Chapter XV: Part 15

_Lamprotornis columbinus_ Bonaparte (part), Consp. Avium, 1, 1850,
p. 417 (Carolinen = Kusaie?).

_Lamprotornis columbina_ Hartlaub, Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18,
1852, p. 133 (Ualan); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p.
168 (Carolinen = Kusaie?); Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer.
Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 376 (Ualan).

_Calornis opaca_ Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean,
1859, p. 26 (Oualau = Kusaie); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 255
(Kusaie); Hartert, Kat. Vogelsamml. Senckenb., 1891, p. 75
(Ualan).

_Calornis kittlitzi_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna Central
polynesiens, 1867, p. 109 (Ualan, Puynipet, Marianen; type
locality, by subsequent restriction, Ualan = Kusaie); Finsch
(part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 23 (Ualan).

_Calornis kittlitzii_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867
(1868), p. 830 (Ualan).

_Amadina Kittlitzi_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 58 (Ualan).

_Calornis pacifica_ Sharpe, Ibis, 1876, p. 47 (Caroline Is. =
Kusaie?); Finsch (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 49
(Kuschai).

_Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12,
1876, p. 32 (Ualan); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp.
289, 301 (Kuschai); _idem_, (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880,
p. 576 (Kuschai); _idem_, (part), Ibis, 1881, pp. 103, 104, 108,
111 (Kuschai).

_Aplonis kittlitzi_ Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 13,
1890, p. 136 (Kuschai); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber.
Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Ualan);
Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895,
p. 216 (Oualan); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 59
(Ualan); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ualan);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Kusaie).

_Lamprocorax kittlitzi_ Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 542
(Kuschai).

_Aplonis opaca_ Oberholser, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 98, 1917, p. 59
(Ualan); Wetmore (part), in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 219 (Kusaie).

_Aplonis kittlitzi kittlitzi_ Momiyama (part), Tori, 2, 1920, p. 1
(Kusaie).

_Aplonis opaca opaca_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, 1922, pp.
6, 12 (Kusaie); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 70 (Kusaie); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2,
1930, p. 847 (Kusaie); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1931,
p. 109 (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 170
(Kusaie).

_Aplornis opaca opaca_, Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
188 (Kusaie).

_Aplonis opacus opacus_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p.
298 (Kusaie).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie.

_Characters._--Adult: Feathers black with dusky appearance caused
by lighter bases; edges of feathers with slight amount of
steel-green gloss; underparts slightly duller than upper parts;
bill black, with maxilla rather strongly curved; feet black, iris
yellow. Females slightly smaller.

Immature: Resembles adult, but upper parts more brown and less
black; underparts dusky with edges of feathers tinged with smoky
yellow producing a streaked appearance; base of bill horn-colored.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 45.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 30 (18 males, 12 females), as
follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Kusaie, 5 (Feb. 8); AMNH--Kusaie,
25 (Jan., Feb., March).

TABLE 45. MEASUREMENTS OF ADULT SPECIMENS OF _Aplonis opacus_

====================+============+=========+=======+========+===========
| Number | | | | Depth of
SUBSPECIES | and | Wing | Tail | Full | culmen at
| sex | | | culmen | nostril
--------------------+------------+---------+-------+--------+-----------
_A. o. opacus_ | 15 males | 124 | 80 | 24 | 9.5
| | 121-125 | 76-85 | 24-26 | 9.0-10.0
| | | | |
| 12 females | 119 | 77 | 24 | 9.0
| | 115-125 | 72-82 | 23-26 | 8.5-9.0
| | | | |
_A. o. ponapensis_ | 17 males | 133 | 87 | 27 | 9.5
| | 130-138 | 85-91 | 26-29 | 9.0-10.0
| | | | |
| 11 females | 126 | 83 | 27 | 9.0
| | 122-127 | 81-85 | 26-28 | 8.5-9.0
| | | | |
_A. o. angus_ | 16 males | 129 | 88 | 28 | 9.5
| | 125-131 | 84-92 | 27-29 | 8.0-9.0
| | | | |
| 7 females | 124 | 85 | 27 | 8.5
| | 121-129 | 83-88 | 25-28 | 8.0-9.0
| | | | |
_A. o. orii_ | 11 males | 128 | 86 | 27 | 7.5
| | 124-131 | 83-90 | 25-28 | 7.5-8.5
| | | | |
| 7 females | 124 | 79 | 26 | 7.5
| | 121-126 | 77-82 | 25-27 | 7.5-8.0
| | | | |
_A. o. guami_ | 41 males | 128 | 86 | 27 | 9.5
| | 120-136 | 81-92 | 24-29 | 8.5-10.5
| | | | |
| 32 females | 121 | 84 | 26 | 9.5
| | 117-126 | 78-89 | 24-30 | 8.5-10.5
--------------------+------------+---------+-------+--------+-----------

_Remarks._--The Micronesian Starling at Kusaie was first taken by Kittlitz (1833:11), who named it in the following manner: "_Turdus columbinus_ Gm. L. oder _Lamproth. opaca_ Lichtenstein." The bird was later given the name of _Calornis kittlitzi_ by Finsch and Hartlaub (1867:109). Oberholser (1917:59) has shown that the specific name _opaca_ is applicable, since the manuscript name _Lamprothornis opaca_ of Lichtenstein is made available by Kittlitz's published description and figure, and since it is the earliest name used. Mathews (1938:342) reports that the name _Aplornis_ appeared a few days before the name _Aplonis_. I have been unable to check his source of information.

The Micronesia Starling is one of the most abundant birds at Kusaie. Coultas (field notes) observed the bird in all parts of the island, when he visited there in 1931. He found the bird in flocks of two to six or more and noted that birds in immature plumage seemed to outnumber the birds in adult plumage approximately five to one. This subspecies is characterized by the presence of only a slight amount of gloss on the black feathers of the adult.

=Aplonis opacus ponapensis= Takatsukasa and Yamashina

Micronesian Starling

_Aplonis opaca ponapensis_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Tori, 7,
1931, p. 109. (Type locality, Ponapé.)

_Calornis columbina_ Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, pp. 88,
162 (Puynipet).

_Calornis kittlitzi_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna
Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 109 (Puynipet); Schmeltz and Krause
(part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 298 (Ponapé).

_Calornis opaca_ Gray (part), Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 27
(Seniavin = Ponapé).

_Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12,
1876, pp. 17, 32 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877
(1878), p. 779 (Ponapé); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880,
p. 289 (Ponapé); _idem_, (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p.
576 (Ponapé).

