the Andaman Islands. 323 



42. DiCRURUS ANDAMANENsis, Tytler, sp. nov. 



Col. Tytler tells me that this is a new species, peculiar in 

 having hair-like feathers springing from the nostril. Both his 

 specimens have white lunules on the under wing-coverts. 



There seems to be a great deal of confusion regardmg the Bhim- 

 raj or Edolius of the Andaraans. Mr, Blyth says (J. A. S. B. 

 I860, p. 106) that it "appears to be constantly a little larger 

 than Malayan peninsula specimens, with more tendency to show 

 a rudimental frontal crest ; this, however, is less developed than 

 in Burmese and Tenasserim specimens.^' He had previously 

 stated (J. A. S. B. 1859, p. 272) that " the Bhimraj of the Anda- 

 mans (as was remarked on a former occasion) is identical with the 

 Malayan species with the rudimentary frontal crest ;" and then 

 goes on to compare specimens from various localities, Penang, 

 the Tenasserim provinces of Burmah, Tipperah, Ceylon, Bengal, 

 and the Andamans ; and winds up with the conclusion, " after 

 considerable study of numerous specimens from various loca- 

 lities, I can at present recognize two races only as sufficiently 

 distinguishable, being the crestless or almost crestless one from 

 the Andamans and Malayan peninsula, and the conspicuously 

 crested race elsewbere. AVhen better known, each from an 

 adequate series of both sexes and of all ages, from whatever 

 locahty, it is probable that these will be acknowledged as two 

 species.'^ 



Dr. Jerdon (B. Ind. i. p. 437) separates the Malabar bird from 

 E.paradiseus of North and East India, and considers the Malay 

 race, E. malabaricus (Latham) {E. malayensis, Blyth, and E. 

 setifei', Temrainck), to be also distinct. Regarding the Anda- 

 man race, he gives no opinion, but merely quotes Blyth ; and as 

 the latter naturalist has mentioned, as quoted above, that " the 

 Andaman bird appears constantly to be a little larger than the 

 Malayan,"^ it will perhaps solve the difficulty if Col. Tytler^s 

 opinion be adopted, and the Andaman race separated as dis- 

 tinct under his name of 



43. Edolius affinis, Tytler, sp. nov. * ? 



The Andaman Bhimraj has no frontal crest whatever, 



* [Lord Walden tells us that this is probably one of the races ot whieli 

 E. rangoonensis, Gould, P. Z. S. 1836, p. 5, is the type. — Ed.] 



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