266 Mr. R. Swinhoe on Formosan Ornithology. 



are deep black ; forehead and throat a lighter shade of the same. 

 General plumage deep bluish grcy^ with a tinge of yellowish olive. 

 Axillaries buff and white, somewhat mottled with grey. Centre 

 of belly and vent white, the latter tinged with buff. Winglet, 

 primary coverts, primaries, and rest of the quills black, the three 

 first margined narrowly, the rest broadly, with the prevailing 

 colour. The under wing whitish on the inner webs of quills ; 

 the fourth quill longest. Rectrices 12 in number, narrowest at 

 their tips, the lateral feather being ^ in. shorter than the rest. 

 The two central rectrices blackish grey, with about an inch of 

 black at the tip, mai'gined with grey. The other rectrices vary 

 in the amount of black, having at first a small white tip and 

 narrow white margin, both these increasing in extent as you 

 advance to the outermost feather, which is blackish to a greater 

 proportion and more largely ornamented with white. My female 

 differs from the male in having a rather longer and less deep 

 bill, and in having no black on the region of the face. She 

 has also the belly whitish instead of for the most part grey, and 

 is there barred with light-grey striations. In other respects she 

 is similar to the male, but is perhaps a little lighter. Both birds 

 have many of the grey feathers throughout the general plumage 

 with dark shafts. 



The nearest ally to this species is the Graucalus macei, Lesson 

 (G. papuen^is auctorum, seu G. nipalensis, Hodgs.), which is 

 larger, with larger bill, has much less black on the face, is of 

 a lighter colour, and has no buff on the axillaries, besides dif- 

 fering in minor particulars of colouring and proportions. Our 

 bird is a resident species, and is perhaps no more than a race 

 of the G. rnacei, which is widely distributed throughout the 

 tropical part of the continent of Asia, the rather slight variations 

 being probably due to its isolated position. I may add that it 

 has closer affinities with a Nepalese specimen from Mr. Gould's 

 collection than with those from the Indian plains. For an 

 account of the habits of G. macei, I must refer my readers to 

 Horsfield and Moore's List, vol. i. p. 174. 



28. DiCRURUS MACROCERCUS, Lath, 



Mr. Blyth has identified our Chinese Black Drongo with the 



