Rhipidura rufifrons saipanensisHartert

Weights.â€”The NAMRU2 party recorded the weights of nine males as 9.0-10.0 (9.0); of three females as 7.2-9.6 (8.8) grams.

Specimens examined.â€”Total number, 41 (19 males, 14 females, 8 unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNMâ€”Guam, 17 (May 29, 30, June 6, 14, 18, July 12, 20); AMNHâ€”Guam, 24 (Jan., Feb., March, Aug., Sept., Dec.).

Nesting.â€”Hartert (1898:54) recorded nests taken at Guam in February and March.

Molt.â€”On the basis of specimens examined, it is apparent that molt begins in August or September and continues through the months of the fall.

Parasites.â€”Wharton (1946:174) obtained the chigger (Acarina),Trombiculasp., from this bird at Guam.

Remarks.â€”The Rufous-fronted Fantail at Guam is a bird of the forest and forest scrub. It prefers the areas where leafy undergrowth is present. It moves rapidly about continually fluttering its wings and spreading its long fanlike tail. The birds are usually observed in pairs. On January 21, 1945, E. W. Coleman of the NAMRU2 party killed a fantail but before he could retrieve it, a large toad (Bufo marinus) seized the fallen bird and carried it into a hole in the ground.

Rhipidura saipanensisHartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 54. (Type locality, Saipan).

Rhipidura versicolorOustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260 (Mariannes = Saipan); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 21 (Marianne = Saipan); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 190 (Saipan).

Rhipidura saipanensisMatschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 48 (Saipan); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 277 (Saipan); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 63 (Marianne = Saipan).

Rhipidura rufifrons saipanensisKuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 65 (Saipan); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 490 (Saipan); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 176 (Saipan, Tinian); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 195 (Saipan, Tinian); Mayr (part), Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 295 (Saipan, Tinian); Mayr and Moynihan (part), Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1321, 1946, p. 3 (Saipan, Tinian); Baker, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 59, 1946, p. 77 (Saipan, Tinian); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 98 (Tinian).

Rhipidura lepida saipanensisStott, Auk, 64, 1946, p. 527 (Saipan).

Geographic range.â€”Micronesia: Mariana Islandsâ€”Saipan, Tinian.

Characters.â€”Adult: Resembles adult ofR. r. uraniae, but forehead and anterior crown more rufous; posterior crown and nape lighter; rump and upper tail-coverts lighter and richer in color; white malar stripe broader; chin with white feathering more extensive, covering edge of upper throat.

Measurements.â€”Measurements are listed intable 38.

Specimens examined.â€”Total number, 16 (9 males, 6 females, 1 unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNMâ€”Saipan, 1 (Dec. 15)â€”Tinian, 3 (Oct. 16, 23); AMNHâ€”Saipan, 6 (July, Aug.)â€”Tinian, 6 (Sept.).

Molt.â€”Molt begins in July and extends through the autumn. Most of the specimens examined, that were taken in this period, are in molt.

Food habits.â€”Stott (1947:527) writes that the fantail forages for insects in the undergrowth and also while on the wing captures flying insects. Downs (1946:99) made similar observations concerning this bird at Tinian.

Remarks.â€”In studying the collection of fantails obtained by Marche at Guam and Saipan, Oustalet (1895:191) reached the conclusion that the birds from these two islands were the same as the bird from Yap, which he calledR. versicolor. He thought that the white-throated birds were in breeding plumage, and that the black-throated birds (from Guam) were in autumn and winter dress. This error was corrected by Hartert (1898:53).

Downs (1946:98-100) has published some interesting observations concerning the fantail at Tinian. He describes feeding behavior and the song which he says is "a beautiful rolling whistle, starting rather shrilly, then rolling on. Something like a meadow-lark and song sparrow combined." Gleise (1945:220) estimated the population of fantails at Tinian to be "40-50" in 1945. In 1931, Coultas found the bird at Tinian but not at Saipan. Stott (1947:527) observed the bird at Saipan "in forested areas and vine-draped crevices in the lava above Magicienne Bay."

Rhipidura rufifrons mariaeR. H. Baker, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 59, 1946, p. 7. (Type locality, Rota.)

