4. GECurrs. 67 



marginal lines of white ; shafts black ; tail black, the outer web of 

 the large outer feather with marginal spots of buffy white at the 

 base, and the inner webs of the two feathers on either side of the 

 central pair having at their base spots of pure white ; shafts black ; 

 nasal plumes, face, the top of the head, occiput, and nape deep blue- 

 black, with a quadrate spot of red in the centre of the crown ; hind 

 neck greenish yellow ; side of the neck, chin, throat, fore neck, and 

 chest yellow, slightly greenish on the chest ; below the chest dull 

 white, with faint dusky squaraate markings ; under tail-coverts also 

 dull white, but having broader and blacker squamate markings ; 

 under wing-coverts white, crossed by irregular and narrow dusky 

 bars, the edge of the wing yellowish, with blackish squamate 

 markings ; axillaries yellowish white ; bill white. Total length 

 12-0 inches, culmen 1'58, wing 6'35, tail 4-5, tarsus 1-23 ; toes 

 (without claws) — outer anterior 0-9, outer posterior 0-85, inner 

 anterior 0-62, inner posterior 0'44. 



Adult female. Differs from the adult male in wanting the red on 

 the crown. Total length ll-o inches, culmen 1-35, wing 6'25, tail 

 4'3, tarsus 1-15. 



Town/ female. Eesembles the adult female in the distribution of 

 the colours, but they are less vivid, the red of the rump being more 

 of an orange-scarlet, and the head wanting the intense blue-black 

 shade possessed by the older birds. 



Hah. Cochin China and Laos. 



17. Gecinus nigrigenis. 



Gecinus erythropvgius (non JEl/iot), Wardl. Ramsay, P. Z. S. 1874, 

 p. 212, pi. XXXV. ( c? 2 ) ; Wald.Ibis, 1875, pp. 148, 463; Wardl. 

 Hams. Tweedd. Mem. p. 290 (1881): Oafes, Str. F. x. p. 191 

 (1882); id. B. Brit. Burm. ii. p. 52 (1883); Harg. Ibis, 1888, 

 p. 189. _ 



Gecinus nigrigenis, Hume, Proc. A. S. B. 1874, p. 106 ; id. Str. F. 

 1874. pp. 444, 471; id. S,- Davison, op. cit. vi. p. 136 (1878); 

 Bingham, op. cit. 1880, p. 163. 



Picus nigrogenis, Gieb. Thes. Orn. iii. p. 170 (1876). 



Adult male. Resembles O. erythropj/gius, from Cochin China, but 

 may be easily distinguished by its black bill ; the dimensions are 

 also less, and there is a greater amount of red upon the crown ; 

 but as I have only been able to compare one miile example of 

 G. ert/thropi/rjius with the present species, the small amount of red 

 on the crown possessed by the former may not be a constant 

 character. Occasionally specimens of G. nigriyenis are found pos- 

 sessing a white or yellowish stripe behind the eye *. This T have 

 never met with in G. ergthrojJi/gius ; but the number examined has 



* The variability as to presence or absence of this stripe in adult birds of 

 either sex is a re-narkable feature and does not exist in any other known 

 Woodpecker. All other species of Picida either do or do not'posse.ss a facial 

 stripe as a constant character. 



Y 2 



