280 ON ME. ALLAN HUME'S EEVIEW OF [1874. 



while at Darjeeling; " and what Jerdon relates about the species is derived from Tytler and 

 Adams, both of whom have no remarks on the diversity of the sexes or about the plumage. 

 Jerdon only became well acquainted witli the bird when, subsequently to the publication of the 

 first volume of his book, he visited the north-western Himalayas, where it is abundant. Blyth's 

 acquaintance was not more extensive. It is almost certain that he had never seen the wild bird ; 

 for he had not been in the regions it inhabits. He probably may have seen caged specimens 

 occasionally at Calcutta ; but he says that captured specimens are seldom brought to that town 

 (Ibis, 1863, p. 4). Who the "dozen others" are previous to 1868, I confess my total inability 

 to even ofier a conjecture; and possessing a fair acquaintance with Indian ornithological 

 literature myself, I cannot blame Dr. Finsch for not knowing either. 



A slight mistake in degree Dr. Finsch has committed, concerning the range of P. scMsficeps, 

 his impartial critic is " compelled to point out" {t. c. p. 18). Dr. Finsch states in general terms 

 that it is found " in " (not " throughout," as Mr. Hume or his translator of German erroneously 

 renders " im grossten Theile ") " the greatest part of the Indian continent ; " but he correctly 

 enough gives in detail the range as known at the time he wrote. Its range is enormous ; for it 

 extends from Cashmere (Griffths is said to have observed it at Pushut), along the lower ridges of 

 the Himalayas as far as Eastern Assam, and from Assam down to Pegu. Still, by some, 

 Dr. Finsch's general statement might hypercritically be termed erroneous. 



Now follows Pakeonds caltJtropw, I.ayard ; and the facts connected with its history up to 

 1868 are few and simple. Few, because previous to the publishing date of Dr. Finsch's work 

 only two naturalists had written about the species, namely Blyth and Layard. Blyth's part was 

 confined to the description, on behalf of Layard, of two skins sent by Layard to Calcutta (J. A. S. B. 

 1849, p. 800). One of these, with " upper mandible bright coral, with a white tip ; the lower 

 reddish," Blyth determined to be a male ; the other, with " both the mandibles dull coral with 

 white tips," he characterized as belonging to a female or young male. Later {op. c. 1850, p. 234) 

 mention is made by him of the receipt of three more specimens ; but not one word is said about 

 the characters whereby the sexes are distinguished, nor are they even described ; and I cannot 

 find a passage in any of Blyth's writings previous to 1868 where he defines the distinctions; and 

 I believe this is all Blyth wrote or knew about this purely Ceylon species up to that date. 

 Layard, in his " Notes on the Ornithology of Ceylon " (Ann. & Mag. N. H. (2) xiii. p. 263, no. 177), 

 omitted all description of the bird, and merely gave an account of its habits. He said nothing 

 whatever about the colouring of the sexes. This author never published previous to 1868 in any 

 scientific work or elsewhere another word about P. calthropce. Nor does Dr. Finsch appear to 

 have been more successful in his search for information, and he is most particular throughout his 

 admirable and exhaustive work in giving all references bearing on his subject. Kelaart, who, 

 P' "^'■^' besides Layard, was the only ornithological author who may have seen P. calthropce in " the 

 flesh," merely includes its bare title in his list (Prodr. Faun. Zeylan. pp. xxx, 127). This 

 embraces the sum total of the published facts regarding P. calthropce up to 1868. And it was 

 not until 1872 that it was made known that the female differed by having a black bill* 



* Mr. Holdsworth, as he obligingly has told me in epist., did not arrive at this conclusion through having dissected a 

 single specimen, but was guided by the experience of Mr. Bligh, who had killed many examples. It is just possible that 

 Dr. Templeton may have published remarks on this species, but I have never seen any. 