Rhipidura rufifrons saipanensisTakatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 44, 1932, p. 222 (Rota); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 176 (Rota); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 195 (Rota); Mayr (part), Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 295 (Rota); Mayr and Moynihan (part), Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1321, 1946, p. 3 (Rota).

Rhipidura rufifrons mariaeBaker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 68 (Rota).

Geographic range.â€”Micronesia: Mariana Islandsâ€”Rota.

Characters.â€”Adult: Resembles adult ofR. r. saipanensis, but with richer brown coloring on the breast and abdomen; darker above, especially the forehead, rump, and basal part of tail; chin with small mount of white; malar line of white thinner.

Measurements.â€”Measurements are listed intable 38.

Weights.â€”Baker (1946:78) records the weights of two adult males from Rota as 8.3 and 9.0 grams.

Specimens examined.â€”Total number, 2 males, from Mariana Islands, USNMâ€”Rota (Oct. 22).

Remarks.â€”Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1932:222) published the first account of the fantail from Rota although Coultas (field notes) obtained a report of its presence at Rota in 1931. The NAMRU2 party obtained the two specimens studied, and reported that the birds were numerous in the forested areas of Rota in 1945.

Rhipidura versicolorHartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 96. (Type locality, Uap.)

Rhipidura versicolorGrÃ¤ffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 320 (Yap); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 402 (Yap); Oustalet, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, (7), 5, 1881, p. 76 (Uap); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 391 (Yap); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 21 (Uap); BÃ¼ttikofer, Notes Leyden Mus., 15, 1893, p. 78 (Uap); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 191 (Yap); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 54 (Yap); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 54 (Yap); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Yap); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 277 (Yap); Reichenow, Die VÃ¶gel, 2, 1914, p. 267 (Yap); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Mackenzie = Yap); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 66 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176 (Yap).

Rhipidura rufifrons versicolorMathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 489 (Uap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 196 (Yap); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 295 (Yap); Mayr and Moynihan, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1321, 1946, p. 3 (Yap).

Geographic range.â€”Micronesia: Caroline Islandsâ€”Yap.

Characters.â€”Adult: ResemblesR. r. uraniae, but chin and upper throat white; upper parts darker; abdomen whitish.

The description of the adult given by Hartlaub and Finsch (1872:96) is "Upper parts a rich brown with a slight reddish tinge; forehead bright rufous; upper and under tail-coverts rufous; throat white, margined underneath by an irregular jugular band of pure black; pectoral plumes black, broadly margined with yellowish white; middle of abdomen whitish, sides of a paler olive-brown under wing-coverts whitish; wing-feathers blackish brown; tail feathers brownish black, all largely tipped with white, the four middle ones rufous at the base, the white terminal spots becoming smaller towards the middle; beak fuscous, the under mandible paler except at tip; feet fuscous."

Hartert (1898:54) writes thatR. r. saipanensisdiffers from the bird at Yap "in having the bases of all rectrices rufous, the rump and upper tail-coverts rufous. The sides of the abdomen are not olive-brown, but rufous."

Remarks.â€”No specimens of the Rufous-fronted Fantail of Yap have been seen by me. On the basis of published descriptions and comments, it appears that the bird is subspecifically distinct from the forms in the Marianas but shows close relationships to them.R. r. versicolorhas the chin and throat white;R. r. saipanensishas the chin and part of the throat white and a heavy, white line in the malar region;R. r. mariaehas the chin and only a small amount of the throat white and a thinner, white malar stripe;R. r. uraniaehas only a small amount of white present on the chin and a very thin, white line in the malar region.

Rhipidura kubaryiFinsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1875 (1876), p. 644. (Type locality, PonapÃ©.)

Rhipidura kubaryiFinsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12. 1876, pp. 17, 29, pl. 2, fig. 2 (PonapÃ©);idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 779 (PonapÃ©); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 403 (PonapÃ©); Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 289 (PonapÃ©);idem, Ibis, 1881, pp. 110, 112, 115 (PonapÃ©); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 281 (PonapÃ©); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 198 (PonapÃ©); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 20 (PonapÃ©); BÃ¼ttikofer, Notes Leyden Mus., 15, 1893, p. 76 (PonapÃ©); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (PonapÃ©); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 277 (PonapÃ©); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 54, 64 (PonapÃ©); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 63, 1919, p. 204 (PonapÃ©); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 65 (PonapÃ©); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 403 (PonapÃ©); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176 (PonapÃ©); Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 204 (PonapÃ©); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 196 (PonapÃ©).