_Calornis pacifica_ Finsch, Ibis, 1881, p. 115 (Ponapé); _idem_,
(part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien. 1884, p. 49 (Ponapé).

_Aplonis kittlitzi_ Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 13,
1890, p. 136 (Ponapé); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool.
Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Ponapé); Bolau
(part), Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 62 (Ponapé);
Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 122 (Ponapé); Matschie (part),
Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda
(part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 55 (Ponapé).

_Lamprocorax kittlitzi_ Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 542
(Ponapé).

_Aplonis opaca_ Wetmore (part), in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull.
Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 219 (Ponapé); Mayr. Proc. 6th
Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 204 (Ponapé).

A_plonis kittlitzi kittlitzi_ Momiyama (part), Tori, 2, 1920, p. 1
(Ponapé).

_Aplonis opaca opaca_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, 1922, p.
12 (Ponapé); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922,
p. 70 (Ponapé).

_Aplonis opaca ponapensis_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 394
(Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 170 (Ponapé).

_Aplonis opaca ponapensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942,
p. 188 (Ponapé).

_Aplonis opacus ponapensis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 297 (Ponapé).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé.

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles _A. o. opacus_, but larger with a
longer bill and richer green luster on the back and breast.

Immature: Resembles immature of _A. o. opacus_, but underparts
more brightly streaked but still dingy in appearance.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 45.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 47 (31 males, 16 females), as
follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 1 (Feb. 11); AMNH--Ponapé,
46 (Nov., Dec.).

_Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:394) reports the taking of an egg on
August 2, 1931, and two eggs on August 30, 1931, at Ponapé. Coultas
(field notes) writes that the nests of these birds are hidden in
the tops of the tree-ferns and in holes in the trees. The natives
told him that the starling lays two eggs.

_Molt._--Most of the adult specimens taken by Coultas in November
and December, 1931, are in molting plumage.

_Remarks._--Coultas (field notes) writes that the starling is a common bird at Ponapé. He found it in flocks of from two to 12 or more birds. As at Kusaie he noted more birds in the immature plumage than in the adult plumage at Ponapé. The starling occurs in large numbers even though the people of the island hunt this bird persistently for part of their food supply.

The Micronesian Starling at Palau has the longest wing of any of the subspecies of _Aplonis opacus_. It most closely resembles _A. o. opacus_; both of these subspecies have only a faint amount of bronzy-green luster of the feathers, and the immatures have dingy yellow streaks on the abdomen.

=Aplonis opacus angus= Momiyama

Micronesian Starling

_Aplonis opaca anga_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 6. (Type
locality, Toroas, Ruk Island.)

_Lamproth[ornis] opaca_ Kittlitz (part), Observ. Zool., in Lutké,
Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 297 (Lougounor = Lukunor).

_Lamprotornis columbinus_ Bonaparte (part), Consp. Avium, 1, 1850,
p. 417 (Carolinen = Lukunor?).

_Lamprotornis columbina_ Hartlaub (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1854,
p. 168 (Carolinen = Lukunor?).

_Calornis kittlitzi_ Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1872, pp. 89, 100 (Mackenzie = Ulithi?); Finsch (part),
Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 23 (Mackenzie = Ulithi?);
Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881,
pp. 298, 330, 353 (Mortlock, Nukuor, Ruk).

_Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8,
1875, p. 23 (Mackenzie = Ulithi?); _idem_ (part), Journ. f.
Ornith., 1880, p. 290 (Ruck, Mortlocks); _idem_ (part), Proc.
Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ruk); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881,
p. 111 (Ruk).

_Calornis pacifica_ Finsch (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884,
p. 49 (Rukgruppe).

_Aplonis kittlitzi_ Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 13,
1890, p. 136 (Ruk, Lugunor); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber.
Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Ruk or
Luganor, Nukuor); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat.
Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 216 (Ruk, Nukuor, Luganor); Hartert
(part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 59 (Ruk, Luganor); _idem_,
Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 6 (Ruk); Matschie (part), Journ. f.
Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ruck); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori,
1, 1915, p. 55 (Ruk).

_Lamprocorax kittlitzi_ Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 542
(Ruk, Luganor).

_Aplonis opaca_ Wetmore (part), in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull.
Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 219 (Truk).

_Aplonis kittlitzi kittlitzi_ Momiyama (part), Tori, 2, 1920, p. 1
(Truk, Wolea).

_Aplonis opaca anga_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922,
p. 71 (?Luganor or Ruk, ?Nukuor, Wolea or Oleai); Takatsukasa and
Yamashina, Tori, 32, 1930, p. 109 (Ruk); Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 847 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds,
rev., 1932, p. 170 (Uluthi, Feys, Wolea, Ifalik, Faraulep,
Lamotrek, Truk, Nukuoro).

_Aplornis apaca anga_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi,
43, 1931, p. 458 (Truk?); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942,
p. 188 (Uluthi, Feys, Wolea, Ifalik, Faraulep, Lamotrek, Truk,
Nukuoro).

_Aplonis opacus angus_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 297
(Truk and western Carolines); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol.
107, no. 15, 1948, pp. 70, 71 (Ulithi Truk).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ulithi, Fais,
Wolea, Ifalik, Faraulep, Lamotrek, Truk, Nukuoro, Lukunor.

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles _A. o. opacus_, but larger and
with bill less deep and feathers with distinct greenish luster
both on the upper parts and the lower parts. Female smaller.

Immature: Resembles immature of _A. o. opacus_, but underparts
streaked with brighter, buffy-yellow coloring.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 45.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 38 (24 males, 14 females), as
follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 27 (Aug. 15, 16, 19, 20,
21, 22)--Truk, 2 (Feb. 16, Dec. 13); AMNH--Truk, 9 (Jan. 29, Feb.
1, 28, June 14, Oct. 9, 14).

_Nesting._--Hartert (1900:6) reports that at Truk nests of the
starling were obtained by Owston's Japanese collectors from May to
July and one in March. Nests contained from one to three eggs each.

_Molt._--Adult birds taken by the NAMRU2 party at Ulithi in August
are in molting plumage.

_Food habits._--The stomachs of starlings obtained in August at
Ulithi contained pieces of fruit and seeds. Twelve stomachs
contained between one and three cc. of these foods. Papaya and
small berries were the foods most frequently observed in the
stomachs.

