Ptilotis (Cleptornis) marchei Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 202 (Saypan).
Geographic range.—Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Saipan.
Characters.—Adult: A small honey-eater with head, rump, and underparts near "light cadmium" becoming lighter on the chin and darker on the nape; back near "orange-citrine"; wings and tail feathers brown with outer edges colored like back and inner edges whitish; orbital ring pale yellow; breast, belly, sides, and under tail- and upper tail-coverts near "raw sienna"; under wing-coverts pale yellow; axillaries yellow; bill and feet light yellow-brown, maxilla darker; iris chestnut-brown. Immature has lighter bill.
Measurements.—Measurements are listed in [table 47].
Table 47. Measurements of Cleptornis marchei
Table 47. Measurements of Cleptornis marchei
| Number and Sex | Wing | Tail | Full Culmen | Tarsus |
| 7 adult males | 79 | 64 | 19.5 | 26 |
| (77-80) | (61-66) | (19.0-20.0) | (25-27) | |
| 5 adult females | 73 | 58 | 18.0 | 24 |
| (72-75) | (56-59) | (17.5-18.5) | (23-25) |
Specimens examined.—Total number, 17 (9 males, 8 females), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM—Saipan, 4 (July 11, Dec. 15); AMNH—Saipan, 13 (July 8, Aug. 1, 10, 13, 14, 21, 30, Sept. 3, 7, 9, 15).
Nesting.—Hartert (1898:56) reports that one nest of the Golden Honey-eater was found on July 7. It was hung from a fork of a branch, "like the nest of a golden Oriole." He writes that four other nests were obtained in late August. Hartert describes the egg as "pale blue without gloss, spotted over and over with rufous, more so on the thicker end, and measures about 20:15 mm."
Molt.—Specimens taken in July, August, and September are molting.