Gentjs OSMOTRERON. 



In the British Museum Catalogue of Birds, Vol. XXI, Count 

 Salvadori recognizes seventeen species in this genus, but a great 

 niunber of his accepted species only differ very shghtly from one 

 another according to their geographical range, and their differences 

 are certainly not of more than subspecific value. 



In the same way Blanford, prior to an acceptance of subspecies 

 and of the consequent trinomial system, admitted seven species 

 of Osmotreron as inhabiting the area dealt, with in this book. The 

 acceptance, however, of subspecies reduces the niunber of species 

 within the limits of India, Burma, and Ceylon to four — i.e. pompadora, 

 fulvicoUis, hisincta, and vemans, whilst the three species phayrei, affinis, 

 and cMoroptera are reduced to the rank of subspecies of pompadora, 

 and a new subspecies is created for the northern form of hisincta under 

 the name of domvillii. 



The difference between this genus and the last (Crocopus) is very 

 shght, and consists mainly in the fact that the latter genus has the 

 first three primaries acuminate whilst Osmotreron has them normally 

 shaped. The birds of this genus are also somewhat smaller in size, 

 and the sexes are dissimilar : the males in some cases having maroon 

 on the backs, and in others having highly-coloured breasts, whilst 

 the females have neither. 



Key to the Species. 



A. Middle tail-feathers green : 



a. Head and neck grey and green ... ... ... 0. pompadora ^. 



b. Head and neck cinnamon-red ... ... ... 0. fulvicoUis ^. 



c. Tibial plumes buff or dull yellowish ... ... 0. pompadora^. 



d. Tibial plumes bright yellow ... ... ... 0. fulvicoUis $. 



B. Middle tail-feathers slaty-grey : 



a. Outer tail-feathers with broad grey tips over .5 in. deep 0. hisincta. 



b. With grey tip less than .5 in. deep ... ... ... 0. vernans. 