_Remarks._--The Micronesian Starling of the central and western Carolines is one of the few land birds which lives on both the "high" islands and the "low" coral islands in Micronesia. It is found on several of the coral atolls in the Carolines. In the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et al._, 1932:170), the birds at Ulithi and Fais are placed in the subspecies _A. o. angus_, although these islands are only a short distance from Yap, at which place another subspecies, _A. o. kurodai_, occurs. Specimens from Yap are not available for comparison. Specimens from Ulithi and from Truk closely resemble one another.

The NAMRU2 party found the starling to be numerous at Truk and at Ulithi in 1945. At both places the natives make use of the birds as food. At Truk, McElroy found a larger number of birds in immature plumage than that of birds in adult plumage. Similar observations have been made at several other islands in Micronesia.

At Ulithi, the NAMRU2 party found the starling at all islands in the atoll visited in 1945. The bird was more numerous at the islands of Potangeras and Mangejang, and less numerous at the island of Losiep; the former two islands were occupied--at the time of the visit in 1945--by service personnel and the vegetation was disturbed, whereas Losiep was uninhabited and rarely visited by people. I attribute the smaller population of starlings at Losiep to the fact that on this island the large monitor lizard, _Varanus indicus_, was numerous while at Potangeras and Mangejang it was apparently entirely absent. These large lizards depend principally on the birds, rodents, and insects for their food supply. At Potangeras the rat _Rattus exulans_ was exceedingly numerous, while at Losiep no sign of rodents was found nor were any taken in traps set during the daytime.

=Aplonis opacus kurodai= Momiyama

Micronesian Starling

_Aplonis kittlitzi kurodai_ Momiyama, Tori, 2, 1920, p. 1. (Type
locality, Yap.)

_Calornis kittlitzi_ Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1872, p. 100 (Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2,
1873, p. 123 (Yap); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875,
pp. 5, 24 (Yap); Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus.
Godeffroy, 1881, p. 298 (Yap).

_Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12,
1876, p. 32 (Yap).

_Aplonis kittlitzi_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus.
Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Yap); Oustalet (part),
Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 216 (Yap);
Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 58 (Yap); Bolau (part),
Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 62 (Yap); Matschie
(part), Journ. f. Ornith., 49, 1901, p. 112 (Yap); Takatsukasa and
Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Yap).

_Aplonis opaca kurodai_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 11
(Yap); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 71 (Yap);
Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 848 (Yap);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 170 (Yap).

_Aplonis opaca kurodai_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu,
Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 458 (Yap?); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed.,
1942, p. 188 (Yap).

_Aplonis opacus kurodai_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p.
297 (Yap); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948,
p. 71 (Yap).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Yap.

_Characters._--Adult: According to Momiyama (1922:11), "Similar to
_A. o. anga_ from Ruk group, but the bill thicker (9-10.5 mm.;
that of the latter 8.5-9.5 mm.) and much longer (24-27.5 mm.; that
of the latter 21.5-25 mm.) and the wing also longer in average
(119.5-130 mm. instead of 116.5-129.5 mm.). It differs from
typical _opaca_ by the edge of feathers of both body sides very
distinctly tinged with a bronzy-green lustre, by the bill being
longer and thicker (in typical _opaca_ exposed culmen 21.5-24.5
mm., depth of bill 9-9.5 mm.)."

Immature: "Similar to the immature of the typical form, but both
sides of body somewhat deeper in colour and the edge of feathers
distinctly tinged with lustrous bronzy-green. It differs from the
same stage of _A. o. anga_ by the under-parts being without
pale-yellowish area." Momiyama (1922:11).

Young: "Similar to the young of typical bird, but differs from it
by the mantle being very faintly tinged with bronzy-green and by
the under-parts being somewhat tinged with brown. In the same
stage of the typical form, the under-parts are much more
greyish-ashy in colour." Momiyama (1922:11).

_Remarks._--No specimens have been examined. Momiyama (1920:1) regarded the birds at Yap and at Saipan as _A. o. kurodai_. Later (1922:10) he separated the birds at Saipan as _A. o. harterti_, remarking that the birds from Saipan differ "from _A. o. kurodai_ Momiyama from Yap islands, by the green lustre on both sides of body being less distinct and showing tendency to a purplish lustre, by the bill being decidedly shorter, and by the same thickness."

Price (1936a:19) describes a method by which starlings and other birds are captured by the natives of Yap. The natives make slashes in the trunk of a breadfruit tree and allow the exuding juice to harden. This material is then chewed until soft and adhesive. It is then placed on a stick which has been secured directly under a papaya fruit. When the birds alight on this perch, they become stuck and are captured.

=Aplonis opacus orii= (Takatsukasa and Yamashina)

Micronesian Starling

_Aplornis opaca orii_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi,
43, 1931, p. 458. (Type locality, Coror, Pelew Islands.)

_Calornis kittlitzii_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1868, pp. 7, 117, 118 (Pelew).

_Calornis opaca_ Gray (part), Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 27
(Pelew).

_Calornis kittlitzi_ Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1872, p. 89 (Pelew); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy,
8, 1875, pp. 5, 23 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr.
Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 298 (Palau).

_Calornis kittlitzi_ Kubary, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 4, 1873, p.
225 (Palau-Inseln).

_Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12,
1876, pp. 17, 32 (Palau); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880,
p. 289 (Palau); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p.
576 (Palau); _idem_ (part). Ibis, 1881, p. 111 (Pelew).

_Aplonis kittlitzi_ Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool.
Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Pelew); Oustalet
(part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 212
(Palaos); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 58 (Pelew);
Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Palau);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 55 (Pelew).

_Aplonis opaca_ subsp nov.? Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p.
13 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 72
(Pelew).

_Aplornis opaca orii_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
188 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu, Anguar).

_Aplonis opaca orii_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 169
(Palau); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 673 (Palau).

_Aplonis opacus orii_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 297
(Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p.
71 (Peleliu, Ngesebus, Garakayo).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Kayangel,
Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Ngesebus, Peleliu, Ngabad, Angaur.

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _A. o. opacus_, but
slightly larger with bill longer and shallower, and feathers with
distinct greenish gloss both on the upper parts and the lower
parts. Resembles _A. o. angus_ in the amount of greenish gloss on
feathers, but bill shallower. Depth of bill of _A. o. opacus_
measures, on the average, 9.5 for males and 9.0 for females; of
_A. o. angus_ 8.5 for both males and females; of _A. o. orii_ 7.5
for both males and females.

