Calcutta, with Notes by H. E. Strickland. 123 



ing nos. 1, 4, 26, 45, 65, 67, 73, 82, 94, 117, 143, 149, 163, 171, 

 195 and 272, several of which might however be safely added. Mr. 

 Jerdon's original list of the peninsular species generally (of the hills 

 as well as of the plains) numbered 407 species ; but of these several 

 are merely nominal, though he has since added very considerably to 

 that number. If I had included all which I know to inhabit Bengal, 

 my list would have been much more extensive ; but I have confined 

 myself exclusively to the species which I have procured within a few 

 miles of Calcutta : and so far are even these from being yet exhausted, 

 that I have obtained no less than three additional Raptores while 

 writing out the present paper, namely Pernis maculosa y Lesson (for 

 certain), Circaetus gallicus and a small Accipiter, which is probably 

 the Khandesra hawk long sought for by Mr. Jerdon. With respect 

 to my own opportunities for out-door observation, I may here repeat 

 that they have been hitherto extremely few, for during the whole of 

 the past year I was only one day absent from the museum ; but I 

 have now just returned from a week's excursion in the direction of 

 the Soonderbuns, and have no intention of remaining quite so much 

 at home for the future. Even in that short trip I found species of 

 fish to be quite plentiful, which I had never, or but very rarely, seen 

 in the bazar ; among them a splendid undescribed Scicena, taken in 

 abundance in the middle of the stream, which I had only once or 

 twice previously met with : and so far as birds are concerned, the ex- 

 treme plentifulness of Totanus hypoleucos, and also the commonness 

 of T. ochropus I was previously unaware of ; having formed a judge- 

 ment from the few brought by the bazar shikarees in comparison to 

 the multitudes which they bring of T. glareola and some others. 



Postscript. — Since the above was in type, a letter has been re- 

 ceived from Mr. Blyth, dated Calcutta, May 9, 1844, of which the 

 following are extracts : — 



I avail myself of a steamer's departure direct from this to Suez, to 

 forward another communication to you on zoological matters. The 

 season is now over for collecting many things, but still I continue to 

 pick up a little, and have received some valuable contributions from 

 Arracan, &c. since I last wrote. I have also just received a very in- 

 teresting letter from Jerdon, announcing a valuable collection on its 

 way to me, containing various novelties from Southern India, and I 

 likewise expect two other collections from the peninsula shortly. In 

 this neighbourhood I have just obtained another Cuculus canorus, 

 also Phoenicophaust ristis (Less, the longicaudatus of my first mono- 

 graph on Cuculidce), and one specimen of an Iora, which proves, after 

 all, that typhia and zeylonica are one and the same. This bird had 

 about half acquired the black cap and back of zeylonica, the change 

 of colour taking place in the feathers themselves without a moult. 

 Yet it is strange, that of the great number of these birds which I 

 have obtained both before and since, I have never procured another 

 specimen with any trace of this zeylonica plumage. Add Rhipidura 

 albofrontata to the number of birds not found in this vicinity, but 

 which occur on the eastern side of the mountains of Central India, 