Rhipidura kubariiSharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 314 (PonapÃ©); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 55 (PonapÃ©).

Rhipdura rufifrons kubaryiMayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 295 (PonapÃ©); Mayr and Moynihan, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1321, 1946, pp. 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16 (PonapÃ©).

Geographic range.â€”Micronesia: Caroline Islandsâ€”PonapÃ©.

Characters.â€”Adult: Upper parts smoky olivaceous-brown, less smoky on rump and upper tail-coverts; anterior forehead and supraloral region narrowly edged with white; lores and orbital ring black; auriculars brown; feathers of chin and malar region tipped with white; rest of chin and throat black, lower feathers of throat edged with white; abdomen dark olivaceous-brown with whitish mid-portion anteriorily; sides and under tail-coverts ashy, the latter broadly tipped with white; wings and tail dark, tail tipped with white and outer rectrices more broadly so; axillaries and under wing-coverts gray, broadly tipped with white; bill and feet black, mandible basally whitish; iris dark brown.

R. r. kubaryiresemblesR. r. uraniae, but larger; lacking rufous coloring; smaller and shorter, white malar stripe; white on chin reduced.

Measurements.â€”Measurements are listed intable 38.

Specimens examined.â€”Total number, 40 (24 males, 15 females, 1 unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNMâ€”PonapÃ©, 1 (Feb. 12); AMNHâ€”PonapÃ©, 39 (Nov., Dec.).

Nesting.â€”Yamashina (1932a:403) records nests containing one or two eggs taken at PonapÃ© in 1931 on the following dates: July 11, August 2, 14, 19, 22, 30. Coultas (field notes) obtained reports that the eggs are two in number and laid in a cup-shaped nest of grass and fern, which is placed near the ground.

Molt.â€”Many of the specimens examined that were taken in November and December are in fresh or slightly worn plumage. Only a few are molting. Apparently molt occurs earlier, perhaps beginning in August and continuing until October or November.

Remarks.â€”Coultas obtained a large series of these birds at PonapÃ© in 1931. He writes (field notes) that the fantail is a common bird and is found in forest and brush lands. This bird has a nervous behavior similar to that of other fantails and is constantly "wagging its long tail." Coultas describes it as an aggressive bird, chasing honey-eaters and white-eyes.

Rhipidura lepidaHartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, p. 6. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)

Rhipidura lepidaHartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 117, 118 (Pelew Islands); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 331 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 97 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 4, 21, pl. 4, fig. 2-3 (Palau); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 322 (Pelew); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 198 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 21 (Pelew); BÃ¼ttikofer, Notes Leyden Mus., 15, 1893, p. 81 (Pelew); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 55 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Palau); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 278 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die VÃ¶gel, 2, 1914, p. 267 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 66 (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum], 2, 1930, p. 484 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 196 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu); Mayr and Moynihan, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1321, 1946, pp. 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 19 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 68 (Peleliu).

Geographic range.â€”Micronesia: Palau Islandsâ€”Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad.

Characters.â€”Adult: Upper parts near "cinnamon-rufous," slightly lighter on the upper wing-coverts, scapulars, edges of inner secondaries, and rump; lores blackish; orbital ring and auriculars dark brown; chin, upper throat, and malar region white; lower throat and upper breast black with ashy-gray sides; lower breast whitish; rest of underparts like back but slightly paler; wings dark; tail black with tips rufous, inner rectrices with rufous tips narrower than on tail; under wing-coverts and axillaries broadly edged with rufous; bill blackish, lower mandible whitish at base; feet brownish; iris dark brown. Female slightly smaller.

Immature: Resembles adult, but head and neck brown; throat coloring dingy; patch on breast blackish cinnamon. Younger individuals may be more tinged with rufous above and below.

Measurements.â€”Measurements are listed intable 39.

Table 39. Measurements ofRhipidura lepida

Specimens examined.â€”Total number, 18 (9 males, 9 females), as follows: Palau Islands, USNMâ€”Koror, 2 (Nov. 6, 18)â€”Babelthuap, 1 (Nov. 27)â€”Peleliu, 4 (Aug. 29, 30, 31); AMNHâ€”exact locality not given, 11 (Nov., Dec.).

