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

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

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.