364 Mr. J. n. Gurney's Notes on 



name of Astur mucroscelides, are an immature and adult male 

 of the Oaboon race ; and the plate should therefore bear the 

 inscription of castanilius. 



The remaining species of this group is another and^ as it 

 seems to me, nearly allied form, also from the Gaboon — Sce- 

 lospizias tousseneli. The type specimen of this species (which 

 is, I believe, at present unique) is preserved in the British 

 Museum, and appears to be in adult plumage ; though showing 

 some traces of transverse markings upon the breast, it is 

 much less distinctly barred on that part than either S. ta- 

 chiro, unduliv enter, or castanilius, in which respect it ap- 

 proaches an oriental species, Astur trinotatus of Mr. Sharpens 

 Catalogue, for which I would propose to retain Kaup^s sub- 

 generic name of Erythrospiza, or, as it might be more pro- 

 perly written, Erythrospizias . 



This beautiful native of the Celebes resembles the A. tachiro 

 group in the white spots which are conspicuous on its central 

 rectrices ; but in its adult stage its breast is quite free from 

 transverse bars, and the ferruginous character of its imma- 

 ture dress is entirely different from the corresponding plu- 

 mage of every species of Scelospizias. 



The Oceanic and Australian species included by Mr. Sharpe 

 in his genus Astur were divided by the late Dr. Kaup into 

 four subgenera — Erythrospiza (which, as it seems to me, 

 should be limited to E. trinotata, although some other species 

 were included in it by Kaup), Urospiza, Leucospiza, and 

 Tachyspiza. 



The term Urospiza is applied, under the amended spelling 

 of Urospizias, as a generic appellation for the large rufous 

 Hawk of Australia, Falco radiatus of Latham"^, which Mr. 

 Sharpe very properly treats as forming in itself a distinct 

 genus ; but the name of Uropizias is not admissible for this 

 purpose, Kaup's type of that genus, given in Mus. Senckenb. 

 (vol. iii. p. 259), being Falco radiatus of Temminck, which is 

 the immature plumage of Astur approximans of Mr. Sharpens 

 Catalogue. 



I would therefore retain the term of Urospizias as a sub- 

 * I shall have occasion hereafter to refer more at length to this species. 



