THE BIRDS OF NORTHERN THAILAND 481 



known; no sign of it appears in three specimens collected between 

 February 1 and 10. 



P. d. davisoni "resembles Ph. reguloides assamensis, but sex for sex 

 is smaller, upper parts and edges of wings more vivid green; typi- 

 cally the two outer pairs of tail feathers are pure white on the inner 

 webs . . ." (Ticehurst, Systematic review of the genus Phyllo- 

 scopus, 1938, pp. 175-176). 



PHYLLOSCOPUS DAVISONI DISTURBANS (La Touche) 



SZECHWANESE LESSER WHITE-TAILED WlLLOW WARBLER 



Acantkopneuste trochiloides disturbans La Touche, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, vol. 

 43, 1922, pp. 22-23 (Mengtz, southeastern Yunnan). 



An unsexed specimen from Doi Chiang Dao, 5,200 feet, March 18, 

 1937, has been seen by Dr. Ticehurst, who writes: "Possibly dis- 

 turbans . . . tail right for that . . ." The bird was taken in an area 

 of freshly burned forest and has the plumage distinctly darkened by 

 soot, which may account for his use of the word "possibly." 



"In coloration there is little, if any, difference on the upper parts 

 compared with davisoni; on the under parts disturbans ... is whiter, 

 davisoni more sullied with and streaked with yellow. 



"In size disturbans may be a trifle larger, but too few have been 

 examined to be sure of this. The only other difference lies in the tail ; 

 instead of having the inner web of the outer feather and most of the 

 inner web of the penultimate feather white as in davisoni, the white is 

 confined to the edges of the webs" (Ticehurst, Systematic review of the 

 genus Phylloscopus, 1938, pp. 178-179). 



PHYLLOSCOPUS CANTATOR RICKETTI (Slater) 



Chinese Yellow-breasted Willow Warbler 



Cryptolopha ricketti Slater, Ibis, 1897, pp. 174-175, col. pi. 4, fig. 2 (Kuatuu, 

 northwestern Fuhkien, China). 



During my last winter in Thailand I took two specimens of this 

 beautiful bird : A female on Doi Suthep, 2,700 feet, November 7, 1936, 

 and a male on Doi Chiang Dao, November 26, 1936. The species, 

 although not previously recorded from Thailand, was quite to be ex- 

 pected there, and these examples were the result of a purposeful search 

 which led me to examine carefully every individual of what appeared 

 to be the common Seicercus b. tephrocephala. I suspect that ricketti 

 is a regular winter visitor to our mountains, but has been mistaken 

 again and again for the more abundant flycatcher warbler. 



My specimens were shot in light evergreen forest, where they were 

 associated with mixed flocks of such small birds as Erpornis, Seicercus, 

 and other species of Phylloscopus. 



