MESOPHOYX. 



85 



Adult. General colour above and below pure white, with elongated 

 ornamental plumes on the fore-neck : " bill entirely yellow ; feet and 

 naked space in front of eyes greenish ; iris yellow "' (C. J. Maijaard). 

 Total length about 58 inches, culmeu G*2, wing 19, tail 7, tarsus 7' 9. 

 Touwj. Pure white like the adults. 

 . Hdh. Southern Florida, chiefly on the eastern side (Ridgway). 

 Gi'eater Antilles. 



a. Ad. sk. Florida. J. J. Audubon, Esq. [P, 

 d. Ad. sk. Florida. The Duke of Sussex [P, 

 •c. Juv. sk. Arsenica Key, Plorida, Feb. 15. Salvin-Godman Coll. 

 .d. Pull. sk. Three Sister Keys, Florida, Salvin-Godman GoU. 



January 1883. 



3. MESOPHOYX. 



Type, 

 ilesophoyx, S/inrpe, Bull. Bnt. Orn. Club, iii. 



p. xxxviii (1894) M. intermedia. 



Range. Africa and India to China, and south to the Malayan 

 Archipelago and Australia. 



Key to the Species. 



■a. Bare part of tibio-tarsus black in .skin ; bill black 



or yellow ; bare face yellow intermedia, p. 85. 



b. Bare part of tibio-tarsus yellow, contrasting with 



the black tarsus ; bill always yellow *. 

 a' . With a completely yeUow face, no blackish [p. 87. 



loral patch brachyrJiyncha, 



b'. With a distinct blaclilsh loral patch plumifera, p. 87. 



1. Mesophoyx intermedia. 



Ardea intermedia, Hasselt, .-V/.VS'. [teste Schlegel), Wac/ler, Isis, 1829, 

 p. 659 (Javat) ; Larjard, Ann. Sf Mag. Nat. Hist. xiv. p. Ill 

 (1854) ; Schl. Mas. Pa i/s-B as, Ardese, p. 19 (1863: part.) ; Hume, 

 Nests ^ Eggs Ind. B. p. 615 (1875) ; Reichen. J.f. O. 1877, p. 273 

 (pt.) ; Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. -l^d, note (1880) ; Seeb. B. Japan. 

 Emj}. p. 217 (1890). 



Ardea melanopus, Wagler, Isis, 1829, p. 659 (Java). 



Ardea putea, Frankl. P. Z. S. 1831-32, p. 123. 



Ardea nivea, Cut. Mus. Park : Less. Traite, p. 575 (1831) ; Pucker. 

 Reu. et Mag. de Zool. 1851, p. 376; Hartl. J.f. O. 1855, p. 421. 



Ardea uigrirostris, J. E. Gray, Zool. Misc. p. 19 (1831) ; id. in 

 Hardw. III. Ind. Zool. pi. 49. fig. 2 (1832). 



Ardea egi-ettoides (?iec Gm.), Tenim. Man. Orn. iv. p. 314 (1840 ; 

 Sicilv!); Werner, Atlas, Gralles, pi. 6; Gray, Gen. B. iii. p 555 

 (1847). 



Herodias intermedia, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. Beng. p. 279 



* This seems to be a jjerfeclly constant character, and is accompanied by the 

 <I<)rsal train in both the African and Australian birds. The Indian bird seems 

 lo have the bill dark in summer and yellow in winter. 



]• I have taken it for granted that the Celebean bird will turn out the same 

 as the Australian. The birds from Java and the Philippines are the same as 

 the species from India and China. It has been difficult to locate all the 

 fiyncnyms. 



