444 OX THE SPECIES OF BATEACHOSTOMUS [1877. 



B. parvnhis is stated by Professor Schlegel (Handleid. /. c.) to inhabit Borneo and Malacca ; 

 but at page 479, index to the plates, no. 15, it is given as from Sumatra also. The bird represented, 

 however, seems to belong to £, stellatus. An example of a young Batrachostomus (rufous 

 plumage) is contained in the British Museum, and labelled " Sumatra," which may belong to 

 B. affinis, as it corresponds well with the young example ex Malacca (inus. nostr.) below described. 

 But the young bird in rufous plumage is exceedingly difficult to distinguish from the young bird 

 oi B. cornutus when the latter has not arrived at dimensions equal to or greater than B. affinis, 

 adult ; and its resemblance to B. javensis will be probably found to be still closer. 



Of the specific identity of B. affinis with. Otofhrix hodgsoni there is some concurrence of 

 testimony. Fragments of two specimens from Darjcelhig were enumerated by Blyth (Cat. Calc. 

 Mus. no. 40-5, B, c) under B. affinis, but stated to be " of a nearly allied but distinct species." 

 This opinion Blyth subsequently modified the same year ; for in his " Supplemental note to the 

 Catalogue" (J. A. S. B. 1849, p. 806. no. 405) he remarked, " In a collection made at Darjeeling 

 we found the heads, wings, and tails of two specimens of what we now consider to be the young 

 of this species " {B. affinis). Lieutenant Wardlaw Eamsay's example of Otothrix hodgsoni was 

 obtained in the vicinity of the district from which Colonel Tickell received an example of 

 B. affinis in rufous plumage. Malaccan examples of B. affinis in the dress of Otothrix hodgsoni 

 occur- as frequently as tlie rufous bird ; and Mr. Hume {I. c.) has described a specimen of his 

 B. castaneus, ex Darjeeling, in a plumage that agrees with that of 0. hodgsoni. Mr. Hume 

 almost admits that B. castaneus represents a phase or a sex of 0. hodgsoni. Both Jerdon and 

 Blyth in later years strongly suspected that 0. hodgsoni represented a phase of B. affinis. In the 

 dimensions of the wings and tail the birds at the northern limit of the range (Sikim) exceed those 

 at the southern (Malacca), while the width of gape remains constant. 



No. 1, $ C?) adult, ex Malacca {mus. nostr.) (PL XLV. in. orig.). Head, elongated occipital 



crest-plumes, back, uropygium, upper tail-coverts, scapulars, minor and major wing-coverts, exposed 



upper surface of secondaries, and tertiaries, throat, sides of neck, breast, abdomen, ventral region, 



and flanks pure bright rufous ; chin, forehead, and supercilium tawny rufous. The elongated 



auriculars tawny rufous and tipped blackish brown. The abdomen and exposed surface of 



secondaries and tertiaries of a somewhat paler shade than the back. Throat-plumes with a white 



P.Z.S.1S77. open transverse Y-mark towards the tips, which are bright rufous; above the white mark a 



^' " ' narrow dark brown line which separates the white of the V-mark from the white bases of the 



lateral webs, these forming a narrow white margin to the shaft, which is white ; below the white 



V-mark another dark brown separating line, remainder of the webs grey or greyish brown : with 



each feather the extent and outline of the white markings slightly varies ; but taken together a 



white irregular demicollar is formed, which is partly concealed by the rufous tips of its constituent 



feathers. Springing from below this collar and from the sides of the upper breast are many 



elongated bright rufous plumes, bearing a pure white ocellum about the middle of each. These 



ocelli are separated from the rufous colour of each feather by a narrow but distinct dark brown 



encircling line. Below these breast-feathers is another series traversing the lower breast and 



upper abdomen ornamented in a similar manner; but the spots are larger, and elongated rather 



than round, and on each side of the shaft above the drop the webs at their base are white ; the 



white spots on the lower abdominal feathers are fewer in number, smaller in size, and more 



