Chapter XVI: Part 16

_Myzomela rubratra rubratra_ Wetmore, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
30, 1917, p. 117 (Kusaie); Wetmore (part), in Townsend and
Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 219 (Kusaie);
Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, pp. 15, 20, 21, 22, (Kusaie);
Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 72 (Kusaie);
Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 743 (Oualan);
Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 172 (Kusaie);
Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 191 (Kusaie).

_Myzomela cardinalis rubratra_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific,
1945, p. 299 (Kusaie).

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

_Characters._--Adult male: Head (except lores), neck back, rump,
upper tail-coverts, chin, throat, breast, and upper abdomen black
with feathers tipped with coloring between "scarlet" and
"scarlet-red"; rest of feathering black; bill long and curved and
black; feet black; iris dark brown.

TABLE 48. MEASUREMENTS OF _Myzomela cardinalis_ OF MICRONESIA

===================+============+=========+=========+=============+=========
| Number | | | |
SUBSPECIES | and sex | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus
-------------------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------
_M. c. rubratra_ | 21 adult | 79 | 55 | 19.5 | 22
| males | (76-81) | (53-56) | (18.5-20.5) | (21-22)
| | | | |
| 20 adult | 71 | 49 | 18.5 | 20
| females | (69-74) | (45-51) | (17.5-19.5) | (19-21)
| | | | |
_M. c. dichromata_ | 24 adult | 78 | 53 | 21.5 | 22
| males | (76-80) | (51-56) | (20.0-23.0) | (21-23)
| | | | |
| 22 adult | 69 | 47 | 19.0 | 20
| females | (66-72) | (45-49) | (17.5-20.5) | (19-21)
| | | | |
_M.c. major_ | 9 adult | 77 | 55 | 20.0 | 22
| males | (75-78) | (54-59) | (19.5-20.5) | (21-22)
| | | | |
| 2 adult | 70 | 50 | 19.0, 20.5 | 21.5
| females | | | |
| | | | |
_M. c. saffordi_ | 47 adult | 73 | 55 | 20.0 | 22
| males | (69-77) | (51-56) | (19.0-20.5) | (21-24)
| | | | |
| 14 adult | 65 | 49 | 18.5 | 21
| females | (63-71) | (46-51) | (17.5-19.5) | (19-21)
| | | | |
_M. c. kurodai_ | 2 adult | 74, 75 | 52 | 20.0, 20.5 | 20, 21
| males | | | |
| | | | |
_M. c. kobayashii_ | 17 adult | 74 | 54 | 20.5 | 21
| males | (71-76) | (51-57) | (19.0-22.0) | (20-22)
| | | | |
| 8 adult | 67 | 48 | 18.0 | 20
| females | (65-68) | (45-50) | (17.5-19.0) | (19-21)
-------------------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------

Adult female: Resembles adult male, but smaller; red coloring duller;
wings and tail more brownish and less blackish; abdomen and under
tailcoverts dark gray.

Immature: Resembles adult, but duller and less blackish and more
grayish with less red coloring on feathers and an olivaceous-brown
tinge to plumage.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 48.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 62 (35 males, 27 females), as
follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Kusaie, 3 (Feb. 9); AMNH--Kusaie,
59 (Jan., Feb., March).

_Nesting._--Finsch records the taking of eggs of the honey-eater at
Kusaie on February 26 and March 10, 1880.

_Molt._--Evidence of molt was observed in a few specimens taken in
January and in larger number of birds taken in March. In addition,
some skins obtained in March showed fresh plumage. Although there
is little evidence available, I suppose that nesting activities of
_M. r. rubratra_ at Kusaie occur in the winter months of December,
January, February, and March, and that molt begins in January,
especially in the males, and possibly reaches a peak in March.

_Remarks._--_M. r. rubratra_ was first described by Lesson, who referred to it under the name _Cinnyris rubrater_. The bird was found by Lesson at Kusaie, when he visited the island in June, 1924, as a member of the expedition from the ship "La Coquille." In his description he also stated that the bird was found in the Philippines by Dussumier. The report of the bird's occurrence in the Philippines proved to be erroneous, as was pointed out by Wetmore (in Townsend and Wetmore, 1919:220). Oustalet (1895:200) contended that Lesson's description was based on the specimens taken by Quoy and Gaimard in the Marianas; he stated that none of the birds which Lesson mentions from Kusaie was preserved. Bonaparte also considered _Cinnyris rubrater_ to be from the Marianas, and he gave the name _Myzomela major_ to the honey-eater of the Caroline Islands (apparently including Kusaie) on the basis of specimens taken by Hombron and Jacquinot at Truk. Wetmore (in Townsend and Wetmore, 1919:220) settles the argument and assigns Lesson's name _rubratra_ to the honey-eater at Kusaie; apparently this treatment is the correct one inasmuch as Lesson used his own field notes and records of the occurrence of this honey-eater at Kusaie in preparing his description, even if the actual specimens were not preserved. This arrangement makes Bonaparte's name _major_ available for the population at Truk and makes Wetmore's name _saffordi_ available for the population in the Marianas. The placing of the honey-eaters of Micronesia within the species _Myzomela cardinalis_ by Mayr (1932:19) is, I think, justified.

Little information is available concerning the habits of the honeyeater at Kusaie. In 1931, Coultas (field notes) regarded the bird as common in the lowlands, especially in the coconut groves. He did not find the bird at high elevations on the island.

=Myzomela cardinalis dichromata= Wetmore

Cardinal Honey-eater

_Myzomela rubratra dichromata_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore,
Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 220. (Type locality, Ponapé.)

_Myzomela rubratra_ Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, pp. 55,
162 (Puynipet = Ponapé); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12,
1876, pp. 17, 26 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877
(1878), p. 778 (Ponapé); Forbes (part), Proc. Zool., Soc. London,
1879, p. 271 (Ponapé); Finsch (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p.
285 (Ponapé); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 575
(Ponapé); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, pp. 111, 115 (Ponapé); _idem_
(part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 48 (Ponapé);
Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1891 (1891), p. 31 (Ponapé); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch.
Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 202 (Ponapi).

_Myzomela rubrata_ Nehrkorn (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p.
397 (Ponapé); Christian, The Caroline Islands, 1899, p. 358
(Ponapé); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112
(Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 55
Ponapé); Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 204
(Ponapé).

