AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES Published by Number 1102 THE AImcAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY February 17, 1941 New York City RESULTS OF THE ARCHBOLD EXPEDITIONS. NO. 32 NEW AND INTERESTING BIRDS FROM NEW GUINEA BY A. L. RAND This paper contains additional accounts Accipiter fasciatus dogwa, new sub- of new and interesting birds discovered in species working out the bird collections of the TYPE.-NO. 421685, Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.; 1936-1937 expedition to south New Guinea ce ad.; Dogwa, Oriomo River, Territory of expedition to north New Papua, New Guinea; February 16, 1934; Rich- and the 1938-1939 ard Archbold and A. L. Rand. Guinea. Twenty new subspecies are de- DIAGNOSIs.-In the adult plumage, differs scribed in this paper. I am indebted to Mr. from polycryptus in the paler underparts, the James C. Greenway of the Museum of dark bars being narrower and paler vinaceous brown, the white bars wider; and in the tend- Comparative Zo6logy, Cambridge, and to ency toward reduction of the barring on the Mr. Rodolphe de Schauensee of the thighs, abdomen, under tail-coverts and under Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila- wing-coverts: from hellmayri, differs only delphia for the loan of pertinent material. slightly in the average heavier barring on the thighs, abdomen and under tail-coverts. In the immature plumage, differs from polycryptus in Butorides striatus idenburgi, new sub- the slightly paler brown markings below; from hellmayri, differs in the very much paler, not species dark brown, markings of the underparts. TYPE.-No. 305667, Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.; WING.-c ad. 223 mm.; 9 ad. 245, 255, 256; c? ad.; Bernhard Camp, 50 meters altitude, e imm. 221, 225; 9 imm. 240, 250, 250. Idenburg River, Netherland New Guinea; March 25, 1939; Richard Archbold, A. L. Rand RANGE.-Known only from south New and W. B. Richardson. Guinea. DIAGNOSIS.-This is a pale form with little REMARKS.-Stresemann (1935, Orn. rufous color on the underparts and almost white Monatsb., pp. 110, 111) has pointed out edgings to the upper wing-coverts. From moluccarum it differs in having the throat un- that two adult males from Merauke were marked white, not rufous gray and white; front very similar to Timor birds, and included of neck and upper breast mixed white and gray, them in hellmayri, while suggesting that with a few brownish streaks, not rufous gray the immature plumages might be different. heavily streaked with brownish and little white; breast and flanks pale gray with a faint rufous The material compared includes polycryptus tinge, not darker gray distinctly rufous washed; (SE. New Guinea) 7 e ad., 2 cl imm., 2 9 abdomen pale buffy, white in some specimens, not ad., 2 9 imm.; dogwa (S. New Guinea) gray, little different from the breast; edgings of 4 c?" ad., 2 e imm., 39 ad., 39 imm.; upper wing-coverts buffy white, not pale ochraceous. hellmayri (Timor, Savu and Alor) 9 e ad., WING.-c ad. 181 mm., 185; 9 ad. 175, 176, 6 9 ad., 2 9 imm. 176, 177, 181. CULMEN.-- ad. 64 mm., 64, 67; 9 ad. 63, Circus spilonotus spilothorax Salvadori 63, 63, 65, 66. and D'Albertis RANGE.-Known only from the type Lake Habbema: 1 9 ad.; August 11. locality. Balim River: 1 e ad., 1 9 ad.; Decem- REMARKS.-The sexes are practically ber 7, 14. alike in this series and there is little indi- Found at 1600 and 3225 meters altitude. vidual variation. It is surprising how WING.-d' 378 mm.; 9 400, 405. different this race is from the dark form The December female had its ovary papuensis which replaces it to the west. slightly enlarged. 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES [No. 1102 The understanding of the status of the the streaking on the underparts dark brown New Guinea Circus is unsatisfactory, due instead of black and extending onto the to lack of material. But what data and abdomen, differing in this from spilonotus. material I have accumulated suggest that Both specimens differ from the 10 adult New Guinea is inhabited by an endemic spilonotus in having the spotted outer rec- form of Circus in which the adult male as- trices washed with rufous, a character men- sumes a silvery, black and white plumage. tioned for the type of spilothorax. Both On Mt. Albert Edward in June, 1933, sil- specimens have dark subterminal spots in very males and light brown females were the central rectrices and the Albert Edward not uncommon. About Lake Daviumbu bird has an indication of these in some of on the middle Fly River in August and the other rectrices, as occurs in the sub- September, 1936, silvery males and brown adults of spilonotus, but there is no band as birds of various shades of darkness were recorded for the type of spilothorax. fairly common. About