Molt.â€”Some of the birds taken in August are in molt. Specimens taken in November and December are mostly in fresh plumage. Apparently this bird molts in late summer and early fall.

Remarks.â€”In 1945 the NAMRU2 party found the Palau Fantail in small numbers at Peleliu, Garakayo and Ngabad. At Peleliu the birds were noted as singles or in pairs in brushy undergrowth in forested areas. The birds were observed also in the second growth vegetation in the battle areas. Coultas (field notes) found the bird to be rare and restricted to the true forest, when he visited the Palau Islands in 1931. The fantail is one of the most attractive birds found in the jungles of the Palau Islands. Its bright rufous coloring is conspicuously displayed by the rapid movements of the wings and tail as the bird moves and feeds in the undergrowth. The population is apparently not large, and the individual or pair of birds probably ranges in a relatively large home territory.

Evolutionary History of Rhipidura in Micronesia.â€”The evolutionary history ofRhipidurain Micronesia has been studied considerably more than that of some of the other genera in the area. Oustalet (1896:70) notes a close relation betweenRhipiduraof the Marianas andR. rufifronsof Australia. Mayr (1941b:202, 203) regards the genusRhipiduraas typical of the Polynesian area and remarks that speciation within this genus has proceeded at a relatively rapid rate. Mayr and Moynihan (1946) have devoted a 21-page paper to a thorough discussion of theR. rufifronsgroup,based on the extensive collections at the American Museum of Natural History. They remark that no other genera are closely related toRhipiduraand that evolution has proceeded further inR. rufifronsthan in any other species of the genus. These authors regard the Papuan area, probably New Guinea, as the original home of this group. From their study they point out that many of the subspecies ofR. rufifronsof the Papuan area, especially those of the Louisiades and the Solomons, appear to be the least specialized of the species, and that this lack of specialization in these subspecies indicates that the ancestral stock of the speciesR. rufifronsacquired its specificity somewhere in that area. With regard to the kinds ofRhipidurain Micronesia, Mayr and Moynihan (1946:fig. 2) have logically found three separate colonizations within the area: one represented today byR. lepidaat Palau; one of subspecies ofR. rufifronsat Yap and in the Marianas; and one byR. r. kubaryiat PonapÃ©.

R. lepida, according to Mayr and Moynihan (1946), is a result of an early colonization byRhipidura. It is related toR. dedemi,R. superflua, andR. teijsmanni, which are mostly monotypic or have only two or three subspecies within the species. These three species are found in the region including Celebes and the Moluccas.R. lepidaapparently invaded the Palau Islands from Celebes or an adjacent area and, among named species, most closely resemblesR. teijsmanni. Both of these species have a white chin and throat, black breast patch, and rufous abdomen.R. lepidahas become differentiated chiefly by the presence of a rufous head and back, a more distinct breast band, and proportionately different amounts of rufous and black coloration of the tail feathers.

Mayr and Moynihan (1946:6) give as the chief characters ofR. rufifronsthe following: "a rufous forehead, a grayish brown head and upper back, a well-defined rufous rump, a white chin and throat, a black breast band with scaling at its lower edge, and a dark brown tail with a distinct rufous base and a white tip." The Micronesian subspecies ofR. rufifronsat Yap and in the Marianas display these characters. Of the four subspecies found in the area including Yap and the Marianas,R. r. versicolor,R. r. saipanensis,R. r. mariaeandR. r. uraniae, the two first named most closely approach the ancestral stock, which may have beenR. r. commodaHartert of the northern Solomons or some near relative in Melanesia. The amount of white on the chin and throat and on the malar stripe, inR. r. versicolorandR. r. saipanensisis probablynearer that which obtained in the ancestor. At Rota,R. r. mariae, exhibits less white on the throat and a thinner, white malar stripe, while at Guam,R. r. uraniaepossesses only a small amount of white on the chin and only a very thin line of white in the malar region. This variation in coloration suggests that the birds may have originally become established at Yap, Saipan and Tinian and later, birds from Saipan and Tinian spread to Rota and lastly to Guam.