Immature: Resembles immature of _A. o. angus_, but streaking on
underparts duller.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 45.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 40 (21 males, 19 females), as
follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 3 (Nov. 6)--Garakayo, 2
(Sept. 19)--Ngesebus, 1 (Sept. 20)--Peleliu, 7 (Aug. 28, 29, 30,
31, Sept. 5); AMNH--exact locality not given, 27 (Oct., Nov.,
Dec.).

_Molt._--Many of the specimens taken in August and September show
evidence of molt; most of the specimens taken in October, November
and December are not in molt.

_Remarks._--The amount of greenish gloss on the feathers of _A. o. orii_ and _A. o. angus_ appears to be the same, but the streaked underparts of the immature of _A. o. orii_ are duller than those of the immature of _A. o. angus_. The shallower bill in the Palau starling is caused by the lower edge of the mandible being generally straighter than that in _A. o. angus_ and _A. o. opacus_. In comparing _A. o. orii_ with _A. o. kurodai_, Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1931a:458) state that "the greenish gloss is less pronounced and of a duller shade than that of _A. o. kurodai_ Momiyama."

The starling is probably the most abundant land bird in the Palaus. It was found as singles or in small flocks at all islands visited by the NAMRU2 party in 1945. As at the other islands of Micronesia, the starling at Palau is noisy and conspicuous. It is a most inquisitive bird, often following the collector through the woodlands. Apparently the starling prefers the open woodlands and marginal areas to the thicker jungles; as a result of clearing operations during the war, the bird probably has increased. The starling is primarily a vegetarian; I found no animal matter in stomachs examined at Palau or at Ulithi or Guam. At Palau, as at other islands, more of the starlings seen were in immature plumage than in adult plumage. Coultas (field notes) found the birds to be abundant at Koror and highly prized as food by the natives and Japanese. He writes, "It is surprising what a fine wholesome meal certain people can get out of handful of rice and a starling's breast."

=Aplonis opacus guami= Momiyama

Micronesia Starling

_Aplonis opaca guami_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 9. (Type
locality, Guam).

_Turdus columbinus_ Lesson (part), Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 406
(Mariannes = Guam).

_Lamproth[ornis] opaca_ Kittlitz (part), Kupfertaf. Naturgesch.
Vögel, 2, 1833, p. 11, pl. 15, fig. 2 (Marianen = Guam); idem
(part), Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp.
298, 304 (Guahan).

_Lamprotornis columbinus_ Bonaparte (part), Consp. Avium, 1, 1850,
p. 417 (Mariann. =Guam).

_Lamprotornis columbina_ Hartlaub (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1854,
p. 167 (Mariannen =Guam); Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer.
Micron, und Kamchat., 1, 1858, pp. 367, 376 (Guaham).

_Calornis opaca_ Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean,
1859, p. 26 (Ladrone or Marian Is.); _idem_, (part), Hand-list
Birds, 2, 1870, p. 27 (Ladrone = Guam?).

_Calornis kittlitzi_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna
Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 109 (Marianen = Guam?); Oustalet, Le.
Nat., 1889, p. 261 (Mariannes).

_Calornis columbina_ Giebel (part), Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 427
(Marianae = Guam?).

_Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12,
1876, pp. 17, 32 Marianne).

_Aplonis kittlitzi_ Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool.
Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Marianne; Oustalet
(part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 212
(Guam, Saypan); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 58
(Guam, Saipan); Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13
(Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 54
(Marianas); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Guam);
Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 69 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7,
1904, p. 264 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p.
79 (Guam); Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 36, 1909, p. 477 (Guam);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Marianas);
Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec, vol. 13,
no. 2, 1936, p. 25 (Guam).

_Aplonis opaca_ Wetmore (part), in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull.
Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 219 (Guam).

_Aplonis kittlitzi kurodai_ Momiyama, Tori, 2, 1920, p. (Saipan).

_Aplonis opaca guami_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922,
p. 71 (Guam); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p.
847 (Guam); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 394 (Saipan, Rota);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 169 (Guam, Rota, Tinian,
Saipan).

_Aplonis opaca harterti_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, 1922,
p. 10 (Type locality, Saipan); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 71 (Saipan); Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 847 (Saipan).

_Aplornis opaca harterti_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu.
Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 487 (Saipan).

_Aplornis opaca guami_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi,
44, 1932, p. 221 (Tinian, Rota); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed.,
1942, p. 188 (Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam).

_Aplonis opacus guami_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 297
(Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan); Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 41
(Guam); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 103
(Tinian); Stott, Auk, 1947, p. 527 (Saipan, Guam); Baker,
Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 69 (Guam, Rota,
Tinian, Saipan).

_Aplonis opacus_ Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, p. 174 (Guam);
Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 540 (Guam); Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p.
125 (Guam).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Rota,
Tinian, Saipan.

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles closely _A. o. angus_ in the
amount of greenish gloss present on the body feathers, but with
slightly shorter and deeper bill.

Immature: Resembles the immature of _A. o. angus_ but streaks on
underparts brighter and less-dingy yellow.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 45. The writer
(1948:69) has given average measurements for the length of wing of
adult males from Guam as 127, from Rota as 122, from Tinian as
131, and from Saipan as 131; for depth of bill of adult males from
Guam as 9.0, from Rota as 9.0, from Tinian as 9.5, and from Saipan
as 10.0.

_Weights._--The NAMRU2 party obtained weights of six adult males
from Guam as 84-96 (87); of eight adult females from Guam as 78-108
(86); of two juvenal males from Guam as 88 and 90; of five juvenal
females from Guam as 77-87 (80); of two adult males from Rota as 70
and 83; and of five juvenal males from Rota as 64-80 (76).

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 95 (55 males, 37 females, 3
unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 44 (Jan. 21, 22,
Feb. 5, March 8, 13, April 12, May 18, 22, 24, 27, 29, 30, June 3,
4, 6, 14, 16, 18, July 6, 7, 14, 20, Aug. 24, Oct. 8, Nov. 19,
23)--Rota, 12 (Oct. 18, 19, 26, 27, Nov. 2)--Tinian, 4 (Oct. 12,
18); AMNH--Guam, 16 (Jan. 23, 24, 29, March 3, 12, 13, 24, May,
Aug. 12, Nov. 23, 28, Dec. 26)--Tinian, 15 (Sept. 7, 8, 10, 11,
12)--Saipan, 4 (July 9, 17, Aug. 26, Sept. 2).

