FROM WESTERN SUMATRA. 87 



sachius is here meationed for the first time , though Bona- 

 parte calls Pucheran the Author of it (Gorsachius typus ^ 

 Pucheran). Though Bonaparte says expressly of the black- 

 crested specimen: sex Japan, nee Ins. Philippensibus", I 

 have some doubts as to its really coming from Japan and 

 rather suspect that it has been brought from elsewhere, 

 because no authentical black-crested specimen, neither adult 

 nor young , have ever since been brought from that Island. 

 G. melanolophus is twice mentioned as having been collected 

 in Japan (vide antea , sub synonymy of G. goisagi) , but none 

 of the authors enters upon the question nor do they men- 

 tion the black crest or any other distinctive character of 

 this species. But supposed that really black-crested adult 

 specimens would be found in Japan , I should rather be- 

 lieve in the occurrence of both species next each other, 

 than in the identity of G. goisagi with G. melanolophus. 



Layard (Ann. & Mag. of Nat. Hist. 1854 , p. 114) restored 

 the name of Raffles, by calling his Ceylonese black-crested 

 birds Tigrisoma melanolopha. His two or three specimens were 

 collected near Colombo during the month of November. 



Prof Schlegel, in his Catalogue (Ardeae 1863), was the 

 first who thoroughly pointed out that the plain black-crested 

 bird {melanolophus Raffl.) is the adult, and that with the white- 

 spotted black crest {limnophilax Temm.) the young of one 

 and the same species , but , being not aware of the descrip- 

 tion and name given by Raffles , bestowed upon the united 

 species Temminck's more recent name Ardea limnophilax, 

 while the red-crested (Japanese) species keeps in his Ca- 

 talogue the name A. goisagi. 



Swinhoe, also in 18G3 (P. Z. S. p. 320), mentions 

 Nycticorax melanoeephalus , but erroneously considers A. 

 goisagi from Japan identical with his bird which was col- 

 lected in Tientsin (China). 



Blyth (Ibis 1865, p. 38) considers A. melanolopha Ra^, 

 to be the young bird of this species, and keeps the red- 

 crested Japanese bird {A. goisagi) specifically distinct. 



In the same year (Ibis 1865, p. 358) Swinhoe described 



Notes from tlie Leyden JMuseum, Vol. IX. 



