4. SCOPS. (55 



white, giving a chequered appearance to the outer aspect of the 

 wing ; upper tail-coverts rufous, banded across with bhickish : tail- 

 feathers rufous, with about six bauds of blackish, becouung' very 

 indistinct and breaking up into vermiculations towards the tip of 

 the feather ; lores very full and buffy white in colour, tinged ^\'ith 

 rufous near the tip, before which is a dusky black bar ; ear-coverts 

 bright rufous, wnth a few faint indications of brown cross lines, the 

 hindermost tipped with black ; sides of neck strongly mottled with 

 white ; chin bufiy white, with a few brown spots ; ruff composed of 

 whitish feathers, barred with brown, these bars very distinct and 

 somewhat tinged with rufous on the gular plumes ; rest of under 

 surface of body sandy white, speckled with fine brown vermicula- 

 tions, some of the feathers with longitudinal streaks of dark brown 

 down the centre ; the sides of the chest rufous, with distinct vermi- 

 culations ; leg-feathers sandy white, mottled with spots and bars of 

 dark brown ; under tail-coverts white, barred across with rufous 

 brown ; under wing-coverts brown, washed with rufous, the edge 

 of the wing white, the innermost coverts j-ellowish buff, the lower 

 series uniform ashy brown ; bill greyish brown, lower mandible 

 ochreous ; feet bluish grey, tinged with brown ; claws light brown at 

 base ; ins fine clear yellow. Total length 7-5 inches, wing 5-7, 

 tail 3-5, tarsus 1-2. (Jhis. Norvic.) 

 Itah. Tamsuy, Formosa (SivinJioe). 



Obs. The authorities of the Norwich irus?um having kindlv lent 

 me tlie type of this species, I have been enabled to describe it and 

 compare it with S. qnlocephalvs, which it so closely resembles as to 

 be almost inseparable. The type is in rufous plumage ; and on com- 

 paring it with an Indian bird in rufous phase, lent me by Mr. Hume, 

 the only differences that I can find are the slightly whiter face, eye- 

 brow, and collar of the Forniosan bird and the'lcss spotted character 

 of the head. The leg-feathers are also not so tawny ; but I find 

 • approaches to all the characteristics of S. hamhroecll in other Hima- 

 layan specimens, and therefore the comparison of a series may 

 cause it to be united to S. spUocephalus. At present the tji^e is 

 unique. 



3. Scops gynmopodus. (Plate IV. fig. 2.) 



Scops gynmopodus, Grtnj, Cat. Accipitr. B. M. 1844, p. 44 (descr 

 nulla); StricM. Orn. Si/)i. p. 203; Grai/, Haml-l. B. i. p. 46. 



l.phialtes gynmopodus, Gray, Cat. Accipitr. 1848, p. Oi!. 



Acnerais gymnopodus, lump, Igis, 1848, p. 771 ; id. Contr. Orn. 1852 

 p. Ill (descr. orig.); id. Tr. Z. S. iv. p. 225. ' 



Achth (type of species). Above dull sandy brown, everywhere 

 minutely and almost imperceptibly vermiculated with wavy blackish 

 hair-lines ; the hind neck with an indistinct collar of orange-buff 

 feathers, mottled at the tips with the same colouring as the" back, 

 and marked with blackish in various manners, sometimes as a sub- 

 terminal bar, sometimes as a tolerably broad mesial streak, many of 

 the feathers white in the centre ; feathers of the crown varied with 

 blackish mesial streaks, the cross vermiculations being also rather 



VOL. II. P 



