==================+=========+=========+=============+=========
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)