224 Viscount Walden on the Rufous-tniled Shrikes. 



totally distinct colouring, its caudal structure is alone sufficient 

 to separate it from L. cristatus, Linn. Though a snialle'r bird, 

 its rectrices are much broader than in the Bengal bird, and the 

 tail is less graduated. 



In the specimen before me the centre pair of rectrices, at 

 about one-third of their length from the end, display a well- 

 marked irregular light-coloured ti-ansverse band — a good dis- 

 tinctive character if found to be constant in all examples. Dr. 

 Jerdon cannot have seen specimens of this form, or he would 

 not have included it among his list (/. c iii. App. p. 875) of the 

 " somewhat doubtful '' species. 



Dimensions. 



Long. Rostr. Al. Caud. Tars. 



Ex Bagh, S.W.Afghanistan .. . -40 3-75 3-62 -93^ 



8. Lanius anderssoni (Strickl.). 



Enneoctonus anderssoni, Strickl., Contrib. to Orn. 1852, 

 p. 145. no. 18 (ex Damaraland) ; Mem. ii. p. 336. no. 18. Bp., 

 Eev. de Zool. 1853, v. p. 437, note. 



Founded on a specimen obtained by Mr. Andersson in the 

 Damara country of Southern Africa. Strickland mentions that it 

 is allied to L. melanotis, Val. {L. cristatus of this paper), but that 

 it " differs in the ferruginous ear-covers, longer wing, shorter 

 tail, &c." A peculiar character seems also to be the absence of 

 a black or brown ocular band. A white alar bar is not men- 

 tioned ; and as so important a character is not likely to have 

 escaped the notice of so accurate an observer as the describer, I 

 include this species in this section. Yet it may eventually 

 prove to have been the female or young of a form belonging to 

 another group of the genus. 



This completes the number of Rufous-tailed Shrikes without 

 an alar speculum known to me. 



Laniiis isahellinus, H.&E. (Symb.Phys. i. fol. e, note), obtained 

 in Arabia*, is an interesting transitional link, being a Rufous- 

 tailed Shrike but possessing a white alar bar. A species com- 

 bining these two characters was obtained at Hyderabad, in 



* Tlie late Mr. Strickland (P. Z. S. 1850, p. 217. no. 46) records this 

 species from Kordofan. 



