( 73 ) 



to the sides of the neck, while the birds marked <? cJ don't show any grey on the chin, 

 which is rufous like the remaining underparts, and there is but a slight sufiFu>ion of 

 grey on the upper part of the cheeks. On the other hand, the birds marked <?<? by 

 Mr. Hose show a narrow white superciliary stripe extending over the eyes and ending 

 a short distance behind them, and also a slight whitish mixture at the beginning of 

 the grey mystacal strijie, there being not the slightest traces of these white markings 

 in the birds marked feinales.* 



As far as I can ascertain these sexual differences are not mentioned by any 

 author who has written about these birds, or else the differences in plumage have been 

 ascribed to different ages. 



2. Spilornis salvadorii Herl. sp. nov. 



Syn. S. pallido (Walden) ex Borneo valde affinis sed multo minor, rectricum 

 fasciis nigris mediis et apicalibus multo angu.stioribus, remigum apicibus nigris 

 quoque brevioribus, necnon rostro, ut videtur, jiallidiore. 



S. salvadorii ex Nias : al. 304, 200 ; caud. 197, 185 : culm. 32A, 30i ; tars. 74 mm. 



(S. ptdlidua ex Borneo : S al. 325 ; caud. 214 ; culm. 34 ; tars. 84 mm. 

 ? ,, 348 „ 228 „ 36| „ 834 „ 



Hah. In insula Nias (coll. Thomas). 



Specimina duo in Mus. Berlepsch et Tring. 



This is evidently a dwarf form of iS'. pallidus A\'alden of Borneo, inhabiting the 

 island of Nias off the coast of Sumatra, from whei-e hitherto no species of Spilornis 

 had been mentioned. The specimens on which my description is based were 

 collected by Mr. W. Thomas, a missionary resident on the island of Nias, and were 

 received by me directly from him along with other Nias birds, such as Cittocincla 

 melanura, Gracula robusla, Calornis altirodris, Carpophaga consobrina, Macro- 

 pyrjia modigliani, Syrnium niasense, etc. One of these specimens of Spilornis 

 I have had in my collection some four years, and I have always regarded it as 

 belonging to an undescribed species, but unfortunately was unable to get specimens 

 of <S'. pallidus from Borneo for comparison, and therefore refrained from descriliing it 

 until now. 



In the summer of 1892 I sent this specimen to Loudon, asking Count Salvadori 

 to compare it with specimens of S. pallidus, which he did with his usual courtesy. 

 He kindly replied to my questions about this bird in a letter dated November 24th 

 1892, as follows : " I send back all your pigeons, and also the Spilornis from Nias. 

 The latter is similar to S. pallidus, but smaller (wing 11'6 inches instead of 12'6), 

 and has the light band on the tail narrower (1-2 instead of 1'6) ; the tail shorter, 

 7'5 in.stead of 8'5. Perhaps it is not worth while .separating it from S. pallidus.'' 



At the end of the year 1893 I again received a lot of Nias birds from Mr. Thomas, 

 and was very much pleased in finding in it a second specimen of the Spilornis. 

 Having also lately had an opportunity of comjiaring my Nias birds with two fine 

 skins of S. pallidus from Borneo (cJ and ? , collected by .Mr. Hose, brought liome by 

 Professor W. Kiikenthal, and belonging to the Senckenberg IMuseum at Frankfort), 

 I find that the differences between the Nias form and that inhabiting Borneo, as 

 already pre-tumed by me when comjiaring the de.'icription of S. jmllidxs, and as 



' The material in the 'I'riiig Musetim seems to eonfinn ttie so.\tiaI diil'erences dcsci-iljod by Ccuiit 

 iiei'Iepsch, and they seem to exist in tlie Malaccji species as well. — K. Hartert. 