Lake Habbema in The two adult females are very similar August, 1938, gray, black and white males to each other, and differ considerably from and light brown females were fairly com- six adult female spilonotus in the paler mon; few were seen along the Balim River underparts, lacking the rufous wash on the in December, 1938. Though not uncom- breast, having only a light rufous wash on mon in certain localities, these birds were the thighs and abdomen. and having the always difficult to secure and besides the streaking narrower; on the upperparts above three specimens I have only one they differ in almost entirely lacking the other, an adult male, from Mt. Albert rufous wash which is pronounced in Edward (wing 441). spilonotus. In size, the Balim River male and the Since Salvadori's time there have been type of spilothorax (wing 380, Salvadori, few specimens of Circus recorded from 1880, Ornith. Pap., p. 71) fall below the New Guinea. Stresemann (op. cit., p. 263) range of that of spilonotus (10 e ad. 395- has recorded an immature of this race from 417, while Stresemann, 1924, Jour. fur New Guinea in March and pointed out Orn., p. 28, gives e 385-425) and the fe- how it differed from the young of spilo- males fall below the average (spilonotus 9 notus; Mayr and Camras (1938, Zool. ad. 420, 420, 425, 428, 451; Stresemann, Series Field Mus. Nat. Hist., XX, p. 465) loc. cit., gives 9 400-440). However, the recorded a May juvenile from east New adult male from Albert Edward is much Guinea which they referred to spilonotus. larger (wing 441). This may indicate From the above data we have records of different populations in New Guinea, a the marsh hawk in New Guinea in March, point only further material can settle. May, June, August, September, December. In color, the Balim River male has the In the color of the outer tail-feathers of upperparts extensively black above, in- the two adult male specimens they differ cluding the crown and most of the upper from spilonotus and agree with the descrip- wing-coverts, but it is not as extensively tion of spilothorax. The two adult female black as one Philippine male which has the specimens differ considerably in color from sides of the head black. Most of the those of spilonotus available. On this evi- males seen about Lake Habbema had dence it seems advisable to consider these much black in the mantle at least; this was New Guinea specimens as representing an not the case in the Fly River area nor on endemic race spilothorax. Mt. Albert Edward. On the underparts the Balim River male compares well with Circus approximans gouldi Bonaparte ten adult males of spilonotus. The Mt. Lake Daviumbu: 1 9 imm.; Septem- Albert Edward bird, apparently fully ber 8. adult, has the black feathers of the crown Found near sea level. conspicuously edged with rusty, those of WING.-391 mm. +. the hind neck with white, the mantle and This specimen, with worn wing, is pro- lower back uniform brownish black, and visionally referred to this race. It is very 1941] RESULTS OF THE ARCHBOLD EXPEDITIONS. NO. 32 3 dark above and below, with the white basal the amount of black spotting in the lower edgings to the feathers of the hind neck flanks, the tendency for these markings to showing. be on the ends of the feathers, and to form The taking of this specimen in an area a solid black area; and the primary coverts where gray and white examples of this beneath the alula being black, or mixed genus, probably C. spilonotus, were seen in black and white. August and September is further evidence as WING MEASUREMENTS for keeping spilonotus and approximans Male Female separate species. New Britain (10) 239-247 mm. 235, 236, Somewhat similar cases, in which a (sea level) (av. 243.6) 238, 239, "New Guinea" form and an "Australian" 244, 247 form, usually considered geographical (2500-3000 ft.) 250 247 New Ireland 241, 242, 249 236 representatives, have been found together New Hanover (sex? 245, 254) in south New Guinea are: Aegotheles Admiralty Islands 258 bennettii and cristatus, Eudynamys scolo- pacea and cyanocephala, and Dicrurus SOFT PARTS.-Iris brown or dark brown; carbonarius and bracteatus. bill bluish or bluish slate, tip yellowish (in skins the distal third is yellowish); feet Capella hardwickii (Gray) slate blue or lead blue. RANGE.-The Bismarck Archipelago and Mt. Wilhelmina, 6 miles northeast: 1 Admiralty Islands; up to 3000 feet altitude. da; August27. REMARKS.-There is considerable varia- Found at 3550 meters altitude. tion in the intensity of the yellowish tinge WING.-161 mm. in New Britain birds; this is not due to fad- Though this migrant from the palaearctic ing, as a series of seven collected in 1925 was known to winter in Australia, it has is yellower than a series of eleven collected hitherto not been recorded for New Guinea.