulu Museum.

The type was obtained by Peale, the three others by the late Mr. Mills on the island of Hawaii.

{30}

STRIGICEPS LEUCOPOGON LESS.

_Strigiceps leucopogon_ Lesson, Echo du Monde Savant 1840 (?); Rev. Zool. 1840, p. 266; Suppl. aux oeuvres compl. de Buffon, Descr. de Mammif. & Ois, récemm. découverts, p. 277 (1847--Nouvelle Hollande); Hartlaub, Beitrag Gesch ausgest Vögel, in Abhandl. Naturw. Ver. Bremen, 2te Ausgabe, als M.S. gedr., p. 40 (1896).

Nobody has hitherto identified the curious bird described by Lesson, l.c., under the above name. From the generic characters he gives it is evident that it was a bird with a long, curved bill, lanceolate feathers on the head and throat, and long, strongly graduated tail, doubtless belonging to the _Meliphagidae_. The description of the colouration is as follows:--

"Back, wings and tail bright greenish-olive; quills brown inside; shafts of the rectrices canary-yellow from below, glossy brown-red from above; top of head and neck chestnut, each feather being narrow and streaked with white, then with fawn-colour on the top; the feathers of the throat are elongated and fringed out on their edges, very narrow and lanceolate, grey at base, white at the tips; cheeks, sides of neck and chest ferruginous, some white streaks on the feathers of the chest and in the middle of the throat; flanks and belly clear rufous, passing into canary-yellow on the under tail-coverts. Tail from below greenish-yellow; tarsi horn-colour, bill above brownish, below yellowish with brown tip. Length about eight french inches and a half (0.23 centimètres)." (_Translated._)

This bird was said to have come from Australia. I have made enquiries, but the type seems to have disappeared. There is something in the description reminding us of _Chaetoptila angustipluma_. Unless the description is faulty, this bird came probably not from Australia, but from one of the Pacific Islands. It has not been observed since, and is possibly extinct.

{31}

DREPANIS TEMM.

_Drepanis_ Temminck, Man. d'Orn. Ed. II, I p. LXXXVI (1820--"Espèces: _Certhia pacifica--obscura--vestiaria_ et probablement _falcata_, que je n'ai pas vu.") Type by elimination: _Drepanis pacifica_.

The name _Drepanis_ is now restricted to the practically extinct "Mamo" of the natives of the Sandwich Islands. _Drepanis pacifica_ has a very striking black and yellow colouration; the somewhat loose-webbed under tail-coverts cover about three-quarters of the tail. The bill is long, curved, non-serrated, the upper mandible a few millimetres longer than the lower jaw. Nostrils large, covered by an operculum. First primary rudimentary, hidden by its covert. There is a silky, soft and fluffy axillary patch of feathers. The tail is slightly rounded. The metatarsus is covered with large, partly fused scutes.

Only one species known.

DREPANIS PACIFICA (GM.)

_Great Hook-billed Creeper_ Latham, Gen. Synops. I p. 703 (1782).

_Certhia pacifica_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I p. 470 (1788--ex Latham).

Both Mr. Scott Wilson and myself have at length discussed this beautiful bird in our books on the Hawaiian Avifauna. Of the actual status of this bird in former times we know nothing. Latham described it first (Gmelin named this species after Latham's description) from a pair in the Leverian collection, which is now preserved in the Vienna Museum. About half a century ago several specimens were collected by the late W. Mills near Hilo, on the island of Hawaii, the only island where it existed. Nothing certain was heard of the "Mamo" until, in 1892, my collector Henry Palmer obtained a fine male, which was caught before his eyes by a native birdcatcher. In July, 1898, Mr. H. W. Henshaw saw "at least a pair, possibly a whole family," in the woods of Kaumana, and in 1899 a native heard the, to him, well-known call near the same place. This brings the existence of the Mamo down to the year 1898 or 1899. In view of the futile efforts of Messrs. Henry Palmer, {32} Perkins, Henshaw and others to observe this rare bird again, we may well suppose that this species is either extinct, or will very soon vanish if any are left.

In former times the Mamo was probably more or less common. Its golden yellow feathers were of great value, and, though the majority of the famous war-cloaks are composed of the feathers of _Moho nobilis_, a few such cloaks are known to consist of Mamo feathers. It is supposed that it took generations to complete such a cape.

I only know of specimens of this bird in Vienna, Leyden, Paris, Honolulu, Cambridge and Tring.

The two examples in the Vienna Museum were obtained by Fichtel at the sale of the Leverian collection. One is perfect, the other has the upper portion of the bill wanting.

{33}

HEMIGNATHUS OBSCURUS ELLISIANUS GRAY.

(PLATE 4, FIG. 1.)

_Hemignathus obscurus_ Lichtenstein (non Gmelin!), Abh. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1838, p. 440 pl. 5 fig. 1 (Oahu).

_Drepanis_ (_Hemignathus_) _ellisiana_ Gray, Cat. B. Trop. Is. Pac. Oc. p. 9 (1859--based on Lichtenstein's _H. obscurus_ from Oahu).

_Hemignathus lichtensteini_ Scott Wilson, Ann. & Mag. N. H. ser. 6, vol. IV, p. 401 (1889--Oahu, based on the Berlin specimen).

_Hemignathus ellisianus_ Rothschild, Avif. of Laysan, etc., p. 87 (1893) p. 310 (1900).