1887.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 299 



before me, which I refer to B. amurensis, are fully equaled, as far as 

 robustuess of bill is concerned, by an Australian example. 



The main feature by which B. amurensis seems to differ from the 

 Australian form is the pure cinereous color of the sides and back of 

 neck and sides of head, while in the southern representative these parts 

 are more or less washed with brownish. Both of my Japanese speci- 

 mens are apparently immature, the front of the neck being strongly 

 spotted with blackish, but the absence of a brownish tinge to the parts 

 mentioned is quite marked. A fully adult bird from the Philippines in 

 perfect plumage shares these features, but the fore neck and sides of 

 face are nearly unspotted ; the gray of the sides and back of neck is 

 nearly pure, and corresponds in intensity with Ridgway's Gray No. 6 

 (Nomencl. Colors, pi. ii) ; the bill is very stout, and the bird undoubt- 

 edly belongs to the form B. amurensis. In this specimen, as well as in 

 the two Japanese examples, there is a very pronounced and pure white 

 streak running from the malar apex backwards along the upper edge 

 of the lower mandible ; this streak is not indicated in the Australian 

 specimen nor in Gould's figure. On the other hand, it is present in a 

 B. javanicus from Tenasserim, and in Peale's type of B.patruelis (which 

 I cannot separate from the latter) from Tahiti. 



Ornithologists in Japan should be on the lookout for this bird, and 

 our correspondents would confer a great favor upon us could they pro- 

 cure for our inspection fullj^ adult specimens from that country. 



Measurements. 



For the sake of comparison, I here reproduce von Schrenck's measure- 

 ments of his Ussuri and Amur specimens, as given in his great work 

 {op. cit., p. 44:3). Eeduced to millimeters, they may be tabulated as 

 follows : 



