301 Mr. R. Swinhoe on Formosan Ornithologij. 



took the hint, and gave them thereafter a free supply of raw 

 meat. Three survived and did well, each in a separate cage. 

 They fed voraciously on flesh, even on the bodies of their com- 

 rades. All kinds of insect-life seemed acceptable to them, espe- 

 cially cockroaches. I had therefore great hopes of getting one 

 home to England alive. I sent my finest sample to Hong Kong ; 

 but before a chance for shipment occurred he died of ophthalmia 

 and vertigo. Their irides were a light pearly king^s-yellow, and 

 their pupils were unusually large. They kept up a continued 

 chattering during the day, which sounded like the twittering of 

 several Finches together. After a while they became tame ; and 

 one in particular used to ruffle his feathers and sing in a sub- 

 dued tone (as if to himself) for a greater part of the day. If the 

 finger were held to him, he would stand high on his legs, divide 

 the feathers of his breast, half open his wings, throw back his 

 head, and, uttering a warning aspiration, stand ready to attack 

 the intrusion. ^^ 



This species does not appear so common in the southern 

 mountains. I will get my hunters here to try for live birds. It 

 would be a handsome set-off" to the two species of this noble group 

 already in the Gardens. 



" Oreocincla hancii, Swinhoe (Ibis, 1863, p. 275), 15 March, 

 1864. The wing of this specimen measures 6*5 inches, tail 4*25 

 inches. It is rather smaller than the one I procured before, and 

 may be a female, as that was a male. It seems much more 

 copiously lunulated on the breast with black." 



" Spilornis hoya, sp. nov. 



" A pair bought at Tamsuy, 29 March, 1864. Differs from 

 S. cheela by its smaller size, by its crest being composed of 

 shorter and smaller feathers, by its shorter and more wedged 

 tail with the central transverse band not half the width it is in 

 that species, and by its wing- and tail-coverts being profusely 

 spotted with white. It would appear to be intermediate to S. 

 cheela and S. bido, — S. holospilus of the Philippines, with which 

 it ought to have the closest affinities, being one-third smaller 

 than 5. hido. 



" S . Length 27 inches ; wJT^g 18'5, first quill 4'3, second 1*5, 

 third '2 shorter than the fourth, which is the longest in the 



