on Dr. Jcrdon's 'Birds of India.' 3()1 



specimens of it from those two localities. They correspond in 

 size to C. canoi'us and C. striatus respectively^ but have a com- 

 paratively large bill, pale dusky-brown ii-ides, embrowned grey 

 upper parts and rather widely barred lower parts from the 

 breast, tail but slightly graduated, except its outermost feathers, 

 and a peculiar unbarred nestling-plumage, with much white 

 bordering the feathers above. The smaller race is the familiarly 

 known Bhokatdko of India (so designated from its note), 

 which is commonly kept as a cage-bird by the natives. Col. 

 Tytler remarks that the note of the Bhokatdko is very like that 

 of the Himalayan Pomatorhinus erythrogenys. As he observes, 

 Bhow kuttah kho signifies in Bengali, " Daughter-in-law, tell a 

 tale " ; and there is quite an Ovidian story of a metamorphosis 

 connected w ith the name. He further remarks that " the note 

 sounds very like a double ' cuckoo, V thus, 'cuckoo-cuckoo'" 

 (Ann. Mag. N. H. 185-1, xiii. 367). The larger of the two 

 races is evidently that observed iu Eastern Siberia by Herr 

 Radde, as noticed in the * Natural History Review^ (Oct. 1865, 

 p. 459). He alludes to its "double note," referring doubtless 

 to its double cuckoo-cry, which would thus be similar to that of 

 the other and smaller race. 



205. HiEROCOCCYX VARIUS. 



I am not sure that I have seen this species, as recognized by 

 Dr. Jerdon and myself, from " Burmah and Malayana;" but it 

 probably extends over the Indo-Chinese countries, though not 

 passing into the Malayan peninsula. It is common in the 

 Dacca district of Eastern Bengal. 



206. HiEROCOCCYX NISICOLOR. 



I have now seen several examples of this bird, all from the 

 South-eastern Himalaya, and am well satisfied that it is a 

 distinct race. The largest adult measured 7 inches in length 

 of wing. Mr. Hodgson figures it with white irides ! Horsfield's 

 only specimen of H. fug ax in the India Museum is in immature 

 plumage, and quite resembles that figured as Cuculus sparverioides 

 by Von Schrenck ; Mr. Swinhoe showed me a similar specimen 

 from China, and Mr. Wallace has one from Borneo, while Dr. 

 Sclater's supposed H. varius from Borneo (P. Z. S. 1863, p. 209) 