_Nesting._--The NAMRU2 party found evidence of nesting by starlings
at Guam as early as January 28, in 1945. On this date a bird was
seen to carry food into a hollow tree at Oca Point. Signs of
nesting activities were observed in the months that followed, the
last record being obtained on June 11. Starlings nest in cavities
in trees, in holes in rocky cliffs, and probably in the tops of
coconut palms. On June 2 a nest was found by Muennink in a cavity
of a banyan tree at Oca Point, Guam. The nest was approximately 12
feet from the ground and consisted of a flattened mass of green
foliage at the bottom of the cavity. Two eggs found in the nest
have been described by the author (1948:69) as "Niagara green" with
scattered, irregular spots of color, near "russet," "Mars brown"
and "pallid purple-drab," most abundant near the large ends.
Measurements are 32.1 by 22.1 and 32.0 by 22.4.

Yamashina (1932a:394) records two eggs taken at Saipan on April
14, 1931; two eggs taken at Rota on March 10, 1931; and one egg
taken at Rota on March 11, 1931. Seale (1901:54) writes that the
starling nests in a hole in the dead trunk of the coconut palm and
may lay three or four eggs. Hartert (1898:59) reports that two
eggs were taken at Guam on March 11.

_Food habits._--Probably the chief food of the starling at Guam is
the fruit and seeds of the papaya. This plant grows in most parts
of the island, especially in the lowlands where land uses have
disturbed the climax vegetation. Many of the garden plots lay
fallow during the war and were allowed to grow up in thick stands
of papaya. As a fruit began to ripen, the starlings would peck out
one side of a ripe fruit, feeding on the tissues and the seeds. It
was seldom that a fully ripe papaya fruit was found that had not
been at least partly eaten by the starlings. Apparently the birds
do not feed on the fruit before it is fully ripened. Seeds of
other types of vegetation were also eaten by the birds.

_Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174) records the chigger (Acarina),
_Trombicula_ sp., from the starling at Guam.

_Remarks._--According to Oustalet (1895:212), the starling was taken in the Marianas by the expedition in the "Uranie" in 1820 and by the expedition in the "Astrolabe" in 1829. Kittlitz, who visited Guam from March 1-20, 1828, also recorded the starling. It was not until 1922, however, that the starling in the Marianas was recognized as subspecifically distinct from the birds in the Carolines and Palaus. The Japanese ornithologists named the bird at Guam as _A. o. guami_ and the bird at Saipan as _A. o. harterti_, but later regarded these as a single subspecies _A. o. guami_. Momiyama (1920:2) had, previously to the naming of the new forms in the Marianas, considered the bird at Saipan as belonging to the same subspecies as that found at Yap. Among named kinds, _A. o. guami_ found at Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan appears to be most closely related to _A. o. angus_. These two subspecies differ in that the streaking of the underparts in the immatures is brighter in _A. o. guami_ and duller in _A. o. angus_. The bird at Saipan has a longer wing and a deeper bill than the bird at Guam; however, birds at Tinian show intermediate measurements.

At Guam, the starling is the most numerous land bird. The writer (1947b:124), in counting birds along the roadways of Guam, recorded the starling on all of the 125 counts and found the birds to include more than one-half (57.3 percent) of all the birds seen. Starlings may have increased during the years of the war, with the disruption of normal agricultural activities allowing the growth of papaya and other food plants in fallow areas; however, the use of the birds as food by the islanders probably increased during the war.

As at other islands in Micronesia, the numbers of birds in immature plumage at Guam seemingly exceeds the number of birds in adult plumage. Animals which may prey on the starling at Guam include the feral house cat, _Rattus mindanensis_, _Corvus kubaryi_, and the large lizard _Varanus indicus_. The starling spends little time on the ground; it feeds principally in the trees, which might limit the amount of damage done to it by the feral house cats which are numerous on the island. The rat, _R. mindanensis_, is a semi-arboreal animal and may feed on eggs and young birds in nest cavities of trees or on cliffs. The crow, _C. kubaryi_, has a reputation for stealing chicken eggs from poultry yards and may prey on the eggs and young of the starling. The monitor lizard, _V. indicus_, is known to prey on the starling, as well as on the domestic chickens at farm houses. On January 31, 1945, one of these large lizards was seen descending a tree after robbing a nest of a starling; one of the starling's eggs was seen in the mouth of the lizard. The noise and commotion set up by the parent birds and by other starlings, which had been attracted to the area, did not appear to perturb the uninvited guest.

Downs (1946:103) writes that the starling at Tinian is less common than the white-eye, _Zosterops conspicillata saypani_. Gleize (1945:220) estimated the population of starlings on Tinian at 200. Coultas (field notes) found the starling abundant at Tinian in 1931, but he did not find the bird at Saipan. According to Stott (1947:527), the starling was abundant at Guam but "appeared to be common only locally on Saipan." He saw large flocks at the Marpi Point and Kingman Point areas on Saipan but found the bird less numerous elsewhere on the island. At Rota, the NAMRU2 party found the birds to be numerous and widely distributed over the island in 1945.

At Guam, the present writer observed behavior of the starling on January 31, 1945, which may have been a courtship ceremony. Two adults were perched on a palm frond approximately 20 feet above the ground. The bird which was perched more distally on the frond opened its tail fan-fashion, spread its wings and at irregular intervals picked up in its beak a part of the frond and then released it. As this behavior was taking place, the birds would call in a sweet ascending song, which reminded me very much of the song of the redwing blackbird of North America. This was indeed a contrast to the usual squawking notes of this subspecies.

=Aplonis opacus aeneus= (Takatsukasa and Yamashina)

Micronesian Starling

_Aplornis opaca aenea_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi,
43, 1931, p. 487. (Type locality, Pagan.)

_Aplonis kittlitzi_ Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat.
Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 212 (Pagan, Agrigan).

_Aplonis opaca harterti_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, 1922,
p. 11 (Pagan, Agrigan); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 71 (Pagan, Agrigan).

_Aplornis opaca aenea_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
187 (Asongsong = Asuncion, Agrigan, Pagan, Almagan).

_Aplornis opaca aenea_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi,
44, 1932, p. 221 (Pagan, Almagan).

_Aplonis opaca aenea_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 169
(Agrigan, Pagan, Almagan); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 673
(Asongsong).

_Aplonis opacus aeneus_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p.
297 (Agrigan, Pagan, Almagan); Borror, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 417
(Agrihan).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Alamagan, Pagan,
Agrihan, Asuncion.

_Characters._--Adult: According to Takatsukasa and Yamashina
(1931:487), _A. o. aeneus_ resembles _A. o. orii_ of Palau, but
has a bronze rather than green luster. _A. o. aeneus_ resembles
_A. o. opacus_, but has a smaller bill.