_Myzomela chermesina_ Gadow, Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p.
137 (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64
(Ponapé).

_Myzomela rubratra dichromata_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922,
pp. 15, 20, 21, 22 (Ponapé); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 73 (Ponapé); Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 743 (Ponapé).

_Myzomela rubratra rubratra_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 395
(Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 172
(Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 191
(Ponapé).

_Myzomela cardinalis dichromata_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific,
1945, p. 299 Ponapé).

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

_Characters._--Adult male: Resembles adult males of _M. c.
rubratra_, but with more extensive black markings on lores and
below eye; tips of feathers lighter "scarlet."

Adult female: Resembles adult female of _M. c. rubratra_, but
duller and with red coloring much reduced; head, neck, shoulder,
ear-coverts, and sides of neck sooty brownish-gray; rest of upper
parts dark brownish-gray with plumage of middle of back, rump, and
upper tail-coverts tipped with scarlet; wings and tail dark brown
with outer edges olivaceous-gray; chin and throat reddish; breast
light brownish-gray, may be washed with reddish; axillaries,
abdomen, and under tail-coverts grayish.

Immature male: Resembles adult male, but scarlet coloring less
brilliant and thinner on forehead, middle of back, rump, upper
tail-coverts, and underparts and absent, or nearly absent, on
crown and neck.

Immature female: Resembles adult female, but scarlet coloring
thinner and present only on underparts, back, rump, and upper
tail-coverts; abdomen and under tail-coverts washed with buff.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 48.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 52 (26 males, 24 females, 2
unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 3 (Feb. 11,
12); AMNH--Ponapé, 49 (Nov., Dec.).

_Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:395) records a large collection of
eggs of the honey-eater, taken at Ponapé in 1931. Of 13 sets of
eggs listed, 10 include two eggs per set and 3 include one egg per
set. These were obtained from July 20 to
September 2. Coultas (field notes) found one nest with young in a
tree-fern in the period of November and December, 1930. The nest
was cup-shaped and made of fern and fine grasses and lined with
lichens. Coultas writes that only the female feeds the young. He
suspects that the honey-eater nests at all times of the year.

_Molt._--Most of the birds taken by Coultas in November and
December are in molting plumage.

_Remarks._--The Cardinal Honey-eater at Ponapé is, according to Coultas, found in most habitats of the island. He found it to be an aggressive bird, often chasing the white-eye _Zosterops cinerea_. The committee (Hachisuka _et al._) which prepared the Hand-list of Japanese Birds in both the revised edition (1932) and the third edition (1942) does not recognize the Ponapé honey-eater as separable from the bird at Kusaie. I see no reason for this action and find the bird at Ponapé to be a well-marked subspecies.

=Myzomela cardinalis major= Bonaparte

Cardinal Honey-eater

_Myzomela major_ Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, 38,
1854, p. 264. (Type locality, "ex Ins. Carolinis ab Homb. et Jacq."
= Truk.)

_Myzomela major_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 153 (Caroline
= Truk); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 1875, p. 681 (Carolinae = Truk?);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Ruk); Kuroda,
Dobutsu, Zasshi, 27, 1915, p. 28 (Ruk); _idem_, Dobutsu Zasshi,
28, 1916, p. 71 (Ruk).

_Myzomela rubratra_ Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880,
p. 575 (Ruk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy,
1881, p. 253 (Ruk); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool.
Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 31 (Ruk); Oustalet
(part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 202
(Ruk); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 56 (Ruk); _idem_
(part), Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 2 (Ruk); Dubois (part), Syn.
Avium, 1, 1902, p. 714 (Carolines = Truk?).

_Myzomela rubrata_ Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p.
112 (Ruck); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 55
(Ruk).

_Myzomela rubratra rubrata_ Wetmore (part), in Townsend and
Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 221 (Uala).

_Myzomela rubrata wetmorei_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p.
15 (Type locality, Ruk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 73 (Ruk); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930,
p. 743 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 172 (Truk);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 190 (Truk).

_Myzomela cardinalis major_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 299 (Truk); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15,
1948, p. 72 (Truk).

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

_Characters._--Adult male: Resembles adult male of _M. c.
rubrata_, but tips of plumage lighter "scarlet."

Adult female: Resembles adult female of _M. c. rubrata_, but
underparts more heavily tipped with scarlet; abdomen and under
tail-coverts black; tail slightly darker. Differs from _M. c.
dichromata_ by presence of scarlet tips on feathers of head.

Immature male: Resembles adult female, but scarlet coloring of
tips of feathers of head and neck narrower.

Immature female: Resembles immature female of _M. c. rubrata_, but
upper parts grayer; underparts darker.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 48.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 19 (13 males, 6 females), as
follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 2 (Feb. 16, Dec. 13);
AMNH--Truk, 17 (Feb., March, Nov., Dec.).

_Nesting._--Concerning the honey-eater at Truk, Hartert (1900:2)
writes "many nests were found from end of May to July, and one in
March." McElroy examined three males in December, which had swollen
testes. As seems to be the case with other races of this species,
the Cardinal Honey-eater at Truk may nest at all times of the year.

_Molt._--Specimens examined that were taken in November, December
and February are in fresh or in molting plumages.

_Remarks._--Bonaparte described his _Myzomela major_ as "Similis praecedenti, sed major et percoccinea." He compares it here with _Myzomela rubrata_, which he considered as a resident of the Mariana Islands. According to Oustalet (1895:202) Hombron and Jacquinot obtained one specimen of the honey-eater at Truk in 1841. This subspecies, as well as most of the others of _M. cardinalis_ in Micronesia, is best distinguished by the characteristics of the female. The male of the different subspecies shows much less geographic variation.

=Myzomela cardinalis saffordi= Wetmore

Cardinal Honey-eater

_Myzomela rubratra saffordi_ Wetmore, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
30, 1917, p. 117. (Type locality, Guam.)

_Cinnyris rubrater_ Lesson (part), Dict. Sci. Nat., éd. Levrault,
50, 1827, p. 30 (Mariannes); _idem_ (part), Voy. "La Coquille,"
Zool., 2, 1828, p. 678 (Mariannes); _idem_ (part), Man. d'Ornith.,
2, 1828, p. 55 (Mariannes); _idem_ (part), Traité d'Ornith., 1831,
p. 299 (Mariannes); Kittlitz (part), Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel,
1, 1832. p. 6, pl. 8, fig. 1 (Guaham); _idem_ (part), Denkw. Reise
russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, pp. 364, 381; 2, 1858,
pp. 39, 49 (Guaham).

