34 Mr. E. Hargitt on the Genus lyngipicus. 



Bceopipo scintilliceps, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. 

 p. 55 (18G3). 



Picus canifrons, Siindev. Consp. Av. Picin. p. 26 (18G6). 



Yungipicus scintilliceps, Svvinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 392 ; 

 David & Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 50 (1878) . 

 /. similis /. kaleensi, scd dorso medio albo, dorso imo et uro- 

 pygio nigris albo fasciatis, tectricibus magis albo 

 maculatis. 



Hab. in China septentrionali. 



This species closely resembles /. kaleensis, but may be 

 distinguished by the larger amount of white upon the back 

 and wing-coverts, the underparts being also paler and the 

 striations not so broad ; it is, in fact, a link between /. 

 kaleensis and /. doerriesi. The first description of this bird 

 was givenby Swinhoe in this Journal for 1863 (p. 96), although 

 it had been previously noted by him in the same work [vide 

 Ibis, 1861, p. 340). The home of this race is North China; 

 but how far south it extends may be seen by reference to the 

 localities whence Swinhoe's specimens were obtained. 



Sundevall, in his Conspectus (p. 26) describes an lyngi- 

 picus, which he names Picus canifrons, from Pekin, and 

 which is to be found in the Paris Museum. I have lately 

 seen the three specimens described by this author, and 

 which were collected by the Abbe David near Pekin in 1863. 

 The male, which served as the type of the species, has the 

 entire undersurface uniform; while the female and young 

 male have the underparts streaked. I have examined these 

 three birds very carefully, and feel convinced that the adult 

 male is only a variety, exhibiting a tendency to albinism 

 in its upper tail-coverts being spotted with buffy white (not 

 clear and distinct markings), and in this respect differing 

 from the female from the same locality, which has the upper 

 tail-coverts uniform black. The measurements of this bird 

 are greater than in /. scintilliceps, but less than in /. doerriesi, 

 which it very much resembles ; but the plumage has not the 

 intense black of the latter. The bird called a young male by 

 Sundevall appears to me to be a typical /. scintilliceps; and 

 although it formed part of the same collection, sent by the 



