Capt. Beavan on various Indian Birds. 417 



on July 1st, 18G6, and regarded by Col. Tytler as the young of 

 this species : — Very dark, almost black, banded with white on 

 the head, nape, breast, thighs, and under tail-coverts ; less white 

 on the throat and upper breast ; back, wings, upper tail-coverts, 

 and tail banded with rufous, but most of the feathers have white 

 edges ; bill black ; gape orange ; orbital skin, legs, and claws 

 light-yellow ; the orbits appear to have been originally of a 

 pinkish-brown colour; the nosti'ils are peculiar — circular, and 

 raised as a kind of rim with a little detached yellow spot inside, 

 which is also raised. Length of this specimen in the flesh 

 11*125, wing 6'5, tail 5-45, tarsus '75, spread of foot under- 

 neath, including the two outer toes, 1*875, bill from front 

 •6875, bill from gape 1'0625, extent 17*5 in. In my opinion this 

 was certainly not a nestling, but it may have been a bird of the 

 year before its first moult. 



205. HiERococcYx vARius. Common Hawk-Cuckoo. 



At Barrackpore, on the 27th September, 1864, 1 fired at what 

 I thought was a Hawk, and killed it on the wing. It turned 

 out to be only a fine specimen of this species. All the small 

 birds in the vicinity seemed quite scared at its presence. Dr. 

 Jerdon also says that small birds often mistake this species for 

 the Shikra [Micronisus badius), and pursue it under that im- 

 pression. 



207. HiEROcoccYX sPARVERioiDEs. Large Hawk-Cuckoo? 



A fine specimen, procured at Simla in 1866, was considered 

 by me to belong to this species, though Col. Tytler referred it 

 to Cuculus himalayanus. Notwithstanding that it does not agi'ee 

 at all well with Dr. Jerdon^'s measurements of H. sparverioides, 

 being, except in the length of the wing, a considerably smaller 

 bird, I cannot help thinking that Col. Tytler was mistaken in 

 his identification of this bird. Length 14-25, wing 9-0625, 

 tail (slightly abraded) 6-75, tarsus -875, spread of foot under- 

 neath 1-5, bill from front 1, bill from gape 1*25, extent 24 in- 

 ches. The irides, fleshy orbits, and gape are orange-yellow; 

 upper mandible black ; the lower yellow at its base, then green, 

 and the tip black ; the legs are of a lighter orange-yellow than 

 the gape. The dimensions seem to agree best with those of C. 



