_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