368 ON THE BIEDS INHABITING [1875. 



Lamjii'otoniisjW^'f'y^Of/on, Temm. & Schlegel, torn. cit. pi. 46. 



% Calornis albifrons, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1861, p. 96, " Philippines," fide Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 



1863, p. 302, no. 217. 



Tr. Z. S. ix. Le Merle dominiquain des Philippines, Month. Hist. Nat. Ois. iii. p. 396 {juv.) ; D'Aubenton, 



p. 204. pj j,^j g^^ gg 2. 



Tardus dominicanus, Boddaert, op. cit. p. 38 (1783), ex D'Aubent. 

 Turdus dominicanus, Gm. torn. cit. p. 836, no. 123 (1788), ex Month. 



There can be no doubt that the Philippine bird described by Brisson [1. c.) and figured by 

 D'Aubenton, pi. 185. fig. 2, belongs to the same species as that figured in the ' Fauna Japonica,' 

 pi. 46. That the Japanese species is a winter resident in the Philippines, we are assured by 

 Mr. Swinhoe (P. Z. S. 1863, p. 302, no. 217). And Pastor nificollis, described by Wagler from 

 a Manilla specimen, is also undoubtedly the same as the Japanese species. I have already shown 

 that it ranges as far as Celebes {I. c.) ; and Schlegel {I. c.) notes it from Borneo. It has not, 

 however, been observed in China nor in the island of Formosa. 



The type of Tardus dominicanus, Bodd., was described by Montbeillard [l. c.) from an 

 individual said to have been obtained in the Philippines by Sonnerat. It may, however, have 

 been in reality of African origin. This example, so indifiierently figured by D'Aubenton [l. c), 

 and insufficiently described by Montbeillard (/. c), was clearly that of an immature bird. 

 Wagler (/. c. no. 20) appears to have been the first author who referred Gracula sturnina, Pallas, 

 =Sturmis dauricus, Pallas, to this species. He states that it inhabits the Philippines and 

 China, and that it nests in Dauria. G. sturnina, Pallas, is known to winter in Java, Sumatra, 

 Malacca, and Tenasserim, to occur during its migration in North China, and to breed in Dauria. 

 Does it also occur along with *S'. violacea {^=pijrrho(jenys) in the Philippines during the winter"? 

 If so, it may have supplied the type of D'Aubenton's 627th plate. If *S'. sturnina is found not 

 to migrate to the Philippines, then S. dominicanus must become a synonym of S. violacea. One 

 of the salient difierentiating characters of T. sturnina, even in the earliest plumage, is the 

 occipital spot formed by the black or purple-black tips of the occipital feathers. In Mr. Blyth's 

 description of Calornis alhifrons, taken from an undoubted but immature Philippine individual 

 [cf. Swinhoe, I. c), this spot is stated to be present. It is true that Mr. Swinhoe identified it 

 with S. pjyrrho(jenys, a species which I believe never exhibits an occipital black spot. Unless 

 T. dominicanus prove to be an African form, it is a title that must fall, being junior to both 

 S. violacea and S. sturnina. 



The synonymy of Gracula sturnina is as follows : — 



Gracula sturnina, Pallas, Eeisen Russischen Eeichs, iii. p. 695, no. 11, " South Dauria " 

 (1776). 



Sturnus dauricus, Pallas, Act. Holmiens. 1778, p. 197, pi. 7; Zoogr. Rosso-Asiatica, i. p. 422, 

 no. 72 (1811-31). 



Turdus striga. Raffles, Tr. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 311, no. 8, "Sumatra" (1821). 



Pastor sturninus (Pallas), Wagler, Syst. Av. Pastor, no. 20 (1827). 



Pastor malayensis, Eyton, P. Z. S. 1839, p. 103, " Malaya;" Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1846, p. 35, 

 " Common at Malacca." 