_Certhia cardinalis_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le
Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 304 (Guaham).

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

_Myzomela rubratra_ Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris,
38, 1854, p. 263 (Mariannes); Hartlaub (part), Journ. f. Ornith.,
1854, p. 167 (Mariannen); Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. Is.
Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 11 (Guam); _idem_ (part), Handlist Birds,
1, 1869, p. 154 (Marian); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy,
12, 1876, pp. 17, 26 (Marianen); Forbes (part), Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1879, p. 270 (Marianis); Giebel (part), Thes. Ornith., 2,
1875, p. 681 (Marinae); Finsch (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien,
1884, p. 48 (Guam); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool.
Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 31 (Marianne); Oustalet
(part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 197
(Guam, Rota, Saypan, Pagan, Agrigan); Hartert (part), Novit.
Zool., 5, 1898, p. 55 (Guam, Saipan, Pagan, Agrigan); _idem_
(part), Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 2 (Guam); Wheeler, Report Island
of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam); Seale (part), Occ. Papers Bernice P.
Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 55 (Marianae); Safford, The Plant World,
7, 1904, p. 263 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905,
p. 79 (Guam); Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 36, 1909, p. 477
(Guam); Reichenow (part), Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 482 (Marianen);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Marianas);
Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam).

_Myzomela rubrata_ Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260 (Mariannes);
Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Guam, Saipan);
Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 69 (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen
Marianen, 1913, p. 101 (Saipan).

_Myzomela rubratra saffordi_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore,
Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 221 (Guam, Saipan); Momiyama,
Birds Micronesia, 1922, pp. 17, 20, 21, 22 (Guam, Rota, Saipan,
Pagan, Agrigan); Kuroda in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 74
(Guam, Rota, Saipan, Pagan, Agrigan); Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 744 (Guam); Yamashina, Tori, 7,
1932, p. 395 (Marianas?); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p.
171 (Marianas); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2. 1936, p. 25
(Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 190 (Guam,
Rota, Agiguan, Tinian, Saipan, Almagan, Pagan, Agrigan,
Assongsong).

_Myzomela rubrata saffordi_ Yamashina, Tori, 19, 1940, p. 673
(Assongsong, Agiguan).

_Myzomela cardinalis saffordi_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific,
1945, p. 299 (Marianas); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49,
1946, p. 103 (Tinian); Borror, Auk, 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan); Stott,
Auk, 1947, p. 527 (Saipan, Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll.,
vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 72 (Guam, Rota).

_Myzomela cardinalis_ Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 41 (Guam);
Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 540 (Guam); Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p.
125 (Guam).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Rota,
Tinian, Agiguan, Saipan, Almagan, Pagan, Agrihan, Asuncion.

_Characters._--Adult male: Resembles _M. c. rubratra_, but smaller
with red coloring lighter and more orange; edges of wing and tail
feathers olivaceous. Differs from adult males of _M. c.
dichromata_ and _M. c. major_ by smaller size and presence of
olivaceous edgings on wing and tail feathers.

Adult female: Resembles adult female of _M. c. rubratra_, but
smaller and paler with upper parts dark olivaceous-gray, sparsely
mottled with scarlet; outer edges of wing and tail feathers
greenish-olive; abdomen and under tail-coverts buffy-gray. Differs
from _M. c. dichromata_ by smaller size and presence of scarlet
tips of feathers on top of head. Differs from _M. c. major_ by
smaller size and presence of broad olivaceous edges on tail
feathers.

Immature male: Resembles adult male, but red coloring less
brilliant, upper parts, lower breast, and abdomen more narrowly
edged with the red coloring; plumage of breast, abdomen, and under
tail-coverts buffy-gray, lighter in very young birds.

TABLE 49. MEASUREMENTS OF ADULT MALES OF _Myzomela cardinalis saffordi_
FROM THE MARIANA ISLANDS

==========+=====+=========+=========+=============+=========
ISLAND | No. | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus
----------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+---------
Guam | 35 | 72 | 54 | 20.0 | 22
| | (69-75) | (51-56) | (19.5-20.5) | (21-23)
| | | | |
Rota | 1 | 73 | | 20.0 | 22
| | | | |
Tinian | 5 | 73 | 53 | 19.5 | 22
| | (71-74) | (52-55) | (19.0-20.0) | (21-24)
| | | | |
Saipan | 4 | 74 | 54 | 19.5 | 22
| | (72-76) | (53-55) | (19.0-20.5) | (22-23)
| | | | |
Agrihan | 1 | 77 | 55 | 20.0 | 22
----------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+---------

Immature female: Resembles adult female, but paler with upper parts
darker brown; underparts pale buffy-brown; outer edges of wing and
tail. feathers greenish-olive, more extensive than in adult.

_Measurements._--Measurements of the subspecies of _M. cardinalis_
in Micronesia are listed in table 48. Measurements of male
specimens of _M. c. saffordi_ from various islands in the Marianas
are listed in table 49.

_Weights._--The author (1948:72) records weights of _M. c.
saffordi_ from Guam as: 17 adult males, 12.7-18.0 (15.0), and 5
adult females, 10.4-15.0 (12.7).

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 80 (61 males, 17 females, 2
unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 43 (Jan. 22, May
26, 30, June 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 18, 19, 25, 28, July 6, 10, 12,
17, 19, 20, 21, Sept., Nov. 20, 21)--Rota, 2 (Oct. 10)--Tinian, 3
(Oct. 23, 25)--Saipan 2 (Sept. 27, 30); AMNH--Guam, 23 (Jan. 22,
23, Feb. 5, 7, 9, 16, March 8, 10, 11, 13, 23, June 28, July 8, 21,
Aug. 22, Nov. 25, Dec. 4, 11)--Tinian, 2 (Sept. 7, 14)--Saipan, 3
(July 8, Aug. 5, 22)--Asuncion, 1 (June)--Agrihan, 1 (June).

