BIRDS FROM NIAS. 185 



72. Corvus tenuirostris Moore. 



Corvus tenuirostris Moore, Cat, B. Mua. E. I. Co. II, p. 558 (1858); 



Salvad. (ÜCC. Sum.) Ann. Gen. XIV, p. 240 (1879); id. Ucc. di 



Nias, p. 556; Oust. I.e. p. 120. 

 Corvus sp. Nieuwenh. & Roaenb. Versl. Eil. Nias, p. 19. 

 Corvus validus (aec Bp.) Schleg. Bijdr. Dierk. 1859, p. 13, pi. I, 



fig. 22; id. xMu3. P.-B., Coraces, p. 29 (1867); Salvad. Ucc. Born. 



p. 281 (1874); Tweedd. Ibis 1877, p. 319; Rosenb. Mai. Arcb. 



p. 219 (1878); W. Blasius, Verb. zool. bot. Ges. Wien , XXXIII, 



p. 63 (1883); Büttik. N. L. M. 1887, p. 74. 

 Corone enca (part.) Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. Ill, p. 43 (1877). 

 Corone tenuirostris Sbarpe, P. Z. S. 1879, p. 246; id. Ibis 1889, p. 



81; id. id. 1890, p. 275; Everett, List Birds Born. p. 145 (1889). 



An adult male (N'^. 231) from Lahagoe, February 14th. 



»Iris brown, bill and feet black. Native name: Gaga." 



There have been some differences in opinion amongst 

 ornithologists as to the proper name of the present species. 



The first description is from the hand of Mr. Moore 

 (1. c), under the name of Corvus tenuirostris (1858). Schle- 

 gel, for what reason I do not know, bestowed the name 

 C. validus Bp. (apud Temminck MS.) upon this species 

 (Bijdr. Dierk. 1859 and Mus. P.-B., Coraces, p. 29), saying 

 that C. validus is erroneously mentioned by Bonaparte as 

 a Halmaheira bird. A close examination , however, of our 

 material in the Leyden Museum convinced me that the 

 type of C. validus Bp. is a Crow, collected by Dr. Forsten 

 at Dodingo (Halmaheira), bearing on the bottom of the 

 stand , in Temminck's own hand- writing , the MS-name 

 Corvus validus cf . The species of which this specimen is the 

 type, is much larger and has the bill much longer and 

 stronger than our Malayan C. tenuirostris. Its habitat are 

 Halmaheira and Batchian (not Ceram, as Bonaparte erro- 

 neously says in his Conspectus), while on all the surround- 

 ing islands it is represented by C. orru, and on Ceram 

 by C. violaceus. 



Curiously enough Dr. Forsten's typical specimen of C. 

 validus is also the type of Schlegel's C. validissimus. Tem- 

 minck, probably after Bonaparte's taking notice of his 



Notes ft'om th.e Leyden. IMuseum , Vol. XVLIl. 