_Remarks._--No specimens of this subspecies have been examined by me. Little information is available regarding the occurrence of this subspecies in the northern Marianas. Oustalet (1895:212) writes that Marche collected four specimens at Pagan and three at Agrihan. Borror (1947:417) writes that in 1945, it was a "common and abundant species" at Agrihan. He obtained one specimen between July 27 and August 14 and comments that it had a grasshopper in its stomach.

_Evolutionary history of Aplonis opacus._--_Aplonis opacus_ is known from the Mariana, Palau, and Caroline islands in Micronesia. It consists of several subspecies, which have relatively few distinguishing characteristics. No starlings are known in the Marshall and Gilbert islands, although atolls occur in these island-chains that offer a habitat approximately the same as those in the western Carolines now occupied by _A. o. angus_.

In regard to parental stock, Sharpe (1876:47) considered _A. opacus_ as "nothing but a slightly more metallic race of _C. mysolensis_, with a still stouter bill." The species with which Sharpe compared _A. opacus_ is known from Mysol, Buru, and Ceram. Oustalet (1896:70) thought that the _Aplonis_ in Micronesia belonged to a group of starlings whose members are scattered through the Pacific islands including Cook, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, New Britain, New Guinea, Banta, Mysol, Salwatti, and Timor. Mayr (1941b:204) is of the opinion that _Aplonis_ in Micronesia was derived from central Polynesia. Amadon (1943:8), in his study of the genera of starlings, places _A. opacus_ within a superspecies containing _A. cinerascens_, _A. tabuensis_, _A. fuscus_, and possibly _A. feadensis_ and _A. cantoroides_. All of these are blackish birds with greenish gloss with immatures having the underparts streaked. In comparing _A. opacus_ with these mentioned species and with other species of _Aplonis_, I find that _A. opacus_ more closely resembles _A. feadensis_ and _A. cantoroides_ than any others. Although there are differences in size of the bill, wing, and tail, these structures are proportionally the same. The streaked underparts of the immatures of _A. cantoroides_ are much like that of the immatures of _A. opacus_, whereas the immatures of _A. feadensis_ are only faintly streaked with whitish below. The eye of _A. cantoroides_ is red, and that of _A. opacus_ is more nearly yellow. The ancestral stock from which _A. opacus_ developed in Micronesia seemingly reached the area from Melanesia. In Micronesia the birds dispersed to various groups of islands from some point in the Caroline Islands. The birds are absent from the Marshall Islands. Perhaps the birds never reached the Marshall Islands or they may have been present in former times and disappeared since then.

=Aplonis pelzelni= Finsch

Ponapé Mountain Starling

_Aplonis pelzelni_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1875 (1876), p.
644. (Type locality, Ponapé.)

_Aplonis pelzelni_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp.
17, 32, pl. 2, fig. 3 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1877 (1878), p. 779 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ, f. Ornith., 1880, p.
290 (Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 110, 112, 115 (Ponapé);
Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 281
(Ponapé); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, 1890, p. 136
(Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no.
6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 43 (Ponapé); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus.
Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 215 (Ponapé); Bolau, Mitteil.
Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 62 (Ponapé); Matschie, Journ. f.
Ornith., 1901, pp. 111, 112 (Ponapé); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902,
p. 542 (Ponapé); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 355 (Ponapé);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Ponapé); Kuroda, in
Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 70 (Ponapé); Mathews, Syst.
Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 849 (Ponapé); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 170 (Ponapé); Bequaert, Mushi, 12,
1939, p. 82 (Ponapé); Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4,
1941, pp. 204, 213 (Ponapé); Bequaert, Occ. Papers Bernice P.
Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, p. 290 (Ponapé); Mayr. Birds Southwest
Pacific, 1945, p. 298 (Ponapé).

_Aplornis pelzelni_ Hand-List Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 189
(Ponapé).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé.

_Characters._--Adult: A small, dark starling with upper parts
sooty-brown, darker on head with forehead and lores blackish;
wings, rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail lighter and more
brownish than head; underparts paler and washed with olive-brown;
bill and feet black; iris brown.

Immature: Resembles adult, but lighter brown, especially the
underparts.

_A. pelzelni_ differs from _A. opacus_ by having no gloss on the
feathers, smaller size, more slender bill, and a brown iris.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 46.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 59 (32 males, 24 females, 3
unsexed), from Caroline Islands, AMNH--Ponapé (Dec).

_Nesting._--Coultas (field notes) obtained reports that the Ponapé
Mountain Starling nests in cavities in trees and lays two eggs.

TABLE 46. MEASUREMENTS OF _Aplonis pelzelni_

==================+=========+=======+===========+==========+========
| | | | Depth of |
NUMBER AND SEX | Wing | Tail | Exposed | bill at | Tarsus
| | | culmen | nostril |
------------------+---------+-------+-----------+----------+--------
10 adult males | 103 | 65 | 20.0 | 6.5 | 27
| 101-105 | 63-67 | 19.0-21.0 | 6.0-7.0 | 26-28
| | | | |
10 adult females | 99 | 61 | 19.5 | 6.0 | 27
| 97-102 | 57-64 | 19.5-20.5 | 6.0-6.5 | 26-27
------------------+---------+-------+-----------+----------+--------

_Parasites._--Bequaert (1939:82 and 1941:290) records the fly
(Hippoboscidae), _Ornithoica pusilla_, from _A. pelzelni_.

_Remarks._--Coultas (field notes) writes that "the Mountain Starling is a bird of the true mountain forest.... I did not record it below 1,400 feet. Natives tell me that the Mountain Starling formerly covered the whole of the island and that now some individuals can be found on the low atoll of Ant, to the westward of Ponapé. Unfortunately, I was not permitted to visit either Ant or Pakin." Coultas notes also that the birds are quiet and usually travel in pairs. They are easily attracted by squeaking the lips against the hand or by the cries of a wounded bird. Many of these starlings were taken in fruit trees. Coultas describes the call of _A. pelzelni_ as "weaker and finer" than that of _A. opacus_. These two species may be found together, according to Coultas, but _A. opacus_ is apparently the more aggressive and often drives _A. pelzelni_ away. Richards (_in litt._) found this bird to be "very rare" while on his visit to Ponapé in 1947-1948. He observed two individuals on January 15, 1948, at an elevation of approximately 600 or 700 feet. A male was taken.

