^38 



oo; 



ON THE BIRDS INHABITING 



[1875. 



Tr. Z. S. is. 

 p. 173. 



whatever on the forehead. A narrow white supercilium commences above the eye, becoming 

 somewhat broader behind, and shading off into the grey of the head. The occiput, nape, and 

 back are ashy liver-brown. The rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail are washed with rufous, most 

 marked on the upper tail-coverts ; the chin and throat pure white, as in L. superciliosus ; 

 shoulder-edge and under shoulder-coverts pure white ; indications of a concealed white alar bar, 

 as in L. cristatns ; and the female has the sexual distinguishing characters of that species*. The 

 almost entire absence of rufous in the plumage of the adult Philippine species suffices to 

 distinguish it at a glance from L. cristatns and L. superciliosus. 



I append the wing- and tail-dimensions of a few examples from different localities, from 

 which it will be seen that no certain characters can be deduced from them. 



The changes and phases of plumage these three species pass through before arriving at 

 maturity have yet to be investigated ; and many hundreds of individuals will have to be compared 

 before any satisfactory result can be expected. In one phase I find that immature examples of 

 L. superciliosus and L. lucionensis have the entire under surface pure white. Then there is that 

 phase in which the upper surface of L. cristatus and of L. superciliosus is ashy, dark in the first, 

 light in the other. A Malaccan example of L. superciliosus above so closely resembles 

 L. lucionensis that there would be great doubt as to its distinctness, were it not that two of the 

 tertiaiies were edged with bright rufous ; this individual has the whole lower surface pure white. 



A Ceylon example, at first sight, seen from above, might easily be mistaken for the 

 Philippine species, were it not for its ruddy rectrices and rufous-tinged forehead and the absence 

 of grey on the head. 



Lanius schwaneri, Bp. {cf. Walden, torn. cit. p. 22 of), is reduced to a synonym of i. lucionensis 

 by Mr. Swinhoe [l. c.) ; yet that author {I. c.) describes a fourth species, entitling it L. incertus, 

 which appears to be only distinguishable from L. lucionensis by the characters on which Prince 

 Bonaparte founded L. schwaneri. 



* I have uot met with an authentic example of L. siqHniJiosus J • 



t [Anieci, p. 45.— Ed.] 



