BIRDS OF THE AjSTAMBA ISLANDS. 49 



MIXORNIS PILEATA ZOPHERA, new subspecies. 



Subspecific characters. — Similar to Mixornis pileata pileata Blyth, 1 

 from the Malay Peninsula, but averaging larger; upper surface darker, 

 more rufescent, the chestnut of pileum more extended posteriorly; 

 lower parts paler; streaks on throat and jugulum much heavier. 



Description. — Type, adult male, No. 171062, U.S.N.M.; Pulo Telaga, 

 Anamba Islands; September 14, 1899; Dr. W. L. Abbott. Pileum 

 reddish chestnut (between chestnut and burnt sienna), the forehead 

 mixed with grayish; superciliary stripe and sides of head and neck 

 olive buff, with obscure streaks of dusky, the auriculars shading pos- 

 teriorly into light reddish chestnut; rest of upper parts raw umber; 

 middle tail-feathers and outer vanes of others, except two outermost 

 pairs, chestnut, the tips and obsolescent bars which extend faintly 

 over all the feathers almost to their bases, sepia, the rest of tail dark 

 rufescent hair brown with numerous almost obsolete darker bars, the 

 inner webs narrowly margined with pale brownish on their basal por- 

 tions; primaries and secondaries dark hair brown, basally margined 

 on inner webs with cream white, on outer webs with chestnut, except 

 outermost primaries, which are edged with pale brownish; tertials 

 chestnut; superior wing-coverts burnt sienna; edge of wing sulphur 

 yellow; throat, jugulum, breast, and middle of abdomen sulphur yel- 

 low, the throat and jugulum heavily streaked with black; sides, 

 flanks, and crissum, olive buff; lining of wing pale sulphur yellow; 

 "iris reddish brown; bill dark horn brown, dark leaden beneath; feet 

 pale brownish green." 



This new form, in its pale, heavily streaked lower parts and large 

 size, resembles Mixornis pileata everetti of the Natuna Islands, but 

 differs from that bird in its lighter, much less rufescent (more grayish) 

 upper surface (the back thus more contrasted with pileum), and in 

 the somewhat heavier streaking of the anterior lower parts. 



Eleven specimens were obtained, as follows: 



Adult male, No. 170915, U.S.N .M.; Pulo Kiabu, August 18, 1899. 



Adult male, No. 170949, U.S.N.M.; Pulo Siantan, September 6, 

 1899. "Iris gray brown; feet brownish olive; upper mandible horn 

 brown; lower mandible leaden; naked orbital skin blue." 



Adult male, No. 170950, U.S.N .M.; Pulo Siantan, September 11, 

 1899. "Iris dark brown; lores blue." 



Adult male (type), No. 171062, U.S.N.M.; Pido Telaga, September 

 14, 1899. 



Adult male, No. 171065, U.S.N.M.; Pulo Telaga, September 15, 

 1899. "Iris ochrous brown." 



1 The name in common use for this species is Miiomis gularis, which is the Motacilla gularis of Raffles 

 (Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond., vol. 13, 1822, p. 312): but this is preoccupied by Motacilla gularis Omelin (Syst, 

 Nat., vol. 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 997), and therefore untenable. The proper name seems to be Prinia pileata Blyth 

 (Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vol. 11, 1842, p. 204). This species should consequently stand as Mitornis 

 pileata (Blyth). (See Oberho'ser, Smiths. Misc. roll., vol. 60, No. 7, Oct. 28, 1912, p. 9). 



70536°— Bull. 93—17 4 