_Nesting._--Seale (1901:55) obtained nests and eggs in the period
from May to July at Guam. He found the nests 8 to 15 feet above the
ground. Strophlet (1946:540) observed a pair of honey-eaters with
two young on October 9 at Guam. In 1945 at Guam the NAMRU2 party
obtained individuals with enlarged gonads on January 22, June 2, 5,
July 21 and 23, and found evidence of nesting on June 16. Hartert
(1898:56) writes that Owston's Japanese collectors obtained nests
in January, February, and March. Each nest contained two eggs; they
were placed four to eight feet from the ground. Probably the
Cardinal Honey-eater in the Marianas nests at most times of the
year.

_Molt._--Specimens, with molting plumage, have been examined that
were taken at most times of the year. I suspect that this bird
molts at irregular intervals.

_Food habits._--The honey-eater feeds partly on insect life and
partly on nectar and juices from flowers. At Guam, the honey-eater
was frequently found at flowers of the ink berry bush, where
evidently both nectar and insects were obtained. The birds were
attracted also to the coconut palms, especially when the
reproductive parts of the palms were developing.

_Remarks._--The Cardinal Honey-eater is one of the most conspicuous land birds in the Mariana Islands. Its scarlet plumage and characteristic fluttering flight cause it to stand out against its habitat of forest, scrub, and garden. At Guam, the author (1947b:124) found the honey-eater on 37.6 percent of the 125 roadside birds counts made in 1945. The species included 3.9 percent of all of the birds observed on these counts. Seale (1901:55) and Strophlet (1946:540) also commented on its abundance at Guam; however, in 1931, Coultas (field notes) wrote that the bird was rare; he obtained only one skin at Guam. At Rota, the NAMRU2 party found the honey-eater to be abundant. Coultas obtained only a few birds at Tinian and Saipan in 1931. In 1945, Downs (1946:103) saw only a single pair at Tinian; Gleise (1945:220) estimated the population at Tinian to be 12 in 1945. At Agrihan, Borror (1947:417) reported that the honey-eater was a common bird in 1945.

Table 49 lists the measurements of males of _M. c. saffordi_ from several islands in the Marianas. Measurements of birds from Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan are fairly similar, although the birds at Saipan seem to have a slightly longer wing than those at Guam. A single skin from Agrigan has larger measurements than those of birds obtained in the southern Marianas. Whether the birds in the northern Marianas are separable because of larger size can only be ascertained by the studying of more material from that region.

Mayr (1945a:102) writes that males of _M. cardinalis_ seem to outnumber the females by approximately four to one. On the basis of collections and field observations, the males were found to outnumber the females in the Micronesian islands; although the ratio may not be so great as four to one. At Guam, the NAMRU2 party obtained 21 males and 8 females. Although these birds are often seen as pairs (male and female), single males are frequently observed. The females do not appear to have more secretive habits than the males.

=Myzomela cardinalis kurodai= Momiyama

Cardinal Honey-eater

_Myzomela rubratra kurodai_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p.
17. (Type locality, Yap.)

_Myzomela rubratra_ Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Soc. London,
1872, pp. 89, 94 (Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p.
122 (Yap); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 4
(Yap); Forbes (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1879, p. 271 (Yap);
Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und. Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1891 (1891), p. 31 (Uap); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus.
Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 202 (Yap); Takatsukasa and
Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Yap); Kuroda, Dobutsu.
Zasshi, 27, 1915, pp. 331, 332 (Yap).

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

_Myzomela rubrata kurodai_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 74 (Yap); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930,
p. 743 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 172
(Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 190
(Yap).

_Myzomela cardinalis kurodai_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 299 (Yap).

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

_Characters._--Adult male: According to Momiyama (1922:17), _M. c.
kurodai_ is "Similar to _M. r. saffordi_ Wetmore from Southern
Marianne islands, but the tarsus is decidedly shorter, not
exceeding 21 mm. (more than 21 mm. in _M. r. saffordi_), and the
colour of plumage is not so much tinged with vermillion. It
differs from _M. r. rubratra_, _M. r. dichromata_, and _M. r.
wetmorei_ by the body measuring much shorter, and by the scarlet
colour of plumage being less pronounced. The length of bill in _M.
r. wetmorei_ and _kurodai_ is nearly the same."

Adult female: According to Momiyama (1922:17), "Upper-parts of
body dark olivaceous brown; under-parts, including chin, throat
and fore neck like upper-parts, but somewhat paler; breast and
abdomen yellowish ashy-white; head, lower back, rump, upper
tail-coverts, chin, throat as well as lower breast tinged with
scarlet (the red colour more distinct on lower back but less so on
lower breast); pale olive margin to the outer web of
flight-feathers."

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 48.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 2 males, from Caroline
Islands, AMNH--Yap (Sept.).

_Remarks._--This subspecies is tentatively recognized as distinct from _M. c. kobayashii_ of Palau. No female has been examined, and the two males seen and the description by Momiyama indicate that the population at Yap closely resembles the one at Palau. The Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et al._, 1932:172) places the birds from Yap and Palau in the same subspecies.

=Myzomela cardinalis kobayashii= Momiyama

Cardinal Honey-eater

_Myzomela rubratra kobayashii_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p.
19. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)

_Cinnyris rubrater_ Lesson (part), Dict. Sci. Nat., éd., Levrault,
50, 1827, p. 30 (Pelew); _idem_ (part), Voy. "La Coquille," Zool.,
1, 1828, p. 678 (Pelew); _idem_ (part), Man. d'Ornith., 2, 1828,
p. 55 (Pelew).

_Myzomela rubratra_ Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific
Ocean, 1859, p. 11 (Pelew); Hartlaub (part), Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1867 (1868), p. 829 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc.
Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 5, 116, 118 (Pelew); Gray (part),
Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 154 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch
(part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 94 (Pelew); Finsch
(part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 4, 16 (Palau); _idem_
(part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, 26 (Palau);
Forbes (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1879, p. 270 (Pelew);
Finsch (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 48 (Palau);
Gadow, Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 129 (Pelew); Tristram,
Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 206 (Pelew); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und
Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 31 (Pelew);
Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895,
p. 202 (Palaos); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 79
(Palau-inseln); Seale (part), Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus.,
1, 1901, p. 57 (Pelew); Reichenow (part), Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p.
482 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64
(Pelew).

_Myzomela rubratra_ Nehrkorn (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p.
397 (Palau); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112
(Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 55
(Pelew); Kuroda, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 28, 1916, p. 71 (Pelew).

_Myzomela rubratra kobayshii_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 74 (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 722 (Pelew).

