3G j\Ir. H. E. Strickland's Notes 07i Mr. Blyth's 



the very young males as well as the females at all ages are rufous, 

 short-tailed, and with gray throats ? 



106. Pericrocotus princeps is the Turdus speciosus of Latham, and 

 should retain the latter specific name. 



109. I have little doubt that the so-called " Graucalus papuensis" 

 of India is distinct from the true papuensis of New Guinea ; and if 

 Mr. Blyth will send an exact description of the Indian bird, perhaps 

 the point can be decided. 



111. Having referred to Col. Sykes's original specimen of his 

 " Cehlepyris cana," I find that it is not the true C. cana (which is a 

 Madagascar bird), nor is it the male of C . fimhriatus , as supposed by 

 Mr. Jerdon. In fact it is not a Cehlepyris (Campephaga) at all, but 

 a Lalage, Boie, though with a stronger beak than the type of that 

 genus. The total length is 1^ inches, beak to gape 1 1 lines, wing 

 4 inches 1 line, tail 3 inches 4 lines, tarsus 10 lines ; head, neck, 

 breast, beak and legs black ; back and middle rectrices gray ; belly 

 and vent grayish white ; wing- covers and quills black, with gray 

 edges ; lateral rectrices black, broadly tipped with white. If pre- 

 viously undescribed, I would call this species Lalage sykesi. 



112. The Lanius referred to is, I suspect, the L. cristatus of Lin- 

 naeus and L. superciliosus of Lath., in w^hich case (the former name 

 being decidedly erroneous, as the bird is not crested,) the species 

 might retain the name superciliosus. 



116. Cometes krishna should be termed Chibia hottentotta (Lin.). 

 {Corvus hottentottus, Lin., a name expressive of its black plumage.) 



118. Mr. Blyth, in the Journal of As. Soc. of Bengal, vol. xi. 

 p. 1 69, has distinguished four species of Dicrurus (Edolius, Cuv.) with 

 the outer rectrices long and spatulate, but their synonymy seems to 

 require some correction. It appears to me they should stand thus : — 

 1. D.paradiseus (Lin.) (being certainly the Cuculus paradiseus, Lin., 

 E. cristatellus, Blyth ; and probably E. malabaricus, Horsf., and E, 

 retifer, Tem.). 2. D. malabaricus (Lath.) (Sonn. Voy. Ind. vol. ii. 

 pi. Ill ; E.rangoonensis, Gould; D. retifer, Jerdon). 3. D.grandis 

 (Gould) (^Lanius malabaricus, Lath. Syn. Sup. i. pi. 108, copied by 

 Stephens, vol. xiii. pi. 47, but not the true L. malabaricus described 

 by Latham from Sonnerat; Chibia malabaroides , Hodgs.). 4. D.re- 

 mifer (Tem.) (possibly E. malabaricus, Horsf.). It is the first of these 

 which Mr. Blyth intends by his No. 118. 



119, 120, 121. The genus Dicrurus is still in a state of great con- 

 fusion, notwithstanding the valuable but too concise notice by Mr. 

 Blyth in Journ. As. Soc. Beng. vol. xi., and it is especially desirable 

 that exact descriptions and measurements of the Indian species should 

 be published, without which it is impossible for European zoologists 

 to understand them. The true Lanius ccerulescens, Lin., (founded on 

 Edwards, pi. 56 ; Lanius fingah, Shaw ;) is described by Brisson as 

 7^ inches long, beak to gape 8 lines, depth of fork in the tail 8 lines. 

 As the belly is said to be white, it is probably an immature bird, re- 

 ferable, I conceive, to Dicrurus ceneus, Vieill., D. ceratus, Steph. 

 (both names founded on LevailL, pi. 176), Chaptia muscipetoides, 



