14 DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME NEW SPECIES OF BIRDS. [184-4-45. 



MrSCICAPA XAXTnOPTGIA*, n. sp. 



As this species seems to be undescribed, I add the following description. 



Head, cheeks, lesser shoulder-coverts, back and the upper tail-coverts olive-green, rump 



saffron-yellow ; chin, throat, belly, flanks, and under tail-coverts light straw-yellow, mixed with 



olive on the breast and flanks, inclining almost to white on the under tail-coverts ; primaries and 



Madr. Jonm. tail hair-brown ; scapulars the same, edged with white ; secondaries tipped with white ; the 



xiii * 1G3 "PP*""^ mandible deep brown, the under yellowish at the base ; feet plumbeous ; first quill 



spurious, third and fourth nearly equal, third longest f . 



The bill is intermediate between that of a Muscicapa and a Saxicola ; the rictal bristles are 

 few and weak ; the tarsus is lengthened, and longer than the hallux ; the middle toe is long ; 

 the inner toe slightly shorter than the outer, the claws are much curved. From Malacca. 



Dimensions. i^^^^^ 



Total length 4-^% 



Bill from base -^ 



Wing from shoulder 2-^q 



Tail lA 



Tarsus -^ 



TURDIXUSi SUPERCILIARIS J, n. sp. 



This remarkable bird from ^Malacca seems to me to be referable to the genus Titnlinus, though 

 with doubt. Two specimens are now before me ; one evidently the mature male, the other 

 either the female or the young. The former has a distinct white superciliary stripe; the rump, 

 upper tail-coverts, and tail are bright rufous, the latter tipped with a broad deep brown band ; 

 head, nape, back, chin, throat, and breast dark smoky black, deepest above ; wings deep brown ; 

 abdomen, flanks, and under tail-coverts white, washed with rufous ; bill black ; legs pule yellow. 

 Length 8i inches, wing 4^^^, tail 4, tarsus 1, bill from gape 1-pj, at base^^. 



The young bird differs in having its plumage above mixed with rufous, in being smaller, and 



in wanting the superciliary stripe. At first sight this curious bird gives one the idea of its being 



a large Phaniciira. It is, however, decidely Meruline in form ; and if separable from Tnrdinus, 



Madr.Journ. I would propose placing it in a new genus, to which I would give the name of Turdirostris, and 



^•" * frj characterize it as follows : — 



Bill strong, high, slightly longer than the head and much compressed; gonys ascending, 

 commissure almost straight, culmen slightly curved ; maxilla obsoletely notched, weakly hooked ; 

 nares ovate, situated in a broad shallow groove, and near the commissure, protected by thick-set, 

 stiff feathers and bristles, liictal bristles very strong and defending the eye. Legs strong; 



• [= MttscieapuJa tricolor, Hartl. Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 406. — Ed.] 



t Since writing the above, I have seen the male of this species in the collection of Dr. Cantor at Calcutta. It differs 

 from the female in being much more brilliant in its hues ; being bright yellow whore the female is dirty light yellow, and 

 deep black where the female is merely dusky. 



+ [= rric/i(xo»j>yrr/io2)i/^i(3, Less. Rev. Zool. 1839, p. 167. — Ed.] 