_Myzomela rubratra kurodai_ Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev.,
1932, p. 172 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed.,
1942, p. 190 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu).

_Myzomela rubratra kurodai_ Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 674
(Palau).

_Myzomela cardinalis kobayashii_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific,
1945, p. 299 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no.
15, 1948, p. 72 (Peleliu).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands;--Babelthuap, Koror,
Garakayo, Peleliu, Angaur.

_Characters._--Adult male: Resembles _M. c. rubratra_, but smaller
and with red coloring darker, near "scarlet-red"; margins of wing
feathers olivaceous. Differs from adult males of other subspecies
of _M. cardinalis_ by red coloring of feathers being darker.

Adult female: Resembles adult female of _M. c. dichromata_ but red
coloring darker, top of head only partly red; abdomen, under
tail-coverts, and axillaries buff-gray; outer edges of wing and
tail feathers light olive. Differs from adult females of other
subspecies of _M. cardinalis_ by having top of head only partly
red.

Immature male: Resembles adult male, but red coloring lighter and
thinly distributed; wings and tail brownish-olive; abdomen and
under tail-coverts grayish.

Immature female: Resembles adult female, but red coloring paler
and underparts more buffy and less grayish.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 48.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 42 (28 males, 11 females, 3
unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 4
(Nov.)--Peleliu, 11 (Aug. 29, 30, 31, Sept. 1, 5); AMNH--exact
locality not given, 27 (Oct., Nov., Dec.).

_Molt._--Many of the specimens taken from late August to December
are in molt. Of the adult males obtained during this period almost
a half had enlarged testes.

_Food habits._--Stomachs of specimens obtained by the NAMRU2 party
in August and September, 1945, contained vegetable matter, seeds
and small insects.

_Remarks._--Honey-eaters were found by the NAMRU2 party in open woodlands, in coconut groves and about human habitations. They were not seen in dense jungle areas, and appeared to prefer the plantation areas.

The Cardinal Honey-eater at Palau is distinguished from other subspecies of _M. cardinalis_ in Micronesia by its deeper red coloring. In size, it closely resembles the bird at Yap and in the Marianas.

_Evolutionary history of Myzomela cardinalis in Micronesia._--The genus _Myzomela_ is found in Australia, northward to Timor, Tenimber, Moluccas, Celebes, Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. The range of the species _M. cardinalis_ includes the islands from the eastern Solomons, New Hebrides, and Loyalty Islands east to central Polynesia and north to Micronesia. It appears likely that _M. cardinalis_ was derived, probably along with _M. nigrita_, _M. lafargei_ and others, from an ancestral stock in the Melanesian area. Within the species _M. cardinalis_ there is one group of subspecies which exhibits a marked degree of sexual dimorphism, with the males having a much greater amount of red coloration than the females. These subspecies occur in the southern part of the range of the species (Loyalty, Santa Cruz, New Hebrides, and Samoa islands). A second group of subspecies exhibit a lesser amount of sexual dimorphism, the females possessing more of the red coloration and resembling the males more closely. This second group includes subspecies which occur in the more northern part of the range of the species (Solomons, Micronesia, and Rotuma islands). The males of the various subspecies of _M. cardinalis_ vary one from another considerably less than do the females.

Figure 16 shows the probable routes of colonization used by _M. cardinalis_ to attain its present distribution in the Pacific islands. The subspecies in the eastern Solomon Islands (_M. c. pulcherrima_ Ramsey and _M. c. sanfordi_ Mayr) may be representative of the first colonization by the supposed ancestral stock. From a focal point in this area, _M. cardinalis_ has dispersed by what may be considered as two routes. One route evidently was to the south as far as the Loyalty Islands with a side branch extending to the Samoan Islands where _M. c. nigriventris_ Peale occurs. The second route extended north to the islands of Micronesia. The Caroline Islands were seemingly inhabited initially, with invasions of the Palaus made via Yap, and of the Marianas via Kusaie or Ponapé (as indicated by the comparison of specimens). Mayr (in conversation) has pointed out the close relationship between the subspecies in Micronesia and _M. c._ _chermesina_ Gray of Rotuma Island. This subspecies at Rotuma, which is located between Santa Cruz and Samoa, resembles closely _M. c. dichromata_ of Ponapé, especially in the case of the female. It is evident that the honey-eater arrived at Rotuma from Micronesia, rather than from the Solomon and Santa Cruz area to the west.

=Zosterops conspicillata conspicillata= (Kittlitz)

Bridled White-eye

_Dicaeum conspicillatum_ Kittlitz, Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 2,
1833, p. 15, pl. 19, fig. 1. (Type locality, Guaham.)

_Dicaeum conspicillatum_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St.
Pétersbourg, 2, 1835, p. 3, pl. 4 (Guaham); _idem_, Obser. Zool.,
in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 305 (Guaham).

_Zosterops conspicillatum_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, p.
398 (Mariann. = Guam).

_Zosterops conspicillata_ Reichenbach, Syn. Avium, 1852, p. 92
(Guaham); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 187 (Mariannen =
Guam); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 16
(Guam); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1865, pp. 5, 17 (Guaham);
Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 163 (Ladrone = Guam); Hartlaub
and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 95 (Guaham); Giebel,
Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 775 (Ladrone = Guam); Gadow, Cat. Birds
British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 187 (Guam); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und
Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 37 (Guam);
Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895,
p. 205 (Guam); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 57
(Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 3 (Guam); Matschie
(part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Guam); Seale, Occ.
Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 58 (Guam); Finsch
(part), Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 37 (Guam); Safford,
Osprey, 1902, p. 69 (Guam); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 711
(Guam); Safford, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 264 (Guam); _idem_,
Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 (Guam); Takatsukasa and
Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1901, p. 64 (Marianne = Guam); Cox, Island
of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 706 (Guam); Bryan, Guam. Rec., vol.
13, no. 2, 1936, p. 25 (Guam); Strophlet, Auk, 1948, p. 540
(Guam).

_Zosterops conspicillatus_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 76 (Guam).

_Zosterops conspicillata conspicillata_ Stresemann, Mitt. Zool.
Mus. Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 227 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds,
rev., 1932, p. 173 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942,
p. 192 (Guam); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 7
(Guam); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 299 (Guam);
Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, pp. 72, 73
(Guam).