_Evolutionary history of Aplonis pelzelni._--The Ponapé Mountain Starling is a distinctive bird which evidently represents an ancient and single colonization of Micronesia. It lacks the green gloss which is found on many of the other starlings of the Pacific region. It has a brown iris, and the immatures lack the streaked underparts which are characteristic of _A. opacus_ and other species. The structure of its wing resembles that of _A. opacus_, but the primaries are more rounded. It is apparently better adapted to forested uplands, whereas _A. opacus_ and its relatives, _A. cantoroides_ and _A. feadensis_, appear to prefer lowland forests and coconut plantations. In habits and habitat preference, _A. pelzelni_ seems to resemble _A. santovestris_, which is restricted to mountain environment on Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides. The describers of this starling, Harrisson and Marshall (1937:149), write that "_Aplonis santovestris_ apparently most closely resembles _A. pelzelni_ from Ponapé, especially in bill and tarsus." According to the description, _A. santovestris_ is approximately the size of _A. pelzelni_ with brownish coloring, crown dark brown, lower back and rump dark rufous, wing and tail blackish-brown, underparts rufous-brown, and iris grayish-green. These two birds are separated geographically and apparently exhibit evidences of parallel development. Possibly they came from a common ancestral stock. Mayr (1941b:204) writes that _A. pelzelni_ belongs with the starlings of the Polynesian area. I have compared _A. pelzelni_ with other starlings of the Southwest Pacific, including _A._ _feadensis_, _A. cantoroides_, and _A. zealandicus_, but see no close resemblances.

=Aplonis corvinus= (Kittlitz)

Kusaie Mountain Starling

_Lamprothornis corvina_ Kittlitz, Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 2,
1833, p. 12, pl. 15, fig. 3. (Type locality, Ualan = Kusaie.)

_Lamprothornis corvina_, Kittlitz, Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St.
Peterbourg, 2, 1835, p. 7, pl. 9 (Ualan); _idem_, Obser. Zool., in
Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 285 (Ualan).

_Lamprotornis corvina_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, p. 417
(Ualan); Hartlaub, Archiv. f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, p. 133
(Ualan); Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat.,
2, 1858, pp. 25, 43, 59, 103 (Ualan); Finsch, Ibis, 1881, p. 104
(Kuschai).

_Lamprocorax corvinus_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168
(Carolinen = Kusaie); Sclater, Ibis, 1859, p. 327 (Caroline =
Kusaie); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 543 (Kuschai).

_Calornis (Lamprocorax?) corvina_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is.
Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 25 (Oualan).

_Sturnoides corvina_ Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna
Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 108 (Ualan); Finsch, Journ. f.
Ornith., 1880, pp. 297, 302 (Kuschai).

_Calornis corvina_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 27 (Caroline
= Kusaie); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p.
100 (Ualan); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 427 (Caroline =
Kusaie); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, 1890, p. 137
(Kuschai); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no.
6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 46 (Ualan or Kushai); Matschie, Journ. f.
Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ualan); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1,
1915, p. 64 (Kusaie).

_Sturnoides corvinus_ Finsch, Ibis, 1881, pp. 107, 108 (Kushai).

_Kittlitzia corvina_ Hartert, Kat. Vogelsamml. Senckenb., 1891, p.
75 (Ualan); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 72
(Kusaie); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 853
(Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 169 (Kusaie);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 187 (Kusaie).

_Aplonis corvina_ Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 356 (Ualan);
Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 213 (Kusaie).

_Aplonis corvinus_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 298
(Kusaie).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie, probably
extinct for many years.

_Characters._--According to Sharpe (1890:137), "Shining black;
each feather with a glossy margin, varying from steel-green to
purplish red; bill and feet black (Kittlitz)."

_Remarks._--Kittlitz obtained two specimens of a unique starling at Kusaie when he visited the island in December and January, 1827-'28. He named the birds as new and deposited the specimens in the museum in St. Petersburg. The bird has not been found at Kusaie since that time. Sharpe (1890:137-138, footnote) writes "This species I have never seen, and Dr. Finsch did not meet with it during his visit to Kuschai. He writes to me:--'It no doubt exists on Kuschai, just as it did when Kittlitz visited the island. Nobody has reached the mountains in the interior since Kittlitz's time; and it is strictly a mountain bird.'" Coultas spent considerable time searching the higher areas of Kusaie for the bird in 1931.

The Kusaie Mountain Starling apparently represents an early invasion of Micronesia, independent of that of any other starling in the area and perhaps the earliest of the three colonizations by starlings in Micronesia. The drawing of the bird as pictured by Kittlitz (1833:pl. 14, fig. 3) shows the long bill to be one of its distinctive characters. This suggests relationship to _A. atrifuscus_ of Samoa, as noted by Mayr (1942a:6). _A. atrifuscus_ is larger than _A. opacus_ with a longer bill and gloss on some of the feathering of the body; it looks a good deal like the drawing of _A. corvinus_ by Kittlitz. _A. corvinus_ may also have some relation to _A. magnus_ of Biak, although this species has a longer tail and a shorter bill. _A. corvinus_ probably has undergone an evolutionary development which parallels that of _A. atrifuscus_ and possibly other species in the Polynesian and Melanesian areas. The ancestral stock from which _A. corvinus_ was derived may have been close to _A. grandis_, which is found in the Solomon area. _A. grandis_ is a forest bird, somewhat solitary in habits.

=Sturnus philippensis= (Forster)

Violet-backed Starling

[_Motacilla_] _philippensis_ Forster, Ind. Zool., 1781, p. 41.
(Type locality, Philippines.)

_Sturnus philippensis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302
(Palau).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in Japan. Winters to the Philippine
Islands. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality unknown.

_Remarks._--Mayr (1945a:302) records this starling as a migrant visitor to the Palau Islands. Coultas obtained an immature female of this species at Palau on October 13, 1931.

=Sturnus cineraceus= Temminck

Ashy Starling

_Sturnus cineraceus_ Temminck, Pl. Col. 2, 1832, pl. 556. (Type
locality, Japan.)

_Spodiopsar cineracea_ Kishida, Lansania, 1, 1929, p. 17 (Saipan);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 187 (Saipan).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in eastern Asia and Japan. Winters in
southern China and Philippines. In Micronesia: Mariana
Islands--Saipan.

_Remarks._--The Ashy Starling has been reported from Saipan by Kishida. It probably is a casual winter migrant.

=Cleptornis marchei= (Oustalet)

Golden Honey-eater

_Ptilotis Marchei_ Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260. (Type locality,
Saypan.)

