Part 115

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.).