_Tephras ruki_ Hartert, Bull. British Ornith. Club, 7, 1897, p. 5.
(Type locality, Ruk.)
_Tephras ruki_ Hartert, Ibis, 1898, p. 144 (Ruk); _idem_, Novit.
Zool., 7, 1900, p. 3 (Ruk); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp.
111, 112, 113 (Ruck); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2,
1930, p. 712 (Ruk).
_Zosterops ruki_ Finsch, Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 46 (Ruk);
Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 713 (Ruk); Reichenow, Die Vögel,
2, 1914, p. 470 (Ruk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p.
64 (Ruk); Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 230
(Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, pp. 172 (Truk);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 191 (Truk).
_Rukia ruki_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 2 (Ruk); Kuroda,
in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 78 (Ruk); Mayr, Amer. Mus.
Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 7 (Truk); _idem_, Birds Southwest
Pacific, 1945, p. 301 (Truk).
_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk.
_Characters._--According to Hartert (1897:5), "Entirely
sepia-brown, the inner webs of the remiges and under wing-coverts
lighter, inclining to whitish; the primaries darker, the outer
webs bordered with the same colour as the back. Bill black; iris
red; tarsi and feet orange-rufous; claws mouse-brown." _R. ruki_
may be distinguished from other species of _Rukia_ by its dark
olive-brown coloring.
_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 52.
_Specimens examined._--Total number, 7 (4 males, 2 females, 1
unsexed), from Caroline Islands, AMNH--Truk (Nov., Dec.).
_Remarks._--This white-eye was first obtained by Owston's collectors in
1895 at Truk. Hartert (1900:3) writes, "It is most peculiar that the
late J. Kubary, who was an excellent collector, and who spent more than
fourteen months on Ruk, did not obtain this bird. It is probably not
numerous, and occurs only on a certain secluded spot not visited by
Kubary." In like manner, _R. palauensis_ was not described from Palau
until 1915, although several collectors had visited the island at
previous times. Hartert included the Truk Greater White-eye in the genus
_Tephras_ of Hartlaub. Later, Momiyama (1922:2) made this bird the type
for his new genus _Rukia_, in which Mayr has placed all of the large
white-eyes of Micronesia.
=Rukia sanfordi= (Mayr)