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

_Characters._--Adult: A small white-eye with upper parts near
"serpentine green," becoming slightly lighter on the rump; orbital
ring broad and white; fronto-loral band light yellowish-white;
auriculars grayish-green; chin and throat yellowish-white; breast
and abdomen dingy yellow; wing and tail feathers dark brown with
greenish-yellow edges; upper mandible horn colored, lower mandible
lighter yellow; legs and feet dark olive-gray; iris light umber.
Adult female may be lighter on underparts.

Immature: Resembles adult, but underparts paler yellow and upper
mandible light yellowish-brown.

_Measurements._--Measurements of _Z. c. conspicillata_ are listed
in table 50. Males and females have measurements which are nearly
equal.

TABLE 50. MEASUREMENTS OF THE SUBSPECIES OF _Zosterops conspicillata_

======================+=====+=========+=========+=============+=========
SUBSPECIES | No. | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus
----------------------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+---------
_Z. c. conspicillata_ | 43 | 56 | 41 | 13.5 | 19
| | (52-59) | (37-43) | (13.0-14.5) | (18-20)
| | | | |
_Z. c. saypani_ | 29 | 52 | 38 | 12.5 | 18
| | (50-55) | (35-40) | (12.0-13.5) | (17-19)
| | | | |
_Z. c. rotensis_ | 3 | 53 | 42 | 13.0 | 18
| | (51-55) | (42-43) | (13.0-13.5) | (18-19)
| | | | |
_Z. c. semperi_ | 28 | 55 | 38 | 12.5 | 18
| | (54-57) | (36-41) | (12.0-13.5) | (17-19)
| | | | |
_Z. c. owstoni_ | 22 | 55 | 36 | 12.5 | 19
| | (52-57) | (34-38) | (12.0-13.0) | (18-20)
| | | | |
_Z. c. takatsukasai_ | 16 | 54 | 36 | 13.0 | 19
| | (53-55) | (34-39) | (13.0-14.0) | (19-20)
----------------------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+---------

_Weights._--The author (1948:73) records the weights of 11 adult
males as 9.5-14.0 (10.5), of 3 adult females as 8.0-10.0 (9.3).

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 61 (33 males, 17 females, 11
unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 27 (May 24, 29,
30, June 2, 3, 25, 28, July 12, 18, 19, 20, 23, 26, Sept., Oct. 8);
AMNH--Guam, 34 (Jan., March, July, Aug., Sept., Nov., Dec.).

_Nesting._--Seale (1901:58) reports the taking of one nestling and
three nests with eggs of the bridled white-eye at Guam in the
period from May to July. The NAMRU2 party obtained little evidence
of nesting in late May to July. Three males taken in the period of
June and July had enlarged gonads. Hartert (1898:57) records
several nests taken in February and March at Guam. He writes, "The
nest is a fairly deep cup, placed in the fork of a branch, woven
together of fine grasses and roots, and on the outside ornamented
with cobwebs, wool and cottonwood, varying in width from 8 to 5 cm.
The clutches consist of 2 or 3 eggs. The eggs are pale blue, like
all _Zosterops_ eggs. They measure 18:13, 17:13.2, 17:12.2,
15.5:12:5, 17:13.5, and between these measurements." Coultas
obtained specimens with enlarged gonads in August. According to
Oustalet (1895:207), Marche found nests and young in May or June.

_Remarks._--Kittlitz obtained the Bridled White-eye at Guam, when he visited the island, in March, 1828. He found the birds common and they reminded him of titmice. Marche obtained a series of 21 skins at Guam in August and September, 1887, and in February and March, 1888. Seale (1901:58) observed the birds in flocks of 10 to 20 in roadside bushes and in waste areas. He mentions that their principal foods are insects. The NAMRU2 party found the birds to be restricted to certain areas on Guam, where they were found in small flocks moving about in low trees. They were taken at only five localities, two of these being at the northern end of the island in vegetation along the high, coastal cliffs. The other localities were in the central part of the island in low trees in the uplands. Strophlet (1946:540) found them in grasslands on the foothills. Arvey (field notes) saw a flock of 12 white-eyes at Mount Tenjo in July, 1946.

The white-eye is a very active bird, always moving rapidly through the vegetation or flying across open areas to disappear into scrub foliage. As they move about they make a twittering sound, which is considered to be a flocking call.

=Zosterops conspicillata saypani= Dubois

Bridled White-eye

_Zosterops conspicillata Saypani_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p.
711. (Type locality, Saypan.)

_Zosterops conspicillata_ Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist.
Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 205 (Saypan); Hartert (part), Novit.
Zool., 5, 1898, p. 57 (Saipan); Finsch (part), Das Tierreich, no.
15, 1901, p. 37 (Saipan); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith.,
1901, pp. 112, 113 (Saipan); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen,
1913, p. 101 (Saipan); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1,
1915, p. 64 (Marianne = Saipan).

_Zosterops conspicillata_ var. _saypani_ Snouckaert, Alauda, (2),
3, 1931, p. 22 (Saypan).

_Zosterops conspicillatus_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922; p. 76 (Saipan).

_Zosterops saipani_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2,
1930, p. 706 (Saipan).

_Zosterops conspicillata saipani_ Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus.
Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 227 (Saipan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev.,
1932, p. 173 (Saipan, Tinian); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed.,
1942, p. 192 (Saipan, Tinian); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269,
1944, p. 7 (Tinian, Saipan); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific,
1945, p. 299 (Saipan, Tinian); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci.,
49, 1946, p. 104 (Tinian); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 527 (Saipan);
Baker, Smithson, Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 73
(Saipan, Tinian).

_Zosterops conspicillatus saipani_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p.
398 (Tinian).

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

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles _Z. c. conspicillata_, but
slightly smaller with fronto-loral band more greenish yellow;
auriculars olivaceous; orbital ring narrower; upper parts brighter
olive; underparts pale yellowish-white; bill darker. Birds from
Saipan resemble closely birds from Tinian, but upper parts may be
slightly brighter and underparts slightly more yellowish; iris
chestnut.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 50. Twenty-three
birds from Tinian measure: wing, 51 (50-53); tail, 38 (35-41);
full culmen, 12.0 (12.0-13.0); tarsus, 18 (17-18); six birds from
Saipan measure: wing, 54 (52-55); tail, 37 (35-39); full culmen,
13.0 (13.0-15.0); tarsus, 18 (17-19). Birds from Saipan are
slightly larger than birds from Tinian.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 33 (18 males, 13 females, 2
unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--7 (Oct. 7, 8, 9, 10,
23); AMNH--26 (July, Aug., Sept.).

_Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:398) records the taking of three nests
of the Bridled White-eye at Tinian on January 8, 1932. The nests
contained one, two, and three eggs, respectively. The color of the
eggs is uniformly pale blue; the nests were situated two to four
meters from the ground. Oustalet (1895:207) writes that Marche
obtained records of nesting at Saipan in the period from May to
July. Of 18 birds taken by Coultas at Tinian in September, 1931,
one-half of them had enlarged gonads.

_Molt._--Specimens examined that were taken in July, August,
September, and October have molting plumage.

_Remarks._--Marche obtained the first skins of this white-eye at Saipan; he got 23 specimens in May, June, and July, 1887. The population at Saipan was initially considered similar to that at Guam; it was later given subspecific separation by Dubois. The birds at Tinian exhibit some differences from the birds at Saipan, and it is possible that these two populations should be regarded as subspecifically distinct from one another.

In 1931, Coultas (field notes) found this white-eye common at Saipan and Tinian. He writes "The little fellow has adjusted himself to the gardens and shrubs in the villages. He is a seed eater and makes himself at home now around human habitation. I have seen him climbing over potted plants on the window ledges of dwellings. His cheerful little sibilation uttered continuously while at work or while on the wing makes him friends wherever he goes. He is no longer a bird of the forest as he has none here to go to." Several observers in the late war have published notes on this white-eye. Stott (1947:527) writes that he was reminded of the bush-tit (_Psaltriparus_) when he observed the behavior of this white-eye; Moran (1946:262) writes that it is "Similar in size and behavior to our vireos." Gleise (1945:220) estimated the population of white-eyes at Tinian at 500 plus in 1945. Downs (1946:104-105) found the birds to be abundant at Tinian; he found them in small flocks in low brush or trees and at edges of open fields as well as elsewhere. He saw a white-eye eating "a large green fuzzy caterpillar."

=Zosterops conspicillata rotensis= Takatsukasa and Yamashina

Bridled White-eye

_Zosterops semperi rotensis_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu.
Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 486. (Type locality, Rota.)

_Zosterops semperi_ Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat.
Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 207 (Rota); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool.,
5, 1898, p. 57 (Rota); Finsch (part), Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901,
p. 30 (Rota); Seale (part), Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1,
1901, p. 58 (Rota); Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 710
(Rota); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64
(Marianne = Rota).

_Zosterops semperi semperi_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 23 (Rota); Kuroda, (part) in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 75 (Rota).

_Zosterops semperi rotensis_ Snouckaert, Alauda. (2), 4, 1932, p.
459 (Rota); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 399 (Rota); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 173 (Rota).

_Zosterops conspicillata rotensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d
ed., 1942, p. 193 (Rota); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, 1944,
p. 7 (Rota); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 299 (Rota);
Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 73
(Rota).

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

_Characters._--Adult: Upper parts and sides of neck between
"warbler green" and "pyrite yellow" becoming lighter on the rump;
auriculars light yellowish-green; orbital ring white; fronto-loral
band narrowly tinged with yellow; underparts dingy yellow; wing
and tail feathers dark with light greenish-yellow edges; upper
mandible light brown; lower mandible light yellowish-brown; feet
light brown.

Resembles _Z. c. conspicillata_, but brighter greenish-yellow
above; chin and throat yellow like rest of underparts;
fronto-loral band tinged with bright yellow; auriculars resemble
closely the upper parts in color; narrow orbital ring.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 50.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 5 (3 males, 1 female, 1
unsexed), from Mariana Islands, USNM--Rota (Oct. 18, 20, 22).

_Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:399) records the taking of one nest
containing two eggs at Rota on March 7, 1931.

_Molt._--Specimens taken in October were in molt.

_Remarks._--Oustalet (1895:207) reported on two specimens of white-eye taken at Rota by Marche. He considered them as being similar to the birds at Palau. The birds at Rota were named as a separate subspecies by Takatsukasa and Yamashina in 1931. The NAMRU2 party found the birds to be numerous at Rota in October, 1945.

=Zosterops conspicillata semperi= Hartlaub

Bridled White-eye

_Zosterops semperi_ Hartlaub, in Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool.
Soc. London, 1868, p. 117. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)

_Zosterops semperi_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1872, pp. 89, 95 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875,
pp. 4, 16, pl. 4, fig. 1 (Palau); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877,
p. 777 (Pelew); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 396 (Palau);
Finsch (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 286 (Palau); _idem_
(part), Ibis, 1881, p. 111 (Pelew); Schmeltz and Krause (part),
Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Finsch
(part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 48 (Palau); Gadow
(part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 183 (Pelew);
Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 212 (Pelew); Wiglesworth (part),
Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p.
37 (Pelew); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris,
(3), 7, 1895, p. 208 (Palaos); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5,
1898, p. 57 (Pelew); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112,
113 (Palau); Finsch (part), Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 30
(Palau); Seale (part), Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1,
1901, p. 58 (Pelew); Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 710
(Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 55, 64
(Pelew).

_Zosterops semperi semperi_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 2
(Pelew); Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, 1922, pp. 22, 23
(Pelew); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 75
(Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 705
(Pelew); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p.
486 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 174 (Palau).

_Zosterops conspicillata semperi_ Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus.
Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 227 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d
ed., 1942, p. 193 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu); Mayr, Amer. Mus.
Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 7 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest
Pacific, 1945, p. 299 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol.
107, no. 15, 1945, p. 73 (Garakayo).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror,
Garakayo, Peleliu.

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _Z. c. rotensis_, but
fronto-loral band lighter yellow, and coloring is usually not
continuous above; auriculars paler; breast and abdomen paler
yellow; maxilla and feet darker; mandible whitish. Resembles adult
of _Z. c. conspicillata_, but brighter greenish-yellow above;
coloring of chin and throat like that of rest of underparts;
auriculars colored like back; fronto-loral band narrowly tinged
with bright yellow and not completely connected above; orbital
ring narrow; iris grayish-white.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 50.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 30 (15 males, 14 females, 1
unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Babelthuap, 2 (Nov.
27)--Koror, 4 (Nov. 14, 19)--Garakayo, 4 (Sept. 18, 19);
AMNH--exact locality not given, 20 (Oct., Nov., Dec.).

