on Dr. Jerdon's ' Birds of India.' 179 



accede to this general identification of them. First, there is 

 the P. mitratus, Lichtenstein (as adopted by Dr. Jerdon, and 

 also by Mr. G. R. Gray in the British Museum) . This, as 

 Dr. Jerdon remarks, is the P. onocrotalus of Bonaparte and 

 Bree, and it is identical with the species so labelled in the Zoo- 

 logical Gardens. It has a pendant occipital crest of straight 

 and narrow feathers, and in the breeding-season the forehead 

 becomes much inflated; the naked skin of the cheeks is pale 

 carneous, and that of the pouch veiy pale yellow. This race is 

 not common in Bengal, according to my experience. I obtained 

 one specimen, killed near Dacca, and saw one fine living adult 

 in the menagerie of the Maharaja of Burdwan, where it was 

 accompanied by equally fine examples of the next race, all in 

 thoroughly mature plumage; and I afterwards saw another 

 adult in Calcutta, with Babu Rajendro Mullick. 



The ordinary Bengal Pelican (P. onocrotalus apud Jerdon, 

 and also of the British Museum) has never any pendent occi- 

 pital feathers ; but the crest is formed of plumes of loose and 

 open texture, not much elongated and curling upwards. The 

 forehead is never tumid, as in the preceding race; the bare 

 skin of the cheeks is deep purplish or livid carneous, and that 

 of the pouch intense bright yellow. Moreover the feathers of 

 the lower parts are conspicuously shorter and more uniform, 

 not so distinct and lanceolate as in the other. A mature 

 female measured 5 ft. 6 in. in extreme length, and 8 ft. 10 in. in 

 extent of wings ; wing from wrist 2 ft. 2 in. ; tail 8 in. ; bill to 

 forehead 14*5 in.; tarse5"5in. Another specimen had the bill 

 to forehead 15"5 in., and the wing 27 in. In another the bill 

 measured 16 inches. 



A third race is the true P. javanicus, Horstield, as correctly 

 assigned by Dr. Jerdon, and as now identified from the type- 

 specimen in the Indian Museum : distinguished from the last by 

 its inferior size. A male in very fine adult plumage measured 

 4ft. 8 in. in extreme length, and 7 ft. 10 in. in extent of wings; 

 wing from wrist 1 ft. 11 in. ; tail 7 in. ; bill to forehead 11 in. ; 

 tarse 5 in. In this individual the usual patch upon the breast, 

 characteristic of the breeding-season, was aeep and dark ferru- 

 ginous, quite sufficiently like a blood-stain to have given rise to 



N. S. — VOL. III. O 