_Cleptornis marchei_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus.
Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 35 (Saypan); Hartert, Novit.
Zool., 5, 1898, p. 56 (Saipan); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901,
p. 112 (Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1,
1901, p. 60 (Saipan); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 722 (Marianne
= Saipan); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Marianne
= Saipan); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 75
(Saipan); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 788
(Saipan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 171 (Saipan);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 190 (Saipan); Mayr,
Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 298 (Saipan); Stott, Auk, 64,
1947, p. 527 (Saipan).

/# _Ptilotis (Cleptornis) marchei_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 202 (Saypan). #/

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Saipan.

_Characters._--Adult: A small honey-eater with head, rump, and
underparts near "light cadmium" becoming lighter on the chin and
darker on the nape; back near "orange-citrine"; wings and tail
feathers brown with outer edges colored like back and inner edges
whitish; orbital ring pale yellow; breast, belly, sides, and under
tail- and upper tail-coverts near "raw sienna"; under wing-coverts
pale yellow; axillaries yellow; bill and feet light yellow-brown,
maxilla darker; iris chestnut-brown. Immature has lighter bill.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 47.

TABLE 47. MEASUREMENTS OF _Cleptornis marchei_

==================+=========+=========+=============+=========
NUMBER AND SEX | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus
------------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------
7 adult males | 79 | 64 | 19.5 | 26
| (77-80) | (61-66) | (19.0-20.0) | (25-27)
| | | |
5 adult females | 73 | 58 | 18.0 | 24
| (72-75) | (56-59) | (17.5-18.5) | (23-25)
------------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 17 (9 males, 8 females), as
follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Saipan, 4 (July 11, Dec. 15);
AMNH--Saipan, 13 (July 8, Aug. 1, 10, 13, 14, 21, 30, Sept. 3, 7,
9, 15).

_Nesting._--Hartert (1898:56) reports that one nest of the Golden
Honey-eater was found on July 7. It was hung from a fork of a
branch, "like the nest of a golden Oriole." He writes that four
other nests were obtained in late August. Hartert describes the egg
as "pale blue without gloss, spotted over and over with rufous,
more so on the thicker end, and measures about 20:15 mm."

_Molt._--Specimens taken in July, August, and September are
molting.

_Remarks._--Oustalet (1895:202) writes that Marche obtained 25 specimens of the Golden Honey-eater at Saipan in May, June, and July, 1887. Little is known regarding its habits; Moran (1946:262) writes that the bird "reminds one of the prothonotary warbler, with a long, curved, black bill." Stott (1947:527) writes that "it appears to be restricted to a single habitat, that of dense forest." He found the bird in forest on the north shore of Magicienne Bay. Coultas obtained only one specimen on his visit to Saipan in 1931. Marshall (1949:216) records some interesting observations of this bird made in 1945. He notes (_op. cit._ p. 219) that the bird breeds in January, February and April.

Not only is it remarkable that the Golden Honey-eater has become established on a single island in a rather closely associated chain of islands, but it is also difficult to determine from where the bird came. It seemingly has no close relatives in the Micronesian area. Oustalet (1895:202) points out that one has to go to New Guinea, Moluccas, Australia, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga in order to find related forms. In looking through the large collections of Meliphagidae in the American Museum of Natural History, I found only a few genera to which the Saipan Golden Honey-eater seems to be closely related. _Timeliopsis_ of New Guinea has some resemblances to _Cleptornis_, although the coloration is different. _Timeliopsis_ has a similar bill, but has a longer tail and longer wing; the shortness of the wing in _Cleptornis_ is not unusual since other insular forms also exhibit this characteristic.

Perhaps _Cleptornis_ is closer to the genus _Meliphaga_ of New Guinea and Australia, which has become differentiated into a number of diverse species and subspecies. _Cleptornis_ compares rather favorably with _M. pencillata carteri_ of Australia, but differs by the softness of its feathers and the shorter wing and shorter tail. It shows also some affinities with _M. flava_ of Australia, particularly in shape of bill; the coloration of the feathers is light olive-green in _M. flava_. The bird at Saipan seemingly has no relationships with the Hawaiian honey-eaters.

=Myzomela cardinalis rubratra= (Lesson)

Cardinal Honey-eater

_Cinnyris rubrater_ Lesson, Dict. Sci. Nat., éd. Levrault, 50,
1827, p. 30. (Type locality, Oualan = Kusaie.)

_Cinnyris rubrater_ Lesson (part), Voy. "La Coquille," Zool., 2,
1828, pp. 433, 678 (Oualan); _idem_ (part), Man. d'Ornith., 2,
1828, p. 55 (Oualan); _idem_ (part), Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p.
299 (Oualan); Kittlitz (part), Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 1832,
p. 6, pl. 8, fig. 1 (Ualan); _idem_ (part), Denkw. Reise russ.
Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, pp. 364, 381; 2, 1858, pp.
39, 49 (Ualan).

_Certhia Cardinalis_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St.
Pétersbourg, 2, 1835, p. 4 (Ualan).

_Cinnyris cardinalis_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le
Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 285 (Ualan).

_Myzomela sanguinolenta_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, p. 394
(no loc. = Kusaie?).

_Myzomela rubrater_ Hartlaub (part), Archiv. f. Naturgesch., 18,
1852, pp. 109, 131 (Ualan); Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna
Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 57 (Ualan).

_Myzomela rubratra_ Hartlaub (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p.
168 (Carolinen = Kusaie); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1867 (1868), p. 829 (Carolines = Kusaie); Hartlaub and Finsch
(part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 95 (Ualan); Giebel
(part), Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 681 (Carolinae = Kusaie);
Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. 26 (Ualan);
Forbes (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1879, p. 271 (Ualan);
Finsch (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 285, 298 (Kuschai);
_idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, pp. 103, 108, 111 (Kuschai); _idem_
(part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 48 (Ualan); Hartert,
Kat. Vogelsamml. Senckenb., 1891, p. 31 (Ualan); Wiglesworth
(part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891
(1891), p. 31 (Ualan); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist.
Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, pp. 201, 202 (Kushai); Hartert (part),
Novit, Zool., 5, 1898, p. 56 (Ualan); Dubois (part), Syn. Avium,
1, 1902, p. 716 (Carolines = Kusaie).

_Certhia sanguinolenta_ Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron,
und Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 364 (Ualan).

_Myzomela major_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859,
p. 11 (Oualan?).

_Myzomela rubrata_ Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p.
112 (Ualan).