55 



conjectured by that distinguished naturalist to be the same as the 

 Cinclus Pallasii, stated that upon comparing the original specimen, 

 so described by the Prince, with the present bird, he found them 

 perfectly distinct. The American bird is of a deep ashen grey co- 

 lour, the Himalayan of a chocolate brown ; — the bill of the former is 

 yellow with a dark apex, and the legs are yellow, the same mem- 

 bers in the latter being fuscous. There are thus three species well 

 known of this genus ; the CincL aquaticus, Pallasii, and unicolor, 

 which latter name had been originally given by the Prince of Mu- 

 signano to the American bird, on the supposition of its being dis- 

 tinct. The CincL Mexicanus, Swains., [Phil. Mag. July 1827], if 

 not the same as the Rocky Mountain bird, as stated in the 'Annals 

 of the Lyceum,' will form a fourth species. 



A series of Birds belonging to this family were then exhibited, 

 which Mr. Vigors referred to a group characterized by Dr. Hors- 

 field and himself in the 15th volume of the ' Linnean Transactions,' 

 under the name of Cinclosoma, the type of which was an Australian 

 species, the Turdus punctatus of Dr. Latham. Mr. Vigors pointed 

 out the characters that seemed to distinguish the true Thrush, or 

 the type of the restricted genus Turdus, Auct. j which consist in 

 a subacuminated wing, in which the first quill feather is ex- 

 tremely short, almost spurious, the second somewhat shorter than 

 the third, and the third, fourth and fifth almost equal, and the 

 longest ; in the tail being even, and of moderate length ; and in the 

 acroiarsia or front covering of the tarsi being generally entire, or 

 undivided by any perceptible scales. To this typical division of the 

 family belong the Throstle, Blackbird, Ring- Ouzel, Red- Wing, Field- 

 fare, and Missel Thrush of Europe, the migratory Thrush of North 

 America, the Himalayan Blackbird just described of India, the 

 varied Thrush of New Holland, &c. &c. On the contrary, the group 

 of Cinclosoma, while it exhibits the general characters of the bill of 

 the true Thrushes, although partially modified in some of the spe- 

 cies, displays an entirely different conformation of the wing and 

 tail ; the former of these members is comparatively short, and 

 rounded, the first quill feather being of moderate length, the se- 

 cond, third, fourth, and fifth, gradually increasing in length ; the fifth, 

 sixth, seventh and eighth, nearly equal; and the rest gradually de- 

 creasing j the tail at the same time being lengthened and gra- 

 duated, as is usually the case in birds where the wings are short 

 and rounded. The scales also of the acrotarsia in Cinclosoma .are 

 conspicuously distinct. In this group the feathers are generally de- 

 composed, as has been observed to be the case in the genus Ti- 

 malia, Horsf, to which it bears a close affinity, and from which per- 

 haps it can only be separated by the more short and arched beak of 

 the latter group. Mr. Vigors observed that there were several In- 

 dian species which might be referred to this group. The four fol- 

 lowing, which were apparently hitherto undescribed, were then cha- 

 racterized as belonging to it. 



Cinclosoma ocellatum. Cinclos. capitis fronte et lateribus, cor- 

 poreque supra rujb-brunneis ; vertice , colloque in fronte nigro- 