R. r. kubaryiof PonapÃ©, although considered as a subspecies ofR. rufifronsby most workers, has lost the rufous coloring found in most members of the species. Mayr and Moynihan (1946:6) point to its evolution through subspecies in the Santa Cruz Islands, where inR. r. agilisMayr the rufous of the lower back is restricted to the upper tail-coverts, and inR. r. melanolaemaSharpe andR. r. utupuaeMayr the rufous is absent. In the latter two subspecies, as well as inR. r. kubaryi, the forehead is white instead of rufous.

The invasion of Micronesia byRhipidurahas undoubtedly been the result of abnormally long flights by a relatively weak flyer. The fact thatRhipidurahas succeeded in establishing itself at only a few of the seemingly suitable islands in Micronesia may indicate that the possibilities for chance migration and resulting colonization are small, but that new colonization may be expected in the future.

It is my opinion that the populations ofRhipidura, as I have observed them in Micronesia, are small because each individual or pair of birds is dependent on a relatively large area of woodland to satisfy its habitat requirements, especially for food. This suggestion needs to be tested by observation made in the field. In comparison with the insect fauna of New Guinea or some other large island, that of Micronesia is indeed small in number of kinds. Hesse, Allee and Schmidt (1937:524) explain the absence of insectivorous animals such as "swallows, swifts, flycatchers, and insectivorous bats" in island communities on the basis of the small number of flying insects in these communities. ProbablyRhipidurais able to forage for sedentary insect life as well as for the flying forms.

Muscicapa RugensisHombron and Jacquinot, Ann. Sci. Nat. Paris, (2), 16, 1841, p. 312. (Type locality, Roug = Truk.)

Monarcha rugensisHartlaub, Archiv. f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, p. 133 (Gruppe Roug. = Truk);idem, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168 (Carolinen = Truk);idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. 829 (Hogoleu = Truk); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 321 (Caroline = Truk); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 614 (Carolinae = Truk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 353 (Ruk).

Colluricincla rugensisPucheran, Voy. PÃ´le Sud, Zool., 3, 1853, p. 62 (Ruk); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 162 (Roug = Truk).

Metabolus rugensisBonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, 38, 1854, p. 650 (no locality = Truk); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 238 (Ruk); Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 575 (Ruk); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 197 (Ruk); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 19 (Ruk); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 26 (Ruk); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 4 (Ruk); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ruk); Reichenow, Die VÃ¶gel, 2, 1914, p. 262 (Karolinen = Truk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Ruk); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 63, 1919, p. 203 (Truk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 63 (Ruk); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 470 (Ruk); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 404 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 178 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 197 (Truk); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 295 (Truk).

Monarcha (Metabolus) rugensisGray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 19 (Caroline Islands).

Geographic range.â€”Micronesia: Caroline Islandsâ€”Truk.

Characters.â€”Adult male: White feathers (with dark bases) throughout except for black ones on forehead, lores, chin, and throat; chin and throat with steel-blue gloss; tips of second to fifth or seventh primaries black, black coloring extending along inner webs; shafts of primaries and basal half of tail feathers black; bill and feet black.

Adult female: Resembles adult male, but generally sooty-black, darker above; under tail-coverts and sometimes rump splotched with white; white coloring may also be present on tips of secondaries, on chin, and on tail.

Immature: Resembles adult, but bright cinnamon on upper parts and on wings and tail; inner webs of primaries grayish or dark brown, shafts of primaries lighter on basal half; lores, chin and throat white or washed with creamy-buff; breast and abdomen whitish, washed with cinnamon, sides darker rufous, under wing-coverts, axillaries, and under tail-coverts usually light rufous although somewhat variable in color; basal part of bill yellow, tip of bill horn colored. Immatures may be observed in all stages of color change toward the adult condition.

Measurements.â€”Measurements are listed intable 40.

Table 40. Measurements ofMetabolus rugensi

Specimens examined.â€”Total number, 27 (14 males, 13 females), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNMâ€”Truk, 2 (Feb. 16, not dated); AMNHâ€”Truk, 25 (Jan. 29, Feb. 1, 8, 10, 11, May 6, 9, June 11, 13, 14, 15, Oct. 11, 31, Nov. 2, 11, Dec. 3, 12, 17, 20).

