Rukia ruki (Hartert)
Truk Greater White-eye
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.