_Molt._--All birds examined (taken in September, October, and
November) are in molting plumage.

_Food habits._--At Garakayo, birds were observed in small flocks
feeding in low trees. Two stomachs examined, which were from
individuals of these flocks, contained very small seeds.

_Remarks._--Oustalet (1895:207) first pointed out the relationship between the Bridled White-eye at Palau and the one at Rota. Hartert (1898:57) thought that the occurrence of the same kind of bird at Palau and at Rota was "very peculiar." It was not until 1931 that Takatsukasa and Yamashina separated the two populations by name.

Coultas (field notes) found the Bridled White-eye to be uncommon in the Palaus in 1931. He observed them in the tops of trees, noting that they were wary and easily frightened away by the shooting of a gun. Coultas writes that he found the birds to be numerous at Peleliu; in 1945, the NAMRU2 party did not find the birds at that island. The only locality where they were found to occur was on the small island of Garakayo where the writer shot four Bridled White-eyes on September 18 and 19. He found two or three small flocks in low trees near the summit of a hill on the island. Approximately 25 birds were in this area.

=Zosterops conspicillata owstoni= Hartert

Bridled White-eye

_Zosterops semperi owstoni_ Hartert, Novit., Zool., 7, 1900, p. 2.
(Type locality, Ruk.)

_Zosterops semperi semperi_ Finsch (part), Journ. f. Ornith.,
1880, p. 287 (Ruck); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880,
p. 575 (Ruk); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, p. 110 (Ruk); Schmeltz
and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 353
(Ruk); Gadow (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 183
(Central Carolines=Truk); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber.
Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 37 (Ruk); Oustalet
(part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 208
(Ruk); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 57 (Ruk);
Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers, 1899, p. 80 (Ruk).

_Zosterops semperi owstoni_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 710
(Ruk); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl.,
63, 1919, p. 223 (Truk); Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 24
(Ruk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 75 (Ruk);
Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 705 (Ruk);
Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 496 (Ruk);
Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 400 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds,
rev., 1932, p. 174 (Truk).

_Zosterops owstoni_ Finsch, Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 31
(Ruk); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113
(Ruck); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 470 (Karolinen = Truk);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 55, 64 (Ruk).

_Zosterops conspicillata owstoni_ Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus.
Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 277 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed.,
1942, p. 193 (Truk); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 7
(Truk); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 299 (Truk);
Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, pp. 73, 74
(Truk).

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

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _Z. c. semperi_, but
upper parts darker olive and less yellowish-green; fronto-loral
band deeper yellow; auriculars slightly darker; black line on
lores and under eye more distinct; underparts deeper yellow;
abdomen with greenish tinges. Resembles adult of _Z. c. rotensis_,
but upper parts duller, more green and less yellow; fronto-loral
band lighter and less distinct, coloring near that of _Z. c.
semperi_; auriculars darker green; underparts slightly darker,
more olive-green and less yellow.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 50.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 23 (12 males, 10 females, 1
unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 3 (Feb. 16);
AMNH--Truk, 20 (Feb., March, May, Nov.).

_Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:400) records the taking of a nest with
one egg at Truk in May. Hartert (1900:2) records nests containing
single eggs taken at Truk from May to July. Nests were found in
bushes and trees four to eight feet above the ground. The eggs are
pale blue. He gives measurements of seven eggs.

_Remarks._--Kubary obtained the first specimens of the Bridled White-eye at Truk. Hartert described the population as a new subspecies using material taken by Owston's collectors. The bird was named in honor of Alan Owston. McElroy of the NAMRU2 party visited Truk in December, 1945. He found this white-eye in the mountainous areas at Moen and Udot islands.

=Zosterops conspicillata takatsukasai= Momiyama

Bridled White-eye

_Zosterops semperi takatsukasai_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922,
p. 22. (Type locality, Ponapé.)

_Zosterops semperi_ (part), Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p.
286 (Ponapé); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 575
(Ponapé); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, p. 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and
Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 281
(Ponapé); Finsch (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 48
(Ponapé); Gadow (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 183
(Central Carolines, Ponapé); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber.
Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 37 (Ponapé);
Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895,
p. 208 (Ponapé); Finsch, Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 30
(Ponapé); Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 710 (Ponapé);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 55, 64 (Ponapé).

_Zosterops owstoni_ Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp.
112, 113 (Ponapé).

_Zosterops semperi takatsukasai_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 76 (Ponapé); Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 705 (Ponapé); Snouchaert, Alauda,
(2), 3, 1931, p. 22 (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Tori, 7,
1932, p. 400 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 174
(Ponapé).

_Zosterops conspicillata takatsukasai_ Stresemann, Mitt. Zool.
Mus. Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 227 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds,
3d ed., 1942, p. 193 (Ponapé); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269,
1944, p. 7 (Ponapé); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 299
(Ponapé); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p.
73 (Ponapé).

_Zosterops conspicillata_ Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4,
1941, p. 204 (Ponapé).

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

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _Z. c. semperi_, but
slightly smaller with fronto-loral area more sulfur-yellow;
underparts brighter, especially the coloring of the abdomen and
under tail-coverts; iris light chestnut.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 50.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 20 (10 males, 9 females, 1
unsexed) from Caroline Islands, AMNH--Ponapé (Nov., Dec.).

_Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:400) records nests and eggs of _Z. c.
takatsukasai_. The nests, each containing a single egg, were taken
on July 10 and 20, 1931. Coultas (field notes) writes that the nest
consists of a small, cup-shaped structure of grasses and hair. The
natives told him that two eggs were laid. In birds taken by Coultas
in November the gonads were beginning to enlarge; specimens taken
in December had swollen gonads. From the evidence at hand, it would
appear that the Bridled White-eye at Ponapé breeds at two periods
of the year, the winter and the summer.

_Molt._--Specimens examined, which were taken by Coultas in
November and December, are in fresh plumage.

_Remarks._--In 1931, Coultas (field notes) found this white-eye to be rare at Ponapé. He obtained almost every one that he saw to get his series of 20 specimens. He found the birds usually in pairs around yellow-flowering bushy trees. A specimen taken by Richards had "small insects" in its stomach.

=Zosterops conspicillata hypolais= Hartlaub and Finsch

Bridled White-eye

_Zosterops hypolais_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1872, p. 95. (Type locality, Uap.)