Nesting.â€”Yamashina (1932a:404) reports on the taking of a nest containing one egg at Natsushima, Truk Atoll, in May, 1931. According to Hartert (1900:5) Owston's collectors obtained nests on June 1, 4, and 12. Two were in breadfruit trees about twenty feet above the ground. Each nest contained one egg. Hartert writes, "The eggs are cream-coloured, speckled with brownish red, more frequently and often very thickly on the large end, and with some deeper lying pale purplish grey patches, and one has some very fine black lines on the large end."

Molt.â€”A study of adult specimens obtained at various times of the year indicates thatMetabolusnormally molts in the period from about October through January.

Mayr (1933e:1-10) has studied the variation of immature and adult plumages inNeolalage banksiana(Gray) and other birds pointing out the occurrence of "retarded" and "progressive" plumages. Bogert has followed this work in interpreting the condition of the plumages inMetabolus, and through the kindness of Ernst Mayr I have examined Bogert's unpublished manuscript on the series ofMetabolusat the American Museum of Natural History, from which the following account of the plumage is taken.

In the series of skins, there are specimens of non-molting, immature males with "normal" plumage (that is to say, plumage with upper parts cinnamon-colored and lower parts whitish and darker buff) taken in October and in February. There are also specimens of non-molting, immature females with "normal" plumage taken in November and in May. These immatures are in fresh or slightly worn plumages. In addition, there is one non-molting, male specimen (November) which has some white on the crown and throat, some black on the lores and chin, but because the black feathers are fresh, the specimen is considered to be a "transition" bird and may be either a "retarded" adult or a "progressive" immature male. One non-molting female (October) shows some sooty-black mottling on the chin and throat and a few black feathers on the crown; this is apparently a "progressive" immature because the lower mandible has a yellow basal part, characteristic of the immature. Another female (June) shows black feathers on the crown, nape, chin, throat, and breast; this bird is in the process of molting with the black feathers representing new growth and is an immature assuming the adult conditionâ€”in "progressive" plumage. One non-molting male (January) has an intermingling of white feathers in the cinnamon coloring of the head and body, black on the forehead, chin and throat, primaries black with cinnamon edges, and bill similar in color to that of the adult; it is considered to be an adult with "retarded" plumage. Two molting males (December) resemble adults except for cinnamon coloring on shoulders, back, primaries, retrices and a slight cinnamon wash on breast feathers; these may be "retarded" adults. One molting female (June) has mixed cinnamon and sooty-black feathering; this may also be a "retarded" adult. Another molting female (December) with more sooty-black feathering and less cinnamon feathering is also considered to be a "retarded" adult. In fully adult birds there is considerable individual variation, especially in the males where the amount of black on the throat, the extent of the black on the terminal part of the primaries, and the extent of the black on the basal part of the tail feathers is variable. Scattered white feathers may be present on adult females.

Remarks.â€”Hombron and Jacquinot first obtained the Truk Monarch, but it was not until the time of Kubary and of the Japanesecollectors of Owston that very much was learned concerning the bird. In 1945, McElroy of the NAMRU2 party reported that he found no birds at the several islands of Truk that he visited in December. Some of the Japanese residents of the islands told McElroy that they did not know the bird. Evidently, its numbers are low or it has been eliminated, at least on the islands then populated by the Japanese.

Metabolusbelongs to a group of flycatchers including the generaPomarea,Mayrornis,Neolalage,Monarcha, andClytorhynchus. The different plumages of the adults and the immatures are not unusual in this group of genera, this feature being observed in many of the flycatchers of Oceania. Mayr (1933c:1) points out some of the relationships betweenMetabolusand some of these other genera; he comments that all of them have rather thin bills, in contrast to those of other flycatchers.

Metabolusbecame established at Truk probably as the result of an independent colonization. It is a well differentiated genus showing little resemblance toMonarcha godeffroyiof Yap. In looking over the genera found in the Pacific area, it appears thatMetabolusis closest toClytorhynchusof the Melanesian region, especially toClytorhynchus hamliniMayr, which is resident at Rennell in the Solomon Islands. The bills of these two birds are similar, both being long and thin, with a pronounced hook. In coloration there is some resemblance;C. hamlinihas the blackish forehead and chin like the maleMetabolusand also the burnt-orange underparts. InC. hamlini, however, the sexes are similar,Metabolusalso resemblesC. nigrogularis. LikeMetabolus, the immatures of this latter species are different in color from the adults.

