A-MERICAN" MUSEUM NOVITATES Published by Number 1294 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HIsTORY July 20, 1945 New York City BIRDS COLLECTED DURING THE WHITNEY SOUTH SEA EXPEDITION. 551 NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF NORTHERN MELANESIA. 1 BY ERNST MAYR During the years 1927 to 1935 the Whit- chances for the success of such colonizations ney South Sea Expedition explored the are very slight, particularly since a pair length and breadth of the Solomon Islands must have bridged this water gap simul- and the Bismarck Archipelago. The ma- taneously. As I have pointed out pre- terial gathered through the industry of viously (1940, Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. Rollo H. Beck, William F. Coultas, F. P. 1056, p. 1), there are no valid records of Drowne, H. Hamlin, and the other members wild specimens of C. unappendiculatus of the expedition, together with the rich from New Britain. collections of the Rothschild Museum, con- stitutes an unparalleled representation of GREBES the bird fauna of these islands. Only two species of little grebes are Part of this material has been discussed found in northern Melanesia. One of these, previously in many of the generic revisions Podiceps novaehollandiae, has been reviewed of theI Whitney reports. Other parts of the by me recently (1943, Emu, vol. 43, pp. collection are still unworked, except for a 3-7). Only two of its races have so far been cursory inspection in connection with the found in this area: P. n. rennellianus on preparation of the "Birds of the southwest Rennell Island and an unidentified sub- Pacific." It seems legitimate to unite the species in the Admiralty Islands (see Hein- notes on the birds of the Solomon Islands roth, 1903, Jour. Ornith., vol. 51, p. 88). and of the Bismarck Archipelago in a single The striking differences in the downy plum- series, in view of the great similarities of age of the two species has been described their bird faunas. "Northern Melanesia" and figured recently (Mayr, 1945, Emu, (see Mayr, 1941, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. vol. 44, p. 232). Congr., 1939, vol. 4, p. 193, for a definition The other species, Podiceps ruficollis, has of this concept) is a single zoogeographic been found in New Ireland, where it was unit. discovered by Peekel at Namatanai (Strese- mann, 1923, Arch. Naturgesch., vol. 89, CASSOWARIES div. A, no. 7, p. 7), and on Bougainville, Only a single cassowary reaches northern Solomon Islands. Here it was discovered Melanesia, Casuarius b. bennetti (New by H. Hamlin in May, 1928, and seems to Britain). The exact differences between be not uncommon on lakes and ponds in this form and hecki from the opposite coast the hills of this island. The Bougainville of New Guinea (Huon Peninsula) cannot population belongs to an undescribed race: be described accurately without colored Podiceps ruficollis collaris, sketches of the soft parts taken in the field. new subspecies Cassowaries are good swimmers, and there TYPE: A.M.N.H. No. 224673; male is little doubt that bennetti reached New adult; Bougainville Island; May 3, 1928; Britain by swimming. Naturally, the Whitney South Sea Expedition (H. Ham- X The preceding 10 papers in this series are Ameri- lin). can Museum Novitates nos. 1133, 1144, 1152, 1166, 1175, 1176, 1192, 1237, 1248, and 1269' Similar to P. r. tricolor Gray, but darker 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES [No. 1294 throughout; upper parts deep glossy black it affects nearly always size only. This has with a greenish sheen; a broad black collar been shown in a number of recent revisions. separates the rufous of the throat from the For Anas superciliosa, see Amadon (1943, mouse gray abdomen (mottled with buffy Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. 1237, pp. 1-5); white); black of upper throat restricted to for Anas gibberifrons, see Ripley (1942, chin, but reaching eye; extent of white on Auk, vol. 59, pp. 90-99); for Nyroca inner webs of secondaries much reduced. australis, see Mayr (1940, Amer. Mus. MEASUREMENTS: Wing, male adult, 108, Novitates, no. 1056, p. 7); and for Nettapus two females (molting). Bill, male, 25, 21.9, coromandelianus, see Mayr (1938, Zool. Ser. female, 22.3, 22.7. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 20, p. 464). RANGE: Bougainville Island, Solomon Dendrocygna arcuata is to be added to this Islands, also probably New Ireland and list as is evident from the subsequently Huon Peninsula, northeastern New Guinea. listed measurements. On the whole all The Whitney expedition did not en- these species follow Bergmann's rule. counter this species on any of the other None of the tropical populations are of islands of the Solomons besides Bougain- larger size than those from subtropical ville. A small series from the Huon Pen- Australia. However, in none of these insula (Wareo, R. H. Beck), is also darker species is there any noticeable size differ- than tricolor, particularly on the breast, ence between birds from southern and from but does not have the collar as well defined tropical Australia. The populations with as collaris. Stresemann (1941, Jour. the smallest size are found on islands, as Ornith., vol. 89, p. 19) has already called Anas superciliosa pelewensis in Polynesia attention to the dark color of Huon Pen- and Papua, Anas gibberifrons remissa on insula birds. They are perhaps best re- Rennell Island, Nyroca australis extima in ferred to collaris. On Sentani Lake (north the New Hebrides, Nettapus cor. coroman- New Guinea), however, occurs a population delianus on New Guinea and Malaysia,- of tricolor which is by no means darker than and Dendrocygna arcuata pygmaea on New birds from the Moluccas or Celebes. Britain and (? subsp.) Fiji. Populations A series from the Kei Islands is much on tropical mountain lakes may have the lighter, both above and below; it is best large size of subtropical birds (Anas included with vulcanorum Rensch. I fail superciliosa and Nyroca australis). to see the character claimed by Rensch for this race, but find that birds from the Lesser Sunda Islands are of much lighter Dendrocygna arcuata general coloration than Moluccan birds. For many years an argument has been None of these races has an eclipse plumage. carried on whether or not there was geo- The two adult females and one adult male graphical variation in this species. Never- from Bougainville have all the wing feathers theless I fail to find any paper in which a in the sheath (May 3 to 5). This shows serious attempt has been made to study this that these tropical grebes molt all pri- question. My own investigations indicate maries and secondaries simultaneously like that there are no constant color differences their northern relatives. between the various populations of the MATERIAL EXAMINED: Podicep8 r. vulcan- species. The edges of the feathers of the orum: 8 ad., Lesser Sunda Islands; 3 e" ad., upper parts may be more rufous or more 5 9 ad., Kei Islands. P. r. tricolor: 4 e ad., clay colored, the spots on the breast may be 4 9 ad., Celebes; 3 " ad., Buru; 1 9 ad., or or more like a cross Seran; 1 e ad., Morotai; 3 6" ad., 2 9 ad., larger smaller bar, north New Guinea (Sentani Lake). P. r. col- the under parts may be deeper or paler lari8: 1 ci ad., 2 9 ad., Huon Peninsula; 2 ce rufous, and the light shaft streaks on some ad., 2 9 ad., Bougainville, Solomon Islands. of the scapulars may be more or less pro- nounced. This variation shows no geo- DUCKS graphical pattern.. However, there is a Whatever geographical variation occurs striking size variation, on the basis of vhich among the ducks of the Australian region, ,I recognize three races. 1945] BIRDS OF THE WHITNEY SOUTH SEA EXPEDITION. 55 3 Dendrocygna arcuata arcuata Horsfield Dendrocygna arcuata pygmaea, Anas arcuata HORSFIELD, 1824, Zoological re- new subspecies searches in Java, pl. 65. Java. TYPE: A.M.N.H. No. 333686; male Of medium size. A series from the adult; Maulo, Wide Bay, New Britain; Philippines measures: wing, male, 193, April 6, 1933; Whitney South Sea Expedi- 194, 197, 200, female, 183, 184, 197; bill, tion (W. F. Coultas). male, 42, 42, 43, 44, female, 40, 41.5, 43.5. In coloration like the other two races of Professor 0. Neumann sent me the follow- the species, but much smaller. Wing, male, ing wing measurements of Philippine birds: 173, 178, 183, female, 175, 173. Bill, male, male, 183, 198, female, 195. Kuroda lists 40.5, 42.5, 43.5, female, 40.5, 42.5. male, 190-191, female, 183. No Java birds RANGE: New Britain. have been available to me, but Kuroda The extinct population from the Fiji (1936, Birds of Java, p. 567) gives male, Islands may have also belonged to this 192.5, adult, 190; bill, male, 40.5-45.5, small race. A single immature male from female, 43, which agrees with the measure- Vanua Levu has a wing length of 176; bill, ments of Philippine birds. 39. Birds from Celebes and the Lesser Sunda Islands, though slightly larger, are best Dendrocygna guttata Schlegel included with this race: Celebes, wing, New Britain is the only island in northern male, 201, 201, female, 201, unsexed, 193, Melanesia where this species occurs. Wing, 200; bill, male, 48, female, 44, unsexed, male, 208, 209, 210, 212, 213, 222, female, 40, 42. Sumba, male, wing, 203, bill, 43. 206, 217. A series of males from the RANGE: Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Les- Moluccas has a range of variation from ser Sunda Islands (Bali, Sumba, and 208-222, exactly as in the New Britain Timor), Celebes, Amboina, Philippines. series. There is much individual, but no geo- graphical, variation of color.