128 Mr. R. Svvinhoe's Ornithological Notes made at Chefoo. 



front '98; middle toe and claw -84. Back of neck and a 

 short way down sides of neck deep rich ferruginous. Sides 

 of throat, under neck, and centre of breast ferruginous buflf. 

 Centre of throat pale buff. Sides of breast yellowish grey, 

 with a round black spot in the centre of each feather. The 

 trachea had a globular swelling before reaching the bronchi, 

 which latter are extremely short. The plumage of the female 

 is otherwise like that of the bird I procured before in winter 

 at Amoy and Shanghai, and named H. viciarius (P. Z. S. 1871, 

 p. 402) . The bills of the females at Chefoo were much swollen 

 as well as brightly coloured ; so that I felt almost convinced 

 that the northern bird was of a distinct species. But soon the 

 birdcatchers brought males, which were of a good deal smaller 

 size, and showed little normal change. Length o7o. Wing 

 3*3, '2 longer than tertiaries, '55 short of tail-tip. Tarse in 

 front '85 ; middle toe and claw •83. Bill in front "45, from 

 gape •7. Bill brown on upper mandible, lighter on apical 

 third of lower, golden on basal edge of upper, and whole of 

 basal two thirds of lower, including rictus. Iris cream- white. 

 Legs honey-yellow, as in female. The male differs from the 

 female by its smaller size, less bright bill, and in the absence 

 or smaller amount of rust-colour on the back of the neck. 

 Their testes were enormous, evidently on the point of breed- 

 ing. The trachea was narrower than in the female, and 

 without the circular swelling — another sexual reversion of a 

 male character. 



Many of these must have bred in the neighbourhood ; but I 

 did not succeed in getting either eggs or young. 



On the 6th October I got my last specimen, a female, which 

 Mr. Campbell shot on Lighthouse Island. This had lost all 

 its spring adornments, and was evidently on its southward 

 travel. It was in the plumage of the southern bird. 



J. Verreaux identified the Button-Quail sent from Pekiii by 

 Pere David (which must have been our bird in its summer 

 plumage) with the H. maculosus, Temminck. 



At the Library of the Zoological Society, with the kind assis- 

 tance of Mr. F. H. Waterhouse, I referred to the description of 

 that species^ from doubtful locality, in Temminck's 'Pig. et 