Monarcha godeffroyiHartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. 829, pl. 38. (Type locality, Yap.)

Monarcha godeffroyiFinsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 50 (Yap); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 432 (Yap); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 403 (Yap); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 56 (Yap); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 289 (Yap); Reichenow, Die VÃ¶gel, 2, 1914, p. 261 (Yap); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 295 (Yap).

Monarcha godeffroyiGray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 321 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 175 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 194 (Yap).

Monarches godeffroyiHartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 97 (Yap); GrÃ¤ffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 391 (Yap); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 63 (Yap).

Pomarea godeffroyiWiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 19 (Yap); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Yap).

Monarcharses geoffroyiiMathews, Bull. British Ornith. Club, 45, 1925, p. 94 (new generic name);idem, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 514 (Yap).

Monarcharses godeffroyiTakatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 486 (Yap?).

Geographic range.â€”Micronesia: Caroline Islandsâ€”Yap.

Characters.â€”Adult male: according to Sharpe (1879:432). "General colour above white, from the hind neck to the rump and including scapulars; wings black, the quills browner; upper tail-coverts and tail black; head all around black, including the lower throat; sides of neck and rest of under surface, from the foreneck downwards, pure white; thighs and under tail-coverts black; under wing-coverts black, quills ashy blackish below; white along the inner edge of the primaries; 'bill entirely blue; feet whitish blue; iris black' (Kubary M. S.)."

Adult female: "Entirely black, excepting the hind neck and upper mantle, sides of neck, lower throat, and fore neck, which are pure white" (Sharpe, 1879:432).

Immature: "Above brown, the head and hind neck ashy grey, the scapulars rufescent at the tips, the rump rufous, becoming paler and more fulvous on the upper tail-coverts; wing-coverts dusky brown, broadly edged externally with rufous-buff, becoming fulvous on the median and greater coverts; quills dark brown, externally edged with rufous, the primaries narrowly, the secondaries more broadly, the innermost of the latter edged and tipped with buff; tail-feathers ashy brown, narrowly edged with ochraceous brown and tipped with white, more broadly on the outer feathers; lores and a broad eyebrow rufous-buff; ear-coverts rather deeper rufous, shading on to the sides of the throat; under surface of body light cinnamon-rufous inclining to rufous on the throat and under tail-coverts; under wing-coverts light cinnamon, like the breast; quills light brown below, whitish along the inner web; 'bill horn-colour, the point brown, under mandible paler, feet dirty white, iris black' (Kubary M. S.)." (Sharpe, 1879:433).

Remarks.â€”No specimens of this species have been seen by me. Most taxonomists have regarded this bird as a member of the genusMonarcha, although Mathews did propose the nameMonarcharsesfor this bird. On the basis of descriptions and pictures (especially plate 38 in Hartlaub, 1868:828) the bird appears to be related to the monarch flycatchers of the Melanesian area. It may be closest toMonarcha menckeifrom the Bismarcks,M. manadensisof the New Guinea region,M. barbatusfrom the Solomons or toM. leucurusfrom Buru. The drab color of the immatures and the black and white color of the adults are characteristics of the Yap Monarch which are shared with some of the other species ofMonarcha. The connection betweenM. godeffroyiandMetabolus rugensisof Truk is not known, but they evidently represent separate colonizations.M. takatsukasaeof Tinian appears to be an offshoot ofM. godeffroyiofYap, in which the black and white plumage has been suppressed (or never developed). As indicated by the published descriptions, the immature ofM. godeffroyishows a close resemblance to the adult ofM. takatsukasae. The latter also shows relationships to immature specimens ofM. leucotisand toM. guttulaof Melanesia.

The relationship of the two species ofMonarchain Micronesia to the Hawaiian Flycatcher,Chasiempsis sandwichensisis not known. It is apparent that this Hawaiian form was derived from some ancestor from Melanesia, which arrived in the Hawaiian Islands by way of either Polynesia or Micronesia. Mayr (1943:45) has already pointed out thatChasiempsisis "related to theMonarchagroup (Pomarea,Mayrornis, etc.)."

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