94 ÜN MUSCICAPULA WESTERMANNI AND M. MELANOLEUCA. 



Species in which the males are precisely alike and 

 which can be only distinguished by differences in the 

 colours of the female, may always be considered as rather 

 doubtful, and this as more if these differences are so 

 slight as between the females of M. melanoleuca and of the so- 

 called M. Westermanni. The more grey tone on the back 

 of the latter, scarcely to be termed » blue-grey", is seen 

 in freshly moulted females, as in the specimen (N'^ 14) in 

 our Museum from the highlands of Luzon. Other females 

 from Java (N" 8), already specifically separated by Tem- 

 minck s. n. Muscicapa Hasselti, and from Timor, show 

 the upper surface more brownish grey and agree perfectly 

 with Dr. Sharpe's description of the female oi M. maculata 

 from Sikkim (Cat. B. Brit. M. IV, p. 207). As in many 

 other similarly coloured species the colouring of the back 

 varies therefore somewhat. So Mr. Oates notices: » females 

 from Mauipur are commonly much darker than such from 

 the Indian peninsula", and Mr. Grant likewise says (Ibis 

 1896, p. 540): » upper parts of females from Negros are 

 of a rather darker grey than in Luzon specimens." 



The male birds show also certain variations after age 

 and season, chiefly in the extension of the white parts; 

 the white longitudinal stripe above the eyes is more or 

 less developed, as this is the case with the white basal 

 portion of the tailfeathers, and the white longitudinal 

 mark on the wings. The freshly moulted male (N" 10 

 from Timor) has the whole outerweb of the last secon- 

 daries white, whereas other males show only a more or 

 less broad white external margin on these feathers. I may 

 add that the male assumes his full dress immediately from 

 the first plumage, as clearly proved by specimen N°^- 9 and 

 7 (from Java) in our Museum. The example N^ 9 is a 

 nestling in the first plumage, spotted like in our Musci- 

 capa grisola; no white superciliar stripe; the white on the 

 wings is nearly developed and the freshly grown tail- 

 feathers are already precisely agreeing with these in the 

 old male. The specimen N^ 7 is of more advanced age 



Notes from tlie Leyden >luseu.m. Vol. JX.X. 



