15G ON THE BIEDS OF CELEBES. [1872. 



maxilla. In P. curvirostris (Shaw) (fig. 6) the nostrils are set at the commencement of a deep 

 narrow groove or channel. In P. er//tJiro>f)irifhuts, Bp. * (fig. 7), the nostril is a simple round 

 hole. The nostril of P. calorlnjnchus (fig. 5) is au elongated slit, like that oi P. pijrrhoccjth(tlHs. 

 but runnin" quite parallel with the commissure, and not so near its edge; nor is it as advanced 

 from the base of the maxilla. The position and shape of the nostrils in these four species 

 is so peculiar and distinctive, that the species could be determined from a fragment of the maxilla 

 alone. The striking difference in the shape of the nasal opening of the Javan P. curvirostris 

 Tr. Z.S.viii. and Sumatran, Moluccan, and Bornean P. eri/fjirof/nathus (forms which are otherwise difficult 

 ^' '^ ■ to recognize as distinct species) is very remarkable. The four species form a natural group 

 which cannot be consistently subdivided, unless P. ca/orhi/ttchus be also made the type of a 

 separate genus. Within the limits of Phcenicophaes I am also inclined to include Melias diardi. 

 Less., and also Cuculus sumatranus, Rafl[les. 



CuCULIXJi. 



EcDVN.lMis, Vigors & Ilorsfield. 



61. EuDY.VAMis MEL.\X0RnYXCii.\, S. Miiller, Verhandcl. p. 17G ; Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, 

 Cuculi, p. 20 ; Walden, Ibis, 1860, p. 344. 



Ilab. Kema, Tondano, Gorontalo (Forsten) ; Menado (mus. nostr.). 



C.\C0MANTis, S. Miiller. 



62. Cacoma>tis lanceolatus, S. Miiller, ^'erhandel. p. 178. 



Hab. Macassar (Wallace, mus. nostr.) ; Java (type). 



The synonymy of the species usually comprised in Cacomantis, S. Miiller, is still so entangled, 



that a few general remarks on the Plaintive Cuckoos of the Indian and Australian regions are 



necessary to enable us to establish the identity of the Cclebean member of the genus. 



Tr. Z.Nvui. In India there are two species: 1, C. passerimis (Vahl), without any rufous in the adult 



plumage; 2, C. tenuirostris (Gray, apud Jerdon), with a rufous belly. Botli pass through an 



hepatic phase. C. passerinus (Vahl) chiefly inhabits western and south-western India and Ceylon ; 



C. tenuirostris. Gray, ap. Jerdon, frequents Bengal and the countries to the eastward, including 



Burma. In Bengal the two species are said to meet and interbreed. C. pnsserinus (Vahl) has no 



representative ; but C. tenuirostris. Gray, ap. Jerdon, is represented in the Malay peninsula by 



V. threnodes. Cab. ; in Borneo by C. horneensis, Bp. ; in the Philippines by C. merulinus (Scopoli) 



verus; and in Java by Cuculus ^avus, Gm., apud Horsf., S. Miiller, 8cc.,=.Cacomantis merulinus. 



Scop., ap. Cab., and Pohjyhasia merulina. Scop., ap. Horsf. «St Moore. The Javan bird, in the 



hepatic stage, is probably the C. lanceolatus, S. Miiller. When fully adult it has the head, nape, 



throat, and breast pale ashy ; the remaining lower parts fulvous, more or less inclining to rufous ; 



the caudal bands are white ; and the quills unicolorous. In the young and in the transition 



stage these bands, which are broad, equidistant, and unbroken, are rufous, and the quills are 



either all or partly rufous-banded. This description will apply more or less to all tlic races 



above alluded to. 



• Consp. i. p. 